Write an essay of up to 1200 words on any one of the following topics. You can prepare the essay in any program you want, but you’ll need to enter it in Canvas as text no later than 11 am Feb. 23.
These papers will be evaluated primarily on the basis of how clearly they summarize the relevant course (lectures and readings) CONCEPTS (0-10 pts.) and then APPLY those to the case you have chosen to explore and the information you have collected about that case (0-10 pts.). Of secondary importance (but still counting) are the organization and clarity of the writing (0-5 pts.). Be sure to document your sources, including citations for any additional reading and URLs for any web material. These essays may be no more than 1200 words. （at least 1100 words)
Item at position 1
— Find a food that has a list of at least 5 ingredients that fail the Pollan test, i.e., that would not be recognized as “food” by your great grand parents (the most common are the names of chemicals). For each of these 5, track down what they are, what they do (e.g., preserve, soften, bind, color, texture) and where they are (mostly) made.
— Compare the ingredients, packaging, and marketing of the same product by a single company in at least three different countries. (An example from class that you should NOT use is potato chips.) How is the product customized for each national setting? (Pointing out that the packages use the country’s main language won’t get you very far.)
— Find 2 examples of a food seller — the manufacturer of a food, a restaurant, a food market — that includes in its advertising the claim that it treats its workers well (such as, in wages, in benefits, or in working conditions). Then find out why: what distinguishes these enterprises from the vast majority that do not make such claims? For example, is there something distinctive about the nature of the product? The character of the owners? The intended market? The audiences for the advertisement?
— Select some food product available in two contrasting forms, such as locally produced or not, conventional or organic, made by a big company or a small one, “whole” or ready to eat, etc. Examples include whole vs. presliced apples, bulk whole bean vs. canned ground coffee, grass-fed vs. conventional beef, a local microbrewery beer vs. Budweiser, and farmers’ market salsa vs. Ortega’s. Come up with an example of your own and then compare the two in terms of their production and distribution (for example, the character of the commodity chain, the distribution system and outlets, the ways in which the producer relates to the consumer, etc.).
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