Teaching food and nutrition security as a critical concern in higher education capstone

Title : Teaching food and nutrition security as a critical concern in higher education capstone

Abstract:

The 2026 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World reported that any improvements made on reducing global hunger are fragile, unevenly distributed and insufficient to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The report also examined the cost of healthy diets as a major constraint to achieving dietary quality and nutrition outcomes. A healthy diet should be made affordable and an easy choice to all equally. Global food and nutrition security is affected by climate and non-climate factors. The United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda emphasizes the role of education in creating awareness to combat climate change effects “mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.” Education is key to creating awareness and cultivating critical thinking skills in students, irrespective of age or class level. Along these lines, the capstone course at Maria College, founded in 1958 by the Sisters of Mercy, focuses on the “need for sustainability of life, supporting both a lifestyle and legislation that acknowledge everyone’s right to water and the need to address climate change.”The Earth is one of the five critical concerns of the Sisters of Mercy, while education is among the ways to address the critical concerns. The capstone course connects and demonstrates the interdependencies of the Sustainable development goals (SDGs) and connect with the five critical concerns of the Sisters of Mercy: Earth, Women, Violence, Racism and immigration. The assignments in this course familiarize students with the current challenges of food systems at a global level. The students are challenged to analyze the relationships between achieving “zero hunger” and the other SDGs. 

Biography:

Dr. Usha Palaniswamy holds a PhD in Plant Science (University of Connecticut, USA), MBA (Webster University, USA) and MEd in educational administration (M.K. University, India). Her academic career includes positions as Faculty of Allied Health and Asian American Studies, and in academic higher administration as the dean and associate dean. She served as a Project Manager at the World Vegetable Center in Taiwan and implemented school gardens in six countries in Asia and Africa. She is a recipient of several teaching, research and volunteer service awards. She is a Technical Advisory Committee member of Prem Nath Agricultural Science Foundation (PNASF) and serves on the PhD Board of Examiners of several Universities in India. She has authored four books and published over 55 research articles and several book chapters and review articles. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants (Taylor and Francis, USA)