Healthy and Sustainable Foods and Products

Overview

The effects of climate change have prompted individuals and institutions to evaluate their impact on our planet. In this Healthy and Sustainable Foods and Products course offered by Coursera in partnership with University of Michigan, learn how you and global companies can reduce the harmful effects of overproduction and overconsumption on our health and the environment using quantitative metrics and assessment methods.

This series will allow you to:

• Analyze the health impacts of global trade and identify the steps needed to reach sustainable consumption.

• Assess the nutritional and sustainable performances of 5,800 individual foods, analyzing the trade-offs between environmental, affordable, and healthy foods and diets.

• Calculate the environmental impact of systems and products over the entire product life cycle, from the cradle to the grave, by using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.

• Evaluate and mitigate the exposure, impacts, and risks of chemicals in a range of products, including personal care, cleaning, building products, and toys.

Applied Learning Project

Through a series of activities and projects, you will address real-world problems and questions, including:

• What are the key risk factors affecting my health in my specific region of the world?

• How can a single hot dog lead to 36 minutes of healthy life lost?

• What is best to dry your hands? Paper towels or electric air dryer?

• 95% of Americans have parabens in their blood! Should we care?

• How responsible should we feel for particulate matter impacts in China associated with goods we purchase?