FOOD POLITICS
Fall, 2014
Prof. R. K. Scher
204 Anderson
352-273-2356
rkscher@ufl.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 11:30-1:30, Thursday 3:30-4:30
and by appointment
CLASS SYLLABUS
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are” – Jean Anthelme BrillatSavarin (1755-1826)
Purpose:
To examine the political forces and pressures which determine the food supply in the US,
and influence the food choices which Americans make.
Classes:
Lectures will be presented, but this is also a discussion course. Students are expected to
read the required materials in advance of class, and come prepared to use them as a
vehicle for discussion. Attendance will NOT be taken, but students are responsible for
everything that happens in class, including announcements and surprise
assignments/projects, whether present or not. They are also responsible for everything on
the syllabus; students must pay careful attention to due dates for written assignments. In
this class, NO LATE PAPERS will be accepted under any circumstances except for
excused absences as listed by UF. Early submission of written work is always acceptable
and welcome. Students should take advantage of the instructor's office hours to discuss
issues with him.
Absences from Class:
 The instructor firmly believes that students have a right to make choices about
how they spend their time, including coming to class. He is not a policeman, he
does not take roll, he comes to class every day to provide, as best he can,
observations and insights into Food Politics, and to discuss with and among
students why the topics of this course are valuable to them.
 Those who feel that this is a worthwhile use of their time are invited to attend
regularly, and to become full participants and partners in the intellectual journey
the class offers.
 But the instructor is well aware that students have competing demands on their
time. They need to decide whether or not those competing demands are more
valuable to them than coming to class, or if some seeming obligation outside of
class obviates or takes precedence over the need to attend. The decision is the
students’ alone, and entirely.
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Thus, it is not necessary to ask the instructor’s permission to miss class, because
he cannot give it. It is not necessary to inform the instructor about an absence,
because that is the student’s business, not his.
Nor is it good student practice to ask, in the event of an absence, if he/she missed
anything “important.” The instructor designs each class with the idea that the
topic of the day is important; otherwise, why bother?
And what students need always to remember is that their choice of how they will
use their time has consequences. The instructor urges students to think them
through before deciding on how to use their time.
Required Readings:
Several books are required readings, shown below in BOLD PRINT. But many of the
readings in this class will be emailed to students (via the class list serve) on a range of
topics; all are essential and required. Students should archive or print them out, for use in
projects and examinations.
Class List Serve:
The Registrar provides a list serve for the course, and the instructor will use it to send out
readings, announcements, etc. It is essential that students sign on to the e-mail address
they gave the Registrar on a frequent and regular basis, in order not to miss important
materials. Please note – the Registrar controls the list serve, not the instructor. Consult
the Registrar for any problems you have in receiving messages, not the instructor.
Make-up Policy:
Students with UF approved excused absences will be permitted to make up missed
assignments or turn in assignments/examinations late as long as appropriate
documentation is presented, without penalty. Assignments or examinations missed or
turned in late that do not meet UF approved reasons, or which are not accompanied by
publicly verifiable documentation, will receive a grade of ZERO. No exceptions.
Films:
A variety of films may be shown in class (required), always on Thursdays (double period
day). These might include but are not limited to:
 Harvest of Shame
 Supersize Me
 Thin
 King Corn
 Food, Inc.
 The World According to Monsanto
 Babette’s Feast
TOPICS COVERED and READINGS (note – required books are shown in bold print,
but there are also suggested books. There will also be significant readings handed out in
class or links distributed by the list serve, all of which are required.)
Food and Politics – Introduction
 Marion Nestle, EAT DRINK VOTE
 Film – HARVEST OF SHAME
Who Decides What We Eat? The food industry/government/media complex
 Recommended – Nestle, FOOD POLITICS (2013 ed.)
 Recommended – Nestle, WHAT TO EAT
 Film – FOOD INC.
The Ethics of Food and Eating
 Readings TBA (will include at least one selection from Michael Pollan)
Food and Culture
 Readings TBA
 Film – BABETTE’S FEAST
Fast Food, Bad Food
 Suggested – Eric Schlosser, FAST FOOD NATION
 Film – SUPERSIZE ME
Government, Industrial Agriculture, and Bad Food
 Bittman - http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/17/not-all-industrialfood-is-evil/?hp&_r=0
Sustainable Food, Organic Food, Slow Food, Urban Food
 Jennifer Cockrall-King, FOOD AND THE CITY
Local Food, Locavores, The Farm to Table Movement
 Mark Bittman, FOOD MATTERS
-OR Michelle Obama, AMERICAN GROWN
Food as the Enemy: Food Pathologies and their Politics
 Obesity, childhood and adult – Is there a role for Government?
o Suggested – Frank Bruni, BORN ROUND
 Trans Fats and High Fructose Corn Syrup – is our government, in collusion
with agribusiness, trying to poison us?
o Film – King Corn
 Eating Disorders – Medical condition or political/social construct?
o Film - THIN
 Genetically Engineered Food – Do we need a policy?
o Film – THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MONSANTO
CLASS ASSIGNMENTS:
There are two types of assignments in this class: individual and group. Students must
complete TWO OF EACH (a total of 4 assignments).
