FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES York University BES Program UNDERGRADUATE COURSE SYLLABUS Course: ENVS 4011. 3.0 Food Land and Culture Term: Fall 2012 Calendar Description This course examines food, land and people from a critical interdisciplinary environmental perspective. Students will have the opportunity to pursue their own interests related to food politics, planning, education, sustainable and alternative agriculture, human-animal relationships, and ethics, from a local and/or global perspective. Prerequisite Fourth year standing and completion of 6 credits in Environmental Studies or by permission of the instructor Course Director Rod MacRae Office: HNES 238 rmacrae@yorku.ca York office: 416-736-5252x22116 Home office: 416-465-1011 Course consultation hours: Email anytime; in person, Tuesdays, usually available between 10 and 12 but make an appointment by email to be sure Teaching Assistants Mark Holmes, markrh@yorku.ca Available by email or by appointment on tuesdays In this course, the Course Director and the Teaching Assistant form a Teaching Team. The Teaching Assistant, a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, shares with the Course Director responsibility for the overall shape and direction of course activities. He will be your primary contact for the course and in particular will be responsible for assisting you with your assignments. He will consult regularly with the course director on more complex questions you might have. Time and Location 1 Class: Tel 0005: Tuesday 2:30 – 5:20 Purpose and Objectives of the Course Brief statement of the purposes of the course In this course, we will organize our discussion around how environmentalists typically look at the food and agriculture system, both the common criticisms and the proposed solutions. Are these common perceptions legitimate? To what extent are they accurate or feasible? Is a more nuanced understanding required if proposed solutions from environmentalists are to be taken seriously by policy makers? How does the food and agriculture system really work and where is it open for or vulnerable to change? Brief list of the specific objectives of the course At the end of the course, students will have: 1. Developed a deeper understanding of the Canadian food and agriculture system, through an interdisciplinary lens 2. An appreciation for what can be changed in the food system in the short, medium and long terms with a range of program and policy developments 3. A sense of where each of us fits in the food system and potential actions we can take to effect change Organization of the Course Each week there will be a few readings, some lecturing and discussion, either in class or via the course web site. The first half of the course will focus on the current problems of the food and agriculture system. The second half will focus on solutions. At the mid-point of the course, groups will make poster presentations on their research project (see assignment section below). Learning will result from journal-writing, on-line discussion, a poster presentation, readings, and a take home final exam. There is a course web site at: http://moodle12.yorku.ca. Course materials will be posted there, as well as on-line discussion, the final take home exam, and your poster presentation group can use the course web site to organize your research and presentation. Note that the course is being offered this year in combination with the graduate student version of the course, ENVS5011 Food, Land and Culture. A winter term version of this course is offered as well, by a different course director. Evaluation Group poster presentation and group log (20 marks) and short individual 2 reflection (5 marks) (Oct. 23) Participation based on required reading (on-line) Journal (reading logs) Due: Oct. 2, Nov. 6, Dec. 3, 8 marks each (plus 1 bonus) Take home exam, released Nov. 30, due Dec. 7 25% 20% 25% 30% (For assignments submitted on the last day of class, please refer to “Instructions for Submission and Return of Final Assignments” section below) Final course grades may be adjusted to conform to Program or Faculty grades distribution profiles. Assignment: group/individual poster presentation and activity log (Oct. 23) This assignment is designed to help students understand the complexity of the food and agriculture system, and the challenges involved in changing it. Working in groups of 3-4 people (individuals will be permitted if you really dislike group work but the expectations will be onerous), you will collaboratively undertake the research and make a poster that will be presented in class. We will hold the class just like poster sessions at conferences where you stand by your poster and the circulating students ask you questions about it. We will organize the 3 hour class so that half the groups will have their posters up while the other half circulate to view them, and then reverse roles in the 2nd half. We will be asking you to provide feedback on the other posters you look at (instructions to follow). Your group will provide an activity log documenting how you did the research and who did what (maximum 3 pages). Do not submit individual logs, rather hand in one integrated log. You can run a ppt presentation off your lap top with the poster if we have a room with enough outlets (or we may try to do it in the ZigZag Lounge or 141/142 if available). Our TA will be available to advise on how to present your information on a poster. You will also need to provide us with the content of your poster presentation (not your actual poster, but the component pieces in electronic format that you can email to your TA) and a photo of the entire poster board. Files should be submitted within 2 days of the poster session class. Wait for a confirmation email from the TA that the files have been received, since sometimes large files of this type get blocked. At the beginning of the second class, we’ll divide up into groups. Each group will take one of the following subjects and trace it back to its source. Take a conventional food product and follow it (or the principal ingredient if a processed food): 1. Box/bag of spaghetti from a mainstream supermarket 2. Bottle or can of apple juice (e.g., Allen’s, PC, No-name, etc) 3. T-bone steak from supermarket 4. Order of chicken wings from a York U. cafeteria or food service operation 5. Carton of eggs from a supermarket 6. Tub of margarine with either corn, soy or canola oil as its main constituent 7. Box of corn starch from the supermarket 8. Package of frozen shrimp 9. Carton of 2% milk from a supermarket 3 10. Hershey’s chocolate bar from supermarket or convenience store 11. Bunch of Chiquita bananas 12. Cup of Tim Horton’s coffee 13. California fresh strawberries 14. Bottle of Jackson Trigg’s Ontario wine from the LCBO 15. Apples from New Zealand 16. A container of Tropicana Florida organic juice 17. A package of Maple Leaf bacon 18. A package of frozen Atlantic salmon (not wild) 19. A package of tofu 20. A Heinz or Alymer can of tomatoes 21. A loaf of sliced white bread 22. A thanksgiving turkey 23. A bunch of bok choi 24. A can of Mr. Gouda’s chick peas Elements of your poster presentation: 1. Product and where it is found 2. Ownership of the brand, if applicable – is the owner on the label or is that company part of a larger conglomerate? Does the owner make the product or is it co-packed by someone else? 3. Trace the supply chain: read Hawkes, C. 2009. Identifying Innovative Interventions to Promote Healthy Eating Using Consumption-Oriented Food Supply Chain Analysis. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 4:336–356. Use the first 4 steps of her 5-step approach to describing supply chains (step 5 you will do individually, see below). You may not be able to find the information to answer all her questions, but that’s ok. Note what you can and cannot find in your log. 4. The agricultural commodity – what varieties, classes, grades, or cuts are tailored to the end product? 5. Commodity and marketing organizations that influence the supply chain and what they do 6. Consumer price of the product and how much the farmer is likely to see of the consumer dollar 7. How does what you’ve learned affect the creation of an environmentally sustainable and health promoting food system? First impressions – I don’t expect you to have a full analysis of this, given where we are in the course. Possible sources of information: Agriculture and Agrifood Canada web site commodity and import/export reports Provincial government web sites on the state of a commodity Company web sites Commodity and marketing organization web sites Retail and manufacturing industry trade journals Sometimes there are Life Cycle Analysis academic journal articles on these products Provide an annotated outline of your group project and who’s doing what for class in week 5 (Oct. 4 9). If we have any concerns about the progress of your project, we’ll alert you that week. Grading: Your group will be given a group grade out of 20, based on the quality of your group research and your poster presentation. Give some thought to who will take the lead in answering people’s questions when they view your poster presentation, you don’t all need to be active discussants (it’s fine to share the work, some of you may want to circulate and look at other posters). The activity log will show us how everyone has contributed. The TA and I will divide up the posters for evaluation purposes, and then compare notes. Plus, we’ll look at your assessments of the other posters you commented on (details to come later). The last part of the project you will do individually for 5 marks (500 word submission). Step 5 of the Hawkes 5 step process is to identify where there are opportunities to leverage change for health and environmental sustainability in the supply chain. Your task is to give us your best thoughts from what you’ve learned from the group research. This activity helps everything think about the second half of the course where we shift to discussing solutions. Submit your individual report on this to the TA at the poster session. Be sure to write your name and group at the top of the page. Grading for the group part of this assignment is based on the following. Top marks when: Group research (including challenges