Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
Healthy and Sustainable Foods
What You'll Learn
- Assess nutritional performance and sustainability of foods
- Analyze trade-offs between health and environmental impact of foods
- Apply these concepts to 5,800 individual food items and diets
3 Modules
18 Hours
6 hrs per module (approx.)
Rating
About Healthy and Sustainable Foods
This course focuses on healthy and sustainable foods. After reviewing the crucial role of food for both health and the environment, we first look at the carbon footprint and environmental impacts of multiple ingredients and more complex foods. We also detail a health-based approach to quantify the impact of 5000+ individual foods on health, expressed in minutes of life lost and gain per serving. We then analyze trade-offs and targeted changes that can bring substantial health and environmental benefits with less than 10% caloric change. We finally address the health and sustainable performances of various diets, looking at disparities between gender, races and diets.
Skills You'll Gain
- Environmental Health
- Public Health
- Usability
What You'll Earn
- Certificate of Completion:
- Certificates of completion acknowledge knowledge acquired upon completion of a non-credit course or program.
Welcome Message
Healthy and Sustainable Foods, part of the Healthy and Sustainable Foods and Products series, explores how dietary choices affect human health and environmental sustainability. Learners use data-driven tools to evaluate nutrition, carbon footprints, and trade-offs across food systems. The course emphasizes practical, targeted changes that support healthier, more sustainable, and affordable diets.
This abbreviated syllabus description was created with the help of AI tools and reviewed by staff. The full syllabus is available to those who enroll in the course.
Course Schedule
Module 1: Introduction to Healthy and Sustainable Foods
- Video: Meet Your Instructors
- Video: Course Introduction
- Reading: Course Syllabus & Roadmap
- Reading: Pre-Course Survey
- Reading: Week 1 Slides
- Reading: Task Description: Share a Recent Meal
- App Item: Share a Recent Meal
- Video: Introduction to Food Sustainability & Health
- Graded Assignment: Knowledge Check #1 Introduction to Food Sustainability
- Video: How Do We Account for Both Nutrition and Environmental Impacts? (Part A)
- Video: How Do We Account for Both Nutrition and Environmental Impacts? (Part B)
- Graded Assignment: Knowledge Check #2 Nutrition and Environmental Impact Framework
- Reading: Task Description: Environmental Impact Ranking
- Graded Assignment: Environmental Impact Ranking of 10 Foods
- Video: Environmental Impacts of Foods (Part A)
- Video: Environmental Impacts of Foods (Part B)
- Video: Environmental Impacts of Foods (Part C)
- Reading: How to Use the "$" Sign in Excel to Calculate Values
- Video: How to Use the $ in Excel: A Tutorial Activity
- Video: How to Find a Value in a List in Excel: A Tutorial Activity
- Reading: Activity Intro: Carbon Footprint of Meat & Veggie Burritos
- Graded Assignment: Carbon Footprint of Meat & Veggie Burritos
- Graded Assignment: Carbon Footprint of Meat & Veggie Burritos Review
- Discussion Prompt: Activity Check-In: Carbon Footprint
- Reading: Introduction to Week 1 Quiz
Module 2: Nutritional Evaluations and Diet Choices
- Reading: Week 2 Slides
- Reading: Task Description: Nutritional Value Ranking
- Graded Assignment: Nutritional Ranking of 10 foods
- Video: Dietary Risk Factors (DRFs) - Part A
- Video: Dietary Risk Factors (DRFs) - Part B
- Video: Dietary Risk Factors (DRFs) - Part C
- Video: Dietary Risk Factors (DRFs) - Part D
- Graded Assignment: Knowledge Check #3
- Video: Health Nutritional Index (HENI) - Part A
- Video: Health Nutritional Index (HENI) - Part B
- Video: Health Nutritional Index (HENI) - Part C
- Graded Assignment: Knowledge Check #4 Health Nutritional Index
- Reading: Activity Intro: Nutritional Value of Meat & Veggie Burritos
- Graded Assignment: Nutritional Value of Meat & Veggie Burritos
- Video: Combined Nutritional and Environmental Performances - Part A
- Video: Combined Nutritional and Environmental Performances - Part B
- Graded Assignment: Knowledge Check #5
- Reading: Activity Intro: Carbon Footprint vs. Nutritional Benefits
- Graded Assignment: Carbon Footprint vs. Nutritional Benefits
- Reading: Activity Intro: Compare HENI Ranking and Initial Rankings
- Graded Assignment: Compare HENI Ranking and Initial Rankings
- Reading: Activity Intro: Constructing Meals at the SHELF Canteen
- Discussion Prompt: Constructing Meals at the SHELF Canteen
- Reading: Week 2 Quiz Introduction
Module 3: Analyzing Complex Dishes and Comparing Diets
- Reading: Week 3 Slides
- Video: Pizza Case Study - Part A
- Video: Pizza Case Study - Part B
- Video: Pizza Case Study - Part C
- Graded Assignment: Knowledge Check #6 Pizza case study
- Video: Diet Comparison - Part A: Nutritional Performance of the Average US Diet
- Video: Diet Comparison - Part B: Nutritional Disparities
- Video: Diet Comparison - Part C: Environmental Disparities
- Graded Assignment: Knowledge Check #7 Diets environmental and nutritional performances
- Reading: Knowledge Check #7 Review
- Discussion Prompt: Activity Check-In: HENI, DANI, and TMLR
- Video: Diet Comparison - Part D: Swiss Average and Vegetarian Diets
- Video: Diet Comparison - Part E: Organic vs Healthy
- Video: Diet Comparison - Part F: Organic & Veggie Diets and Communication
- Video: Food Summary
- Graded Assignment: Knowledge Check #8
- Reading: Stylianou et al. (2021)
- Discussion Prompt: Reflecting on Stylianou et al. (2021)
- Reading: End-of-Course Assessment Introduction
- App Item: Share a Recent Meal: Revisited
- Reading: Post-Course Survey
Grading Policy
Learners must earn at least 70% overall to pass. Three end-of-module quizzes together account for 100% of the final grade.
Course content developed by U-M faculty and managed by the university. Faculty titles and affiliations are updated periodically.
Intermediate Level
Some related experience required