Note – these are designed to be written, but other modes of presentation are possible.
Please consult with the instructor if you wish to break out of the written-assignment box.
A. Individual Assignments – each student must complete Assignment 1, and then
EITHER Assignment 2 OR Assignment 3. Your choice entirely.
1. Eating on campus
Conduct your own examination of food options on the UF campus (that is, those right on
the grounds; crossing 13th St. or University Avenue doesn’t count), and consider the
following issues:
 What options exist for eating on campus?
 How real are those options?
 Is UF promoting healthy eating on campus through the options it provides?
 Which venues seem most popular with students, and why (NOTE: it’s OK to
make personal observations over a period of time to address this question; it’s
also OK to ask your fellow students, friends or otherwise, about their on-campus
eating experiences and choices)?
 Do you ever eat on campus? Why or why not?
 Do you have any recommendations for additional/fewer/other campus food
options? What are they, if any?
Prepare a 2-3 page, printed, double spaced, paper discussing your findings and
conclusions.
Due date – October 23, in class, no exceptions except as listed above.
Choose either Assignment 2 or Assignment 3:
2. Food Blogs – Students must examine THREE (3) different food-related blogs during
the semester and prepare a 2-3 page paper (printed, double spaced) about them, focusing
on such questions as:
 Who writes/prepares the blog?
 What is the purpose of the blog?
 Who is the audience of the blog?
 Who sponsors the blog? Does the sponsorship affect content/point of
view/message?
 Summarize the content of the blogs – does it have a specialization/point of
view/shtick?
 What is the blog telling us to eat? What kind of foods are acceptable, which not?
 Is the blog trustworthy/worthwhile? Would you recommend it to a foodie friend,
foodie relative, or someone just trying to figure out what to eat?
You are free to choose whatever blogs you wish. They need NOT be American, and they
can certainly focus on food matters of particular racial, religious, ethnic, national, etc.
groups. Check with the instructor if you are not sure.
Sources for possible food blogs include (but are by no means limited to):
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www.chow.com
www.seriouseats.com
www.epicurious.com
http://www.grubstreet.com
http://www.thedailymeal.com
http://www.simplebites.net
http://eater.com
http://elgourmet.com (Spanish language, I think Argentinian)
http://hunch.com/browse/eat-drink/
https://www.gojee.com/food
http://www.food52.com/blog
http://www.culinaryschoolguide.org/blog/2009/top-100-blogs-for-the-frugalgourmet/
 http://blog.thenibble.com/
 http://bittman.blogs.nytimes.com/
 http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/dishing/
 etc.
Due date – November 25, in class, no exceptions except as listed above.
- OR 3. Food TV – food on television has become a powerful part of our popular culture.
Watch AT LEAST THREE (3) TV food shows over the course of a month (minimum) or
two (you can choose any food TV shows you want, any network; you just have to follow
them for the allotted time). Keep an informal diary as to content, style, message, etc.
At the end of the viewing period, write a brief (2-3 page, printed, doublespaced) paper
summarizing what you have watched, and focusing on some of the following issues (not
required, you may have other/better things to talk about):
 What programs did you watch?
 Who sponsored them? Did the sponsorship influence the content?
 What was the purpose of each of the shows?
 Who was the audience?
 What kind of food do the programs promote?
 Did the programs promote healthy eating, or not?
 Did the programs primarily entertain, or did they actually teach something about
cooking/eating?
 Did you find the programs convincing? Did you try to make any of the recipes?
 If any of the programs was primarily dramatic/entertainment/”reality” rather than
didactic, what was the point? What were they trying to do?
 Is there a gender issue associated with the programs, either on the part of those
presenting the program or for the intended audience?
 Do you think any of the programs help viewers think more intelligently about
what they eat/cook?
 Do any of the programs feature “celebrity chefs?” What is the point of celebrity
chefs? What if anything do they contribute to food politics?
Due date – November 25, in class, no exceptions except as listed above.
NOTE: if you do not have cable TV, do not have a TV at all, or have ethical
prohibitions against watching TV, see the instructor for alternative ways of satisfying this
assignment; or you can choose Assignment 2.
B. Group Projects:
Students will create their own groups (no more than 5) to satisfy the following
assignments:
1. Grocery store/farmers’ market
Members of each group must visit a variety of grocery stores (at least one chain store and
at least one independent grocery) and at least two local farmer’s market (there is always
one downtown on Wednesday afternoon after 4:00, on the Plaza; always one at the
junction of 441 (13th St.) and SR221 [34th St.] Saturday mornings from 8:30 until 1:00;
one at Haile Plantation on Saturday morning, and a few others scattered around the area
on various days/times of the week.). Farmers’ markets visited need not be in Gainesville.
The stores/markets visited can be elsewhere as well, including in other
cities/states/countries. Not each group member must visit each location; the idea is to
divide up, spread out to reconnoiter and investigate, and come together to prepare a
report.