identified in log) /10 a) All the main areas of research are addressed b) with insightful observations on the themes, with sophisticated analysis of the issues surrounding the product c) clear evidence of deep digging, especially in the face of challenges finding pertinent information d) Creativity in linking specific information to more general product themes when brand specific data can’t be found e) effective application of some of the course themes to the analysis Quality of the poster presentation /5 a) Poster is very visually interesting, with a creative way of presenting (can include use of ppt or video to supplement poster elements) b) The organization of the poster is appealing and easy to follow c) Material is easy to read and digest d) The gist of the analysis can be digested in 10 minutes or so Interaction with those viewing posters /5 a) Presenters are clearly comfortable with the material b) An informative and conversational style with those coming by c) Very easily handle questions with significant and interesting elaborations on the poster material Participation - guidance 5 Our TA will be facilitating on-line discussion. Each week (11 weeks in total not counting the first week) you will read a chapter from the required text, Critical Perspectives in Food Studies. There are 22 chapters and you can choose which 11 you read for this assignment. Each chapter has discussions questions at the back. Post on line your quick thoughts on 1 of the discussion questions (keep it to less than 100 words). Then offer at least one brief comment per week on one other student’s posting. The TA may also respond to posts and ask supplemental questions. There are 20 marks for this assignment so each week’s submission is worth 2% (we’ll not count 1 week – your lowest grade or if you don’t submit one). Note that a few of the chapters are also in the weekly reading list. Do not use the same chapters for this activity and the journals (see below). Overall grading guidelines for this activity The student: 18-20 marks - participates frequently with obvious signs of digesting the readings - makes contributions of a high quality (are well conceived and presented, insightful, or beneficial to the group) and are offered in a timely way - offers new ideas and responds to others ideas in a positive manner 16-17 - offers consistently relevant contributions related to the readings - offers new ideas and responds to others ideas in a positive manner - makes information available to others in a timely way. 14-15 - offers relevant contributions related to the readings - offers some new ideas and responds to others ideas - contributes information and does so in a timely way 12-13 - makes some relevant contributions - occasionally offers ideas and responds to others ideas. - contributes some information to group and does so on time 10-11 - contributions are inconsistent - doesn’t offer new ideas and responds to others ideas only when asked to do so. - contributes information only after it has been requested - OR is monopolizing discussion without listening to others’ contributions 8-9 - provides passive or reluctant interaction with others - offers little participation - has difficultly understanding content - is contributing little information and rarely on time 6 7 and under - ignores responses of others and is disagreeable when participating - participates little in discussions - contributes information only when insisted upon. - doesn’t contribute information on time Journal - guidance on what I’m looking for Here, I’m looking for your interpretation of the weekly readings, what you’ve distilled from them, what you like or dislike about what the different authors say; in particular, you should touch on whether the reading makes you think differently about your relationship with food. Your grade is split between the quantity and insightfulness of your observations. Top marks go to regular and consistently insightful observations on what you read. Low marks go to journals with sporadic entries and observations that are largely descriptive rather than interpretative. In other works, don’t summarize the readings for us, but tell us what you think and feel about them. You should read all the materials available each week even if you do not write about them all. Journals are due on readings the previous few weeks on Oct. 2, Nov. 6, Dec. 3 (you do not have to submit your analysis of the readings for the week they are due). You can submit them to the TA in class. Only submit via the drop box near room 114 if you are unable to be in class and do make sure to have a date stamp from reception (the TA will only be checking the box one week after the due date and you don’t want to be penalized for being late). Make sure your journal does not exceed 3000 words once you’ve added up all 3 submissions (roughly 1000 words per submission). Take home exam On Nov. 30, we will send you via Moodle the take home exam. There will be three questions and you must answer 2 of them. Each answer should be up to 1000 words (up to 2000 words in total). The exam must be resubmitted via Moodle by Dec. 7 at midnight. Note that submissions will not be permitted after the closing time. We will provide you detailed instructions on how to upload your exam to Moodle. Your graded exams will be returned to you via email. Required Reading Koc, M., Sumner, J. and Winson, A. (eds). 