Food, Farms, and Climate
New Online Course
Food, Farms, and Climate
A New Cornell University Online Course
May 5 – June 1, 2025
Food--what we eat--impacts climate change, our health, and our financial well-being. By eating a healthy diet, we can reduce the world's climate emissions by 30-70% and reduce our chance of dying from heart disease by 26%. Sadly, 1/3 of the food produced on farms is never eaten.
In this course, you will learn about win-win-win diets that not only lower our climate emissions but are also healthy for humans and good for the economy. You will also discover what cities, schools, and policy makers are doing to promote win-win-win diets. For your final project, you will create an infographic or short letter to communicate what you have learned to policymakers, friends, and family.
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Course: Food, Farms, and Climate
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Dates: May 5 – June 1, 2025
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Institution: Cornell University (Civic Ecology Lab)
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Format: Online pre-recorded lectures, live webinars, readings, interactive discussions, and practical applications
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Workload: 4 weeks, 4-5 hours of work per week. You will have an additional two weeks to complete course assignments.
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Certificate: Earn a Cornell University certificate (PDF) upon completion. 25 learning hours.
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Why Take This Course?
Anyone interested in how to improve the health of the planet, the economy, and themselves through simple changes in their diet will benefit from this course. Through exploring the latest research on how food and farming impact our climate, you will become equipped with the tools needed to make changes in your daily life, work place, school, and community, as well as to influence decision-makers to create sound agriculture and food policies.
What You’ll Gain
Through this course, you will:
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Explore research about the contributions of livestock, land use, diet, and food waste to greenhouse gas emissions.
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Apply what you have learned in your daily life, including meals with family and friends.
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Design your own win-win-win meal, which is healthy for people, the planet and your pocketbook.
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Exchange ideas and food-related projects with other course participants from countries around the world.
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Create an infographic or short letter about sustainable food or farm practice that will be used to influence policy at the city, state/province, country, or international level, or through an institution such as a school, workplace, club, faith-based organization, the media, or business.
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Receive a Cornell University certificate (PDF)
Participants
Professionals, volunteers, university and high school students, and health-, climate-, and environmentally-concerned citizens from any country. Discussions will be in English and Chinese. No background in food systems or climate required..
Flexible Learning
This course is asynchronous, meaning you can participate at any time of the day. The only live component is optional webinars. We encourage you to join our live webinars, but if you can't make it, you can watch the recordings.
Technology
The EdX Edge course management system is used for readings, pre-recorded lectures, and asynchronous discussions. Webinars will be hosted via Zoom. In addition, optional informal discussions will be available in social media groups.
Educational Approach
Our teaching approach is based on two principles: (1) Learning is social: participants learn by discussing ideas and sharing resources; (2) Learning should lead to action: participants will apply course content to create an infographic or letter to share with friends and policy makers their knowledge about the relationships betwee food, farms, and climate.
Course Fees & Scholarships
Our program relies on your support, and we aim to make it accessible worldwide:
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$70 – Participants from United States, Canada, European countries, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, Australia, and New Zealand
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$25 – Participants from all other countries
Course staff
An experienced and dynamic team from Cornell University Civic Ecology Lab. We have successfully taught online courses to global participants for over ten years!
Marianne Krasny
Professor,
Cornell University
Fish Yu
Graduate Student,
Cornell University
Alex Kudryavtsev
Research Associate,
Cornell University
Kim Snyder
Course Administrator
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What time(s) of the day will this course take place?
Course materials, including pre-recorded video lectures, readings, and discussion prompts, will be released every Monday morning (New York time), and you can review them at any time during the week. We will also host optional Zoom webinars on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00–10:00 AM (NY time), which will be recorded for those unable to attend live.
2. Why do you have different rates for course registration?
We strive to make this course accessible to educators worldwide by offering tiered pricing. Participants from high-income countries pay the standard fee, while those from economically developing countries receive a significantly reduced rate. Participants from countries without reliable international payment systems (e.g., Afghanistan, Iran, Somaliland) can register for free. The course is fully funded by participant fees, and we deeply appreciate your support!
3. What is the refund policy?
You may request a full refund before the end of the first week of the course.
4. How long is the course?
This is a 4-week course, with an additional two weeks to complete the weekly assignments and final project. Participants who complete all required assignments will receive a Cornell University Certificate recognizing 25 professional development hours.
5. Can I submit the course project in my native language?
We strongly encourage all submissions in English so that instructors and fellow participants can provide feedback, but you may submit your final project in Chinese, as we have teaching staff who can review these languages.
6. How will I receive course certificates?
Certificates will be emailed within two months after the course ends, following the evaluation of participants' coursework.
7. What social media are used in this course?
We offer optional course discussion groups on WhatsApp and WeChat for participants and instructors to exchange ideas and resources, but only enrolled participants may join these groups.