Hot subjects—Horticulture 375: Organic Agriculture Colloquium

After two years of teaching an experimental colloquium on organic farming, horticulture professor Jim Nienhuis is no longer surprised by the diversity of majors interested in his class.

"I originally thought that it would be mostly horticulture, agronomy and agriculture majors, but in fact, we have history majors and art majors," he says. "Anyone who goes to a farmer's market and is intrigued about the offers that are made for organic vegetables — I think everyone has questions about exactly what that means."

Nienhuis says his goal in the class, which is based on discussion and guest speakers from academia and local farms, is to "tweak" students — in other words, challenge their preconceived ideas about organic food and farming, and sometimes even make them angry. The final project for the class includes student presentations on controversial aspects of organic agriculture, such as how much it really appeals to small farming families and whether organic food is really more nutritious than non-organic foods.

"There are many, many urban legends about organic agriculture, such as 'Oh they're so much healthier for you,'" he says. "I say to the students, 'Is there any truth to that?' And they'll say, 'Well, everybody knows that, Jim.' Well, gosh, why don't you give a presentation on that and share this information with us?"

While the colloquium itself is only a one-credit class, Nienhuis adds that students have the option to gain three credits by performing a research internship at either a university-run or local organic farm over the summer, balancing real-world experience with the material discussed in class.