2012. Critical Perspectives in Food Studies. Oxford University Press. Available as an E-book in the York library and also for purchase at the York Bookstore. Supplementary Reading 7 Most weeks there are some readings that go with the lecture topic. See the schedule for details. Schedule of Topics and Readings Week 1. Intro to the course and the Food & Agriculture (F&A) system (Sept. 11) Introductions Review of the course Some basics on food system structure and organization 2. The F&A system uses too many chemicals (Sept. 18) Lecture and discussion Organizing presentations Identify student representative Readings: Tony Weis, A political ecology approach to industrial food production, pp. 104-121 in Critical Perspectives in Food Studies. Tegtmeier, E.M. and Duffy, M.D. 2004. External costs of agricultural production in the United States. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 2:1-20 http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/sites/default/files/pubs-and-papers/2004-01-external-costsagricultural-production-united-states_0.pdf 3. The F&A system perpetuates unhealthy eating (Sept. 25) Lecture and discussion Readings: Antony Winson, Spatial colonization of food environments by pseudo-food companies: precursors of a health crisis, pp. 186-207 in Critical Perspectives in Food Studies Jaffe, J. and Gertler, M. 2006. Victual vicissitudes: consumer deskilling and the (gendered) transformation of food systems. Agriculture and Human Values 23:143-162. Available electronically in York library system 4. The F&A system ignores the hungry (Oct. 2) Lecture and discussion First journal submission due Readings: Drewnoski, A. and Barratt-Fornell, A. 2004. Do healthier diets cost more? Nutrition Today 39:161-168. Available electronically in York library system TFPC. 1996. Food Retail Structure and Food Security. TFPC, Toronto. http://www.toronto.ca/health/tfpc_food.pdf [For an update of some of the data in this older report, take a look at: http://www.martinprosperity.org/insights/insight/food-deserts-and-priority8 neighbourhoods-in-toronto] 5. Farmers can’t make a decent living (Oct. 9) Lecture and discussion Provide an annotated outline of your group project and who’s doing what Readings: Nettie Wiebe, Crisis in the food system: the farm crisis. Pp. 155-170 in Critical Perspectives in Food Studies. Roppel, C. et al. 2006. Farm Women and Canadian Agricultural Policy. Status of Women Canada, Ottawa. http://www.aic.ca/gender/pdf/Farm_Women.pdf . Read chapter 3 (Farm women analyze their current reality) 6. Agribusiness has too much power (Oct. 16) Lecture and discussion: Readings: Guptill, Amy and Jennifer L. Wilkins (2002) “Buying into the food system: Trends in food retailing in the US and implications for local foods.” Agriculture and Human Values 19: 3951. Available electronically through York Library Hendrickson, M.K and W.D. Heffernan (2002) “Opening Spaces through Relocalization: Locating Potential Resistance in the Weakness of the Global Food System.” Sociologia Ruralis 42(4): 347-369 Read first half on agribusiness up to Kansas Food Circle Case Study. Available electronically through York Library 7. Poster Presentations (Oct. 23) Assignment: poster presentations by groups 8. Solutions – go organic (Oct. 30) Lecture and discussion Readings: MacRae, R. et al. 2004. Does the adoption of organic food and farming systems solve multiple policy problems? A review of the existing literature. Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, Truro, NS. http://www.organicagcentre.ca/DOCs/Paper_Benefits_Version2_rm.pdf MacRae, R. et al. 2009. Ten percent organic within 15 years: Policy and program initiatives to advance organic food and farming in Ontario, Canada. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 24(2); 120–136. Available electronically through York Library 9. Solutions – go local and direct (Nov. 6) Lecture and discussion 2nd journal submission due 9 Readings: Kloppenburg, J. et al. 1996. Coming into the foodshed. Agriculture and Human Values 13(1): 33–42. http://www.cias.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/comingin.pdf Johnston, J. and Baker, L. 2005. Eating outside the box: FoodShare’s Good Food Box and the challenge of scale. Agriculture and Human Values 22:313-325. Available electronically through York Library Browse the Local Food Plus (LFP) web site: http://www.localfoodplus.ca/ 10. Solutions – go vegetarian (Nov. 13) Lecture and discussion Readings: Barnard N.D. et al. 1995. The medical costs attributable to meat consumption. Preventive Medicine 24:646–55. Available electronically in York library Peters, C. et al. 2007. Testing a complete-diet model for estimating the land resource requirements of food consumption and agricultural carrying capacity: The New York State example. