Public Policy: Food for Thought
Ms. Valentin
Research Paper: We have studied industrial agriculture; the dominance of corn in US agriculture; free trade; fair trade; labor
practices and other topics related to food policy. The objective of this assignment is to get students to conduct individual
research on a topic of interest and analyze / evaluate an issue related to food policy.
Here is the timeline for the research paper process:
What’s Due
Due On:
Proposal: Topic, explanation of issue and
tentative research question
Working Annotated Bibliography
12/2
Research Sheets
12/11
Introduction / Thesis / Topic Sentence Outline
12/21
Final Draft
1/11
12/7
Grading:
You will receive multiple grades for this project/paper. The grading sequence will be as follows:
Proposal
Bibliography
Research Sheets
Thesis & Outline
Final Paper
25 Points
25 Points
50 Points
50 Points
100 Points
Please choose a topic from the list below to develop your research question. Alternatively, if you have a topic
in mind that is not on the list, please let me know.
Please remember, these topics are very broad. It is your responsibility to narrow down these topics into a
specific area that your research question will address. We will have class time and I can help you with this
process.
1. Industrial Agriculture/Meatpacking
·
Environmental
·
Economic/Labor
·
Political Policy/Government regulations
2. Regulation/Food Health & Safety
·
USDA
·
FDA
·
HACCP
·
HIMP
·
Inspection
·
E Coli/outbreaks & food poisoning
·
Nutrition/Nutrition labeling
·
Ingredients
·
School Lunch
3. Fast Food
·
Marketing/advertising
·
Health
·
Culture
·
Globalization
4. Food Security/Insecurity
·
·
·
·
·
·
Food stamps/WIC
Food deserts
Climate change/environmental issues and food production
Domestic food security issues
Global food security issues
Water access/rights
5. Food and trade
·
Free trade/fair trade economics
6. Future of food?
·
GMO’s
·
Sustainability movement
·
Organic agriculture
·
Aquaculture
·
Alternative farming
7. Hunger

Hunger in the US (causes, efforts to address hunger or results / consequences)

Hunger in any part of the world (causes, efforts to address hunger or results / consequences)
You can add other topics (with my approval)
Proposal: Worksheet attached
Annotated Bibliography: MLA style
Research Sheets: are available on my School Wires page – you can hand write or complete on line.
Introduction/Thesis/Topic Sentence Outline: 2-3 pages. The introduction should be written fully – in complete
sentences. Your thesis should be underlined. You should have in-text citations in the introduction. Your
topic sentences should present ideas from the thesis followed by bulleted points of information that you
will include in your final draft.
Final Paper: 6 to 8 pages, not including the Annotated Bibliography. 1 inch margins; Times New Roman font size
10, 11 or 12. The thesis should be underlined. The paper should include in-text citations. You should also turn in
an Annotated Bibliography.
Public Policy: Food for Thought
Proposal for Research Paper
Name ________________________
1. The topic I am researching for this paper is ___________________________________________.
2. Within this topic, I plan on narrowing my research down to focus on the area of ______________
___________________________________________________________________________________.
3. The issue, controversy, or concern that interests me about this topic is ________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
4. Some of the key terms, people, or concepts that are important to research about this topic are:
5. Some areas or subjects within my topic I want / need to find more information on are:
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6. In making a connection between the questions above, the research question I plan on answering in this paper
is: