Interdisciplinary Study Sample

In order to change the way the United States food system is operating at the moment, a change needs to be made in the education that people are receiving about the way their food is produced, manufactured, distributed and consumed. The U.S. food system has become increasingly reliant on mass production factories and multinational retail corporations while local farms and family owned food markets diminish. Economies of scale and opportunity costs represent barriers to change of the current food system because of the many different paths available, each creating different outcomes for consumers, sellers, large corporations and small farms, determining their profit, prices, capital and value. Educating the American people about the benefits of local food production and the downsides of large scale food production, such as nutritional value, disease and safety concerns, and economic advantages, will help to move our food system from “point A” to “point B”.

In response to the growing trends in the current food system and the change of the notion of food, Allison Blay-Palmer, draws, through her tactful book, Food Fears, the alternative and mainstream of North American food systems. Throughout a deep understanding about the food system and its evolution, she describes various ways, by relying on grass roots and meaningful individual activism as alternatives to change the food agriculture while building up a new food system that embodies social and ecological values as the foundation for future growth.

The National Postsecondary Agriculture Students organization was established in March of 1980 by Draft Bylaws and is designed to meet the needs of college students in agricultural related fields (PAS, About PAS). From there it has continued to grow and developed. What once started out as a small organization has now expanded to having a total of approximately 1,400 members from 62 chapters located in 18 different states (PAS, About PAS). This organization is made available to students in approximately 650 institutions located in all 50 states (PAS, PAS Handbook). Part of the financial support comes from the membership fees that are paid either by a chapter or an individual basis (PAS, About PAS).

When people ask what Food Studies is about, I tend to refer them to passages from Michael Pollan, because I think he paints such an incredible image of the joy and power of being in touch with one’s food. However, I find the suggestions of Wendell Berry to be of greater importance. His words encompass not only the personal benefits of growing and cooking food at home, but the positive impacts on the land, food workers, environment, and the political “vote” we make through our food choices for the kind of future we envision.

Our food system, agricultural system, and healthcare system involve many stakeholders which make any amount of positive change very difficult to accomplish, but this does not stop Michael Pollan from pursuing and envisioning a more sustainable way of living for all people. When he first began his work of health promotion it was during a time of food confusion and a national health crisis. He seized that moment and 25 years later his passion and purpose for his work is still evident. He continues to try and help others understand the connection between our health, the health of our nation, and the health of the environment. He supports the development of new farm policies that support local farmers rather than large industries such as the sugar industry. He also encourages people to think about how their daily lives of consumerism perpetuate our reliance on fossil fuels and the consequences that has on our environment (Oke, 2016). Although change occurs slowly and can sometimes feel nonexistent, I believe the work of Michael Pollan and others like him is making a

With the many financial challenges and intimidating odds, Will Allen, author of The Good Food Revolution, built the country's most renowned urban farm that was once a big gamble to becoming an education center for every level that currently produces enough produce and fish to feed thousands in cities year-round. His mission at his company, Growing Power, is employing young people from cities housing projects to prove that a local food system can help troubled youths. Not only are local farms a place for troubled youths to learn responsibility but to also dismantle racism, create more jobs, improve health, and bring urban and rural areas closer together. Today, Allen is country wide with Growing Power creating community food systems. The title of the book, The Good Food Revolution, puts forward that growing healthy food will lead to healthier

UC Davis like Bakersfield is a community that relies on its rich industrialized and subsistence agriculture. Most of the population of Central valley consist of mainly Hispanic agricultural and industrial workers. I have background and experience with working in the industrialized agriculture since primary school, but most in secondary school. I worked with my mother in the various fields like the citrus fields. I learned various techniques regarding pesticides and chemical fertilizers to increase crop yield from several years of doing laborious tasks. I picked different kinds of monocultures and saw how the workers had to overcame difficult working conditions like extreme temperatures and be exposed to safety hazards. Working in this working system has altered my view and encouraged me to want to protect and defend the workers. In continuance, it also influenced me to want to study something pertaining the healthcare system, cellular work and gene expressions that relate to the subjects math and science.

Will Allen’s The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities is not just a book about agriculture, it’s about life. The book is Will Allen’s diary about his past, present and future. This book is an inspiration. Will Allen writes to show us that our past, might always come back to haunt us, but the second time it can be a positive experience based on our efforts. In the following I will provide a summary of the book, describe the importance of the book, and lastly I will provide a critique on Will Allen’s, The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities.

A potential interdisciplinary approach to assess the short-term and long-term effects of STEM program implementation at the elementary, middle and secondary school levels as impediments to entry into post-secondary education in these areas for Children in Care (CIC) would be a mixed method study using Participatory Action Research. In this interdisciplinary undertaking, a critical paradigm is used to examine the impediments to CIC which have been created by social, political, cultural, economic, ethnic and gender-based forces that have been entrenched over time into a structure that is perceived as real. In this approach, it would be impossible for the researcher to separate them from the inquiry. In fact, they must embrace an intentional

I am interested in this career because I have always had a thing for wanting to take something apart and putting it back together. This career is linked to the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resource cluster. In this paper, I will explain what someone does in this field of work, what their work environment is like, how someone could enter this field of work including the education needed, the pay that someone could expect, the job outlook, and also the area I would like to live in that offers this field of work.

Belasco continues the chapter by explaining the legitimacy of the academic study of food. Although food is extremely important in several aspects of our lives, it is often overlooked when it comes to the world of academia. Most academics fail to recognize the noteworthiness that a discussion about different foods could potentially bring.  Belasco goes through the history of the studies and

Over the summer I had the pleasure to attend the Science of Gastronomy summer bridge. During this bridge we were able to learn about the chemistry that goes into making food, as well as the health and environmental benefits of producing and using organic ingredients when cooking. During the summer bridge we went on an interesting fieldtrip in which we traveled to an organic berry farm. At this farm we learned about the health benefits of organic berries, how they tend to the berries, and we were able to pick berries from the fields as we learned. After going to the berry farm we were treated to a visit to an organic dairy facility. At this facility we received a tour of the location, and at the end we were given a large scoop ice cream. During the main portion of the bridge, we made food from scratch.

Michael Pollan, the author of the book, decides to investigate food production in today’s society. His background mainly comes from literature, being a former professor and a journalist. Throughout his journey, he meets a variety of people that help him understand the big picture of the 4 different food categories in our industry today.

I would like to thank you and the Department Chairs for taking the time to consider my independent study on architecture, and I understand that you have decided not to approve it for next year. However, it is a course that is very important to me, and it is one that I believe would greatly enhance my education and experience at Bentley.

I have always enjoyed baking and cooking, as a result, I often bake with my family members. This means that I do have some prior knowledge of importance of nutritional values, convenience, safety and shelf life of foods. Food Science has actually been integrated into our everyday lives, and that is what makes it so appealing to me. The food industry is one of the largest industries in the world and I am eager to be part of this important industry, researching on how to produce food that is of better quality. Research that has previously been done by Food scientists have largely contributed to the higher quality of life experienced in many countries today, as compared to that of previous decades. To work with food is a heavy responsibility as people place their trust in those who produce the food they consume. I believe that it would be of great satisfaction for me to see a food