BSc Minor Earth and Health (WUEAH) / BSc

Profile

This minor offers students in environmental sciences, life sciences and food and nutrition sciences the option to jointly study the linkages between the environment (geology, soil, water), the food we eat (plants, animal products), the way this food co-determines human health (nutrition, health effects) and trade aspects (global flow of nutrients and food products). It covers a discipline that is internationally well known under the name Medical Geology.
Malnutrition occurs at global scale and is often related to geological soil composition (e.g. deficiency of micronutrients like zinc and selenium, toxicity of heavy metals and arsenic). For example selenium deficiency is known to occur in England since they stopped import of grain from the USA with relatively high selenium content and replaced it by their own locally grown grain with relatively low selenium levels. Also nutrient depletion due to intensive agriculture and upcoming limited availability of fertilizer (e.g. phosphorus) gets attention. Phosphorus depletion leads locally to land degradation, whereas trade of food products leads to mineral transport on the global scale affecting large areas.

Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this minor students are expected to be able to:
- demonstrate understanding of the complex interrelationships between soil, plant, food, health and global trade;
- explain the role of (micro)nutrients and toxicants in the soil-plant-food-health system;
- describe and analyse global flow of nutrients and food products in relation to soil quality and human health;
- describe and analyse behaviour of partial markets of nutrients and food products;
- describe and analyse specific human health problems related to nutrition, plant production and soil quality;
- communicate about soil-plant-food-health-trade issues beyond his/her own discipline.

Language of Instruction

English

BSc Minor Coordinator

Ir M.G. Keizer
Phone: 0317-(4)83302
Email: meindert.keizer@wur.nl

Target Group

This minor is interesting for WU-students of the BSc-programmes Soil, Water, Atmosphere (BBW), International Land and Water Management (BIL), International Development Studies (BIN), Environmental Sciences (BMW), Plant Sciences major A (BPW-A), Nutrition and Health (BVG). Also for students from BSc programmes like Agronomy, Nutrition in developing countries, Environment, Earth and Health (medical geology) at universities in the Netherlands and in other countries.