Post-Animal Agriculture: Biotechnology, Alternative Proteins, and the Future of Food
STS 358
Spring 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
ENVS 358 |
The burgeoning alternative protein industry seeks to use biotechnological innovations to produce animal products outside the bodies of animals. With the long-term potential to entirely remove animals from the industrial food system, the successful implementation of these new technologies could ameliorate many of the negative impacts of animal agriculture on the environment, human health, and animal welfare. But what are the social, political-economic, and ontological implications of a post-animal food system, and how might they transform human relations with animals currently used for agriculture? How might these innovations transform understandings of food categories like meat and dairy, and how likely is their commercial success? This seminar will draw on ethnographies, legal analyses, design theory, media coverage, techno-economic analyses, and speculative fiction to examine the recent historical development of the alternative protein industry and its potential impacts on the futures of both food production and interspecies relations. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS STS |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Animal Studies Minor)(Environmental Studies Minor)(Environmental Studies)(Science and Technology Studies) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
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