 At the grocery stores, notice how products are arranged. What is the consumer
enticed to buy? Roughly what percentage of the products is processed in some
way? What is the approximate ratio of local products to those with a high carbon
footprint? What are people buying? Is there a difference between the chain
supermarket and independent store in any of this? NOTE – to do this assignment
properly, you should familiarize yourself with Marion Nestle’s WHAT TO EAT.
 At the farmers’ market, what is available? How are products displayed? What
percentage of the products, roughly, is processed? How much of the available
stuff is local? Are the products cheaper than at the grocery stores, more
expensive, about the same? What are people buying? Are people enticed to buy
other things than what they came for?
After your visits, prepare a brief (3-5 page, printed, double spaced) paper comparing
and contrasting the various purveyors of food. You might think about the following
questions/points in preparing your paper, but you are not limited to them:
 Who is the consumer group for each venue?
 Are there social class/racial/religious/ethnic/national tilts or biases in each venue?
 Which gives the best value for the food dollar?
 Which does a better job of promoting healthy eating, if either? Why?
 Does either venue pressure consumers to buy unhealthy items/things they don’t
really want or need?
 Where do you prefer to spend your food dollar? Why?
Due date – November 20, in class, no exceptions except as listed above.
2. Urban Farms and Agriculture
A popular trend in the US, since more and more people are interested in where their food
comes from and in trying to eat locally/sustainably is urban agriculture, in which food is
raised on vacant lots, school grounds, special parks or designated areas, etc. Mrs. Obama
is often given credit for starting this movement; that would not be correct, but she did
give it a major push forward, and a heavy dose of respectability, when she started a food
garden on the White House grounds.
There are two ways to complete this assignment:
A) Your group can create its own urban food garden. It could consist of plants or
animals (raising backyard chickens has become a fad – there are at least 4 coops in our
rather small neighborhood; you will need to check on rules about how many animals are
allowed by city or county governments). If you start soon after this class begins, by the
first of December you will have had time to raise food of whatever kind you choose. If
you choose this option, prepare a 3-5 page printed, double spaced paper on what you did,
what you chose to grow/raise, hurdles and problems you had to overcome, and an
assessment of how realistic urban farming really is for growing food. You may wish to
see if UF has space in one of its student-run farms for you, and it would probably be a
good idea to talk with a County Extension Agent about what to raise/grow, and how.
NOTE: while the end result of this project will probably be a paper, photographs and
videos and diaries can certainly be submitted as supplemental materials. A photo of the
group eating the bounty it grew would be very appropriate to include!
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B) Visit 3 or 4 urban farms, talk with the farmers/growers, find out what they did and
why, discuss the problems they may have encountered, and get them to assess the
worthiness of their endeavor. Add your own assessment as well. These urban
agricultural efforts can be found at private homes, vacant lots around town, school
grounds (you will probably need to talk to the school principal to get his/her permission
to start talking with the teachers and students), and of course UF has a large student farm
operation (organic and non-organic) whose producers would probably be willing to talk
with you.
NOTE: while the end result of this project will probably be a paper of 3-5 pages
(printed, double spaced), photographs and videos and diaries can certainly be submitted
as supplemental materials.
Due Date for Urban Agriculture assignment: December 9, in class, no exceptions
except as listed above.
Make-up Policy – students with UF approved excused absences will be permitted to
make up missed assignments or turn in assignments/examinations late as long as
appropriate documentation is presented, without penalty. Assignments or examinations
missed or turned in late that do not meet UF approved reasons, or which are not
accompanied by publicly verifiable documentation, will receive a grade of ZERO. No
exceptions.
EXAMINATIONS: There is no midterm exam in this class. A take-home final will be
given, the essay(s) to be based on readings, films, and class work. The final exam will be
handed out in class on the last day (Tuesday, December 9), emailed via the list serve
later that day, and will be due no later than noon, Tuesday, December 16, in the
instructor’s office. No late papers will be accepted except as noted above (“Noon” is
defined by the official U.S. Government time service,
http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Eastern/d/-5/java .)
CRITERIA FOR GRADE:
 2 individual projects – @ 20 pts, 40 PTS.
 2 group projects – @ 20 pts, 40 PTS.
 Final exam – 20 PTS.
GRADING SCALE:
 90-100: A
 80-89: B
 70-79: C
 60-69: D
 <60: E
 +/- grades will be awarded at the margins (for example, 78/79 is a C+; 77 is a C).
NOTE: All written assignments MUST be given to the instructor as hard copies. He
cannot download and print them. Anything sent as an attachment will NOT be accepted.
Sorry about this, it’s a logistical and budget issue.
NOTE: Because of budget constraints, there is no hard-copy version of this syllabus.
Nor is it posted on any website. There is only the e-version. Please download it or
preserve it in some way so you will have ready access to it.
NOTE: There will be no class on Thursday, August 28 (APSA) or Tuesday, November
4 (Election Day). No office hours on those days either.