Plant Pathology Courses for Agricultural Awareness

Plant pathology has had and continues to have direct relevance and impact on everyday life. The science of plant pathology was born of famine in Ireland in the 1840s. Concerns about the effects of plant diseases on our lives are as relevant today. However, most people don’t think about plant diseases, and there is considerable concern among plant pathologists about this lack of awareness and what it portends for the future of our discipline. How do we get the message to the majority of college students, who shy away from science courses in general and never consider taking a course that deals with agriculture? How do we develop an awareness of agriculture’s impact on their daily lives? Should agricultural awareness be a required component of higher education now that most students live urban and suburban lives? Even in states where agriculture is a significant component of the economy, many students are ignorant of agriculture’s importance. Today, only a very small minority (2 to 3%) of the population produces our food. The need to educate citizens so that they can contribute to food and agricultural policies in a thoughtful and rational way is a critical challenge. In addition, many departments are now facing new responsibilities for undergraduate courses in the competition for university resources. Can general education courses that explore agricultural issues help fulfill these requirements and, at the same time, benefit the discipline of plant pathology and the individual programs that sponsor these courses? A number of departments have already initiated such courses in agricultural awareness. In this article, we describe our experiences at two institutions and what we believe these courses accomplish for the students and for the discipline of plant pathology. We also want to encourage more plant pathologists to participate in courses aimed at students who have never heard of plant pathology.