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 22:145-153. Available electronically in York library 11. Solutions – make food part of health care (Nov, 20) Lecture and discussion Readings: TFPC. 1997. If the Health Care System Believed You Are What You Eat. TFPC, Toronto. Table of contents at: http://www.toronto.ca/health/tfpc_health.pdf. Earlier draft copy to be posted on course web site. Harvie, J. et al. 2009. A New Health Care Prevention Agenda: Sustainable Food Procurement and Agricultural Policy. J. Hunger and Environmental Nutrition 4(3/4):409 – 429. Available electronically in York library 12. Solutions – education, food citizenship and food sovereignty (Nov. 27) Lecture and discussion Course summary and review Final journal submission due Dec. 3 Take home exam released Nov. 30, due Dec. 7 Readings: Lockie, S. 2009. Responsibility and agency within alternative food networks: assembling the “citizen consumer”. Agriculture and Human Values 26:193-201. Available electronically through York Library. Annette Desmarais, Building food sovereignty: a radical framework for alternative food systems, pp. 359-378 in Critical Perspectives in Food Studies. 10 Grading Scheme, Assignment Submissions, and Lateness Penalties The grading scheme for ENVS courses conforms to the 9-point system used in other undergraduate programs at York. Assignments and tests will bear either a letter grade designation (e.g., A, B, C+, etc.) or an equivalent percentage grade. (See detailed descriptions in the FES Regulations or in the BES Handbook) The final grade for the course will be calculated using the weighting formula established above for this course. Instructions for Submission and Return of Final Assignments In cases where students will be handing an assignment late in the term and the Professor or Teaching Assistant will not have an opportunity to return the graded assignment in a subsequent class/tutorial, special arrangements must be made to accommodate students’ wishes to have the graded assignment returned to them: a) students must submit their final assignment with a self-addressed, stamped, envelope if they want to receive the graded assignment. If the assignment is more than 5 pages in length they are advised to have the post office weigh the package to determine appropriate postage required. b) if students do not attach a self-addressed stamped envelope, they must attach a document with their course details, their name and student number and their signature and a statement confirming they do not wish to have the assignment returned to them. Proper academic performance depends on students doing their work not only well, but on time. Accordingly, the assignments for ENVS courses must be received by the Instructor or Teaching Assistant on the due date specified for the assignment. Journals can be handed in during class or in the course drop box located across room 114 HNES if you are unable to attend class. Other assignments will be submitted differently, see above for details. Note: students must have their essay or assignment date stamped by Reception staff in HNES 109. Once date stamped, Reception staff will deposit the essay or assignment in the course drop box on behalf of the student. Assignments should not be deposited in the Instructor’s or TA’s mailboxes in the HNES building, nor will they be accepted by OSAS staff. Lateness Penalty Assignments received later than the due date will be penalized 5% of the value of the assignment per day that the assignments are late. For example, if an assignment worth 20% of the total course grade is a day late, 1 point out of 20 (or 5% per day) will be deducted. Exceptions to the lateness penalty for valid reasons such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc. will be entertained by the Course Director only when supported by written documentation (e.g., a doctor’s letter). Missed Tests 11 Students with a documented reason for not completing the take home exam as scheduled, such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., which is confirmed by supporting documentation (e.g., doctor’s letter) may request accommodation from the Course Instructor, typically a modified take home exam period. Further extensions or accommodation will require students to submit a formal petition to the Faculty. Inclusivity in the BES Program The BES Program strives to include a broad range of perspectives and substantive material in its course offerings. Central to a clear understanding of environmental problems is the link between exploitation of the natural world, and justice issues related to racism, gender inequity, and poverty. An inclusion of non-western perspectives is therefore essential to a fruitful discussion of NorthSouth issues, and environmental debates generally. Religious Observance Days York University is committed to respecting the religious beliefs and practices of all members of the community, and making accommodations for observances of special significance to adherents. Should any of the dates specified in this syllabus for in-class test or examination pose such a conflict for you, contact the Course Director within the first three weeks of class. Similarly, should an assignment to be completed in a lab, practicum placement, workshop, etc., scheduled later in the term