Assignment: Define a topic–narrow in scope and with enough published science to support a brief review of the literature–in one of the following: broader topical areas: 1) food environment and health outcomes, 2) food policy and
health or environmental outcomes, 3) food and ethics, 4) food technology,
entrepreneurship, and/or solutions, or 5) food systems sustainability. (You are free to
contact me with your ideas if you are not sure whether they fit in one of these areas, or you
would like to propose another area you are interested in.)
Identify a research question within one of these umbrella issues, the exploration of which
illuminates a problem or debate within the food system. You should explore the topic from a
social, economic, ecological, or nutritional perspective, but you are welcome to address the
topic from multiple perspectives or add perspectives of your own. You will primarily use
class readings and other academic literature to research the topic, but some other sources
can be used as well, specifically those from authoritative organizations (e.g., the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics or the US Department of Agriculture). You should be able to provide
enough legitimate evidence to accomplish two outcomes: 1) offer some conclusion that
responds to your research question, and 2) support recommendations for areas of future
research OR provide ways in which the general public could apply the lessons from the
literature in their own lives. Try to find a topic about which there is a question that could
benefit from a literature review along both of these lines.
Expectations: This will be an evidence–based paper. As such, you are to structure and
compose this paper like a research paper you would submit to a journal. I do not expect you
to provide opinions of your own; rather, your conclusions will be derived from, and
supported by, assessments of literature you review in the paper. At a minimum, your final
paper should include a short and concise introductory section describing the
question/controversy/debate. It should then contain a body (headed in a logical way) that
is likely to be the bulk of the paper, covering various arguments related to your main topic
and supported by a sound (but of course, brief and necessarily non–systematic) literature
review. Finally, the paper should conclude with a conclusions section offering areas of
future research OR recommendations for the general public/practitioners. The paper
should include citations throughout and a reference list at the end formatted using this
course’s identified citation style (see Helpful Resources in Module 0).
