Using values - based food supply chain case studies in university classes

Scholars, policy makers, farmers, food distributors, retailers and consumers have all expressed growing interest in exploring changes to the food system that simultaneously target diverse and sometimes conflicting objectives including efficiency, fairness, farm viability, food access and security, and sustainability. Structural changes in national and global agrifood systems have made it increasingly difficult for small and midsized farm enterprises to compete effectively in conventional commodity markets. As a result, the U.S. agricultural system has seen a dramatic decline in numbers of commercially viable small and midsized farms.