CA 115 - Culinary Agriculture III

Credits: 3
LAB hours per week: 6
This course introduces the “Field to Fork” concept, as students learn and apply strategies for the Spring planting season and begin to harvest early Summer crops. Students analyze and practice the five stages in this food system model (production, processing, waste management & distribution, retailing and consumption) to develop their understanding of how to implement these processes in a safe, sustainable manner.
Course Outcomes:

Relate the history of agriculture to society and the culinary arts as they pertain to the Spring season of renewal and planting.
Explain and assess the importance of crop maintenance through infrastructure, equipment and cultivation practices for the planting season.
Examine the raising, selection, and fabrication of culinary livestock.
Implement garden planning and management, using sustainable and innovative planting techniques.
Integrate harvested food items into culinary lab sessions and on-site food service.
Research the food supply chain to understand the relationship between sustainability and global consumption.
Research and discuss small business opportunities in the agriculture industry and their relationship to the hospitality industry.
Identify inequities within the food system and their implications for health, society, and the environment.
Analyze current culinary trends identified through exploratory visits to various agricultural enterprises.

Course Topics:

Food system sustainability
Hands-on campus gardens/farm maintenance
Planting seeds and transplanting starts
Basic soil science
Composting
Culinary crops planting and early harvesting
Procurement and preparation of ingredients for weekly lab sessions
Animal protein fabrication
Field trips to local farms, farmers markets,ranches, processing plants and other agricultural businesses