WEEK OF APRIL 7TH to APRIL 13TH

ANSWER QUESTIONS IN YOUR DIGITAL COMP BOOK OR PREPARE