This course provides an understanding of the complex and challenging public health issue of food security and in a world where one billion people are under-nourished while another billion are overweight. Explores the connections among diet, the current food and food animal production systems, the environment and public health, considering factors such as economics, population and equity. Case studies are used to examine these complex relationships and as well as alternative approaches to achieving both local and global food security and the important role public health can play. Guest lecturers include experts from a variety of disciplines and experiences.

Industrialization, urbanization, and economic growth in the global North. Locational patterns in manufacturing, retailing trade, and finance. Geographic dynamics of technical change, employment, business organization, resource use, and divisions of labor. Property, labor, and social conflict as geographic forces. Local, national, and continental rivalries in a global economy, and challenges to U.S. dominance.

This course is designed as a comprehensive overview of intermediate microeconomic theory. It covers a number of topics including consumer and demand theory, firm, production and cost theory, competitive market theory, imperfect competition, welfare economics, choice under uncertainty and information. All analysis conducted in the course relies on graphical and algebraic techniques.

The nuts and bolts of preparing a New Venture Plan and launching the venture will be explored in this twenty-fifth annual course offering. The course is open to members of the MIT Community and to others interested in entrepreneurship. It is particularly recommended for persons who are interested in starting or are involved in a new business or venture. Because some of the speakers will be judges of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, persons who are planning to enter the Competition should find the course particularly useful. In the past approximately 50% of the class has been from the Engineering / Science / Architecture Schools and 50% from the Sloan School of Management.