Course Description

Why do we eat what we eat? Where does the food come from? What makes for “desirability” or sensory quality in food? How and why did global trade develop around the production and shipping of food? What are the historical roots of the modern-day globalized food industry? This course will offer an in-depth look at key issues in the economic history of global trade in food, in processing foods for optimum quality, and the development of markets for new products. Examples will be drawn from commodities – such as salt, sugar or spices; major beverages – such as wine or coffee; and newly globalized products – such as pizza or chocolate. The major themes of the course are:

• The historical development of food commodity trading
• The globalization of food preferences
• The definition, development and spread of “new” products
• The understanding of some basic underlying technology/science in the production and processing of major foods.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:

1. Explain the origin, production, and processing of a range of key food materials and food products.
2. Outline the history of global trade in selected food commodities and products, showing an understanding of how this impacted economic development and cultural change.
3. Critically analyze the massive changes in the dietary culture of a “global city” such as Hong Kong over the past 30 years.
4. Demonstrate the ability to investigate a topic within the subject matter of the course, and applying new methodologies and paradigms to summarize and present the results.

Offer Semester and Day of Teaching

First semester (Wed)