pose such a conflict, contact the Course director immediately. Please note that to arrange an alternative date or time for an examination scheduled in the formal examination periods (December and April/May), students must complete and Examination Accommodation Form, which can be obtained from Student Client Services, W120 Bennett Centre for Student Services or online at http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/pdf/exam_accommodation.pdf Academic Honesty York students are required to maintain high standard of academic integrity and are subject to the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty as set out by York University and by the Faculty of Environmental Studies. Please read the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty (which can be found as Appendix One of the Academic Regulations of the Faculty of Environmental Studies or in the University Policies and Regulations section of the York University Undergraduate Programs Calendar), available at: http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/acadhone.htm There is also an academic integrity website with complete information about academic honesty. Students are expected to review the materials on the Academic Integrity website at: http://www.yorku.ca/tutorial/academicintegrity HPRC Review Process FES GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES FOR ETHICAL REVIEW 12 OF RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN PARTICIPANTS IN UNDERGRADUATE COURSES York students are subject to the York University Policy for the ethics review process for research involving Human Participants. All research activity with human participants and minimal risk as part of this course has to undergo ethical review. Please consider the following definitions: “Human participants” in research will be defined as persons who provide data or information to the researcher which are typically not part of their professional capacity. The draft definition of funded research from the Human Participants Review SubCommittee [HPRC] is: “‘Funded’ will refer to all research that is receiving money that is in response to a specific proposal and administered by the university. Research using monies not administered by the University, and/or not in response to a specific proposal, will be considered ‘unfunded’.” The definition of minimal risk being used is the one given in the SSHRC/NSERC/MRC Tri-Council Policy Statement Ethical Conduct for Research involving Humans (August, 1998): “If potential subjects can reasonably be expected to regard the probability and magnitude of possible harms implied by participation in the research to be no greater than those encountered by the subject in those aspects of his or her everyday life that relate to the research, then the research can be regarded as within the range of minimal risk.” (p. 1.5) Note that the poster presentation assignment does not involve interviewing human participants. You may in the course of your research exchange emails with employees of firms and organizations and even gather information on the phone, however, this type of basic research does not involve human participants. HPRC review forms are available at: http://www.yorku.ca/fes/resources/acadreg/ Student Conduct Students and instructors are expected to maintain a professional relationship characterized by courtesy and mutual respect and to refrain from actions disruptive to such a relationship. Moreover, it is the responsibility of the instructor to maintain an appropriate academic atmosphere in the classroom, and the responsibility of the student to cooperate in that endeavour. Further, the instructor is the best person to decide, in the first instance, whether such an atmosphere is present in the class. A statement of the policy and procedures involving disruptive and/or harassing behaviour by students in academic situations is available on the York website at: http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/policies/document.php?document=202 Access/Disability York provides services for students with disabilities (including physical, medical, learning and psychiatric disabilities) needing accommodation related to teaching and evaluation methods/materials. It is the student's responsibility to register with disability services as early as possible to ensure that appropriate academic accommodation can be provided with advance notice. You are encouraged to schedule a time early in the term to meet with each professor to 13 discuss your accommodation needs. Failure to make these arrangements may jeopardize your opportunity to receive academic accommodations. Additional information is available at http://www.yorku.ca/cds/ or from disability service providers: • Office for Persons with Disabilities: Room N110 of the Bennett Centre for Student Services , 416-736-5297, • Learning and Psychiatric Disabilities Programs - Counselling & Development Centre: Room N110 of the Bennett Centre for Student Services, 416- 736-5297, http://www.yorku.ca/cdc/ • Glendon students - Glendon Counselling & Career Centre: Glendon Hall 111A, 416487- 6709, http://www.glendon.yorku.ca/counselling/personal.html 14