GEOG 369 :: Geography of Food

Spring 2007 syllabus

Below is the official class schedule of activities and assignments. Please recognize, however, that a syllabus is always tentative and subject to updating. Please listen for changes announced in class.

E-resources, including readings, lecture notes and links to other information is in red. Additional readings will be announced & posted. Readings must be completed before the day in which they are discussed.

GEOG 369 Homepage
UPDATED: 07-Dec-2007
**Reading Review Form

Date

Topic

Readings (** requires review)

September

1

Sept 04

Introductions
Why study food?
The geography of food?
The meaning of food

*Mintz: Food & Eating
*WSJ Review of Pollan
*NYT Review of Pollan
*Hamburger, Fries & Cola
* Seattle Times on Farmers Market Costs

2

Sept 11

Food Studies
Saturdays: Farmers Market, 9:00-12:00

*CHE Food studies
**Theorizing worlds of Food
**Food Report: Not while I'm eating (p. 31-55)
*Berry: The Pleasures of Eating

3

Sept 18

Food Systems

Essay #1
The Pizza Farm
Directions

**Friedland: Agrifood & Commodity Chains
**That we all might eat
*Orr: Cost of US Food System
*PDF of Food System Schematic
*Food miles -- Ontario

4

Sept 25

Production:  where food starts

Big Spud, Little Spud

**Pollan on Corn p. 15 - 31
**Bracero Program
**Intro to Geography of Agriculture
*MEN Eating Locally

October

5

Oct 02

Food Processing
Thursday Oct 4 Field Trip: 7:30 leave for Durand
Beef, Inc.

**Eating Meat
*NYT Grass-fed beef
**An Animal's Place (or Pollan OD Ch. 17)
Fast Food Nation Chapter (5, 8 or 9)?

6

Oct 09

Consumption: The quantities we eat

Essay #2

**Pollan National Eating Disorder (1-14)
*CHE Teaching fat studies
*Why have Americans become more obese?
*(Agri)Cultural contradictions of obesity
*The Fattening of America
*CDC on portion size
*Mindless Eating

7

Oct 16

Distribution: how we get our food

Pollan OD:  Section II (except Ch. 9)
*Planck: Farmers' markets
*Berry: The idea of a local economy
*Beyond Organic
*Hunter-gatherer continuum
*Commodity & civic agriculture

8

Oct 23

Consumption: What we eat (and why)

Foodways (from Shortridge)
*Mintz on Eating American
**Gabaccia: Intro: What do we eat? and
Conclusion: Who are we?
*What did you eat and when did you know it?
**Harris on Taboos: 1 Intro; 3 Cows; 5 Horses

9

Oct 30

Consumption and globalization

Saturday Nov 3: Twin Cities Field Trip (7:30-5:00)

*Pilcher: Mexico's Hybrid cuisines
*Walmartization & Food retail in Mexico
*Watson: China & MacDonald's
*Bestor: How Sushi went global
*NYT The imperiled bluefin
Food stories on NPR

November

10

Nov 06

Consumption: what ARE we eating?
Organics, GMOs, Slow & Functional Foods
Field Trip : Romer Farm & Schunk Cheesery (2:00-6:00)

Pollan OD: Big organic (Ch. 9)
Excerpts from Food & Faith
*Parlberg: Global Food Fight
*NYT on the Red in Meat
*Sir Albert Howard: Agricultural Testament
* NYT Barber on bland food

11

Nov 13

Consumption: where we eat
Exercise #3
Field trip to UWEC Cafeteria

**CHE Where students eat
*Ecology of Eating
**Coming in to the food shed
*Local Challenge
**Cream of the Crop Yale Herald

12

Nov 20

Food, you & the future

Clean Commute Initiative
**UWEC Food Contract RFP

13

Nov 27

Yale Sustainable Food Project

**Growing a community food system
**Primer on community food systems
*Inner-city food security strategies

December

14

Dec 04

How To Eat:  Guest

**Rozin: Food is Fundamental (see also Rozin)
**Berry: The Pleasures of Eating (Follow the link to "What you can do")
*Science Friday on Eating Locally

15

Dec 12

Availability, accessibility & the politics of food

Essay #4:

Pollan OD:  Section III (Except Ch 17)
*Science Friday with Michael Pollan
**Mittal: on the true cause of hunger
**Amartya Sen
**Processed food & trade
**NYT America's Sugar Daddies
**Global Food Fight

Exam #3 (Final Exam): Thursday, 21 December at 3:00 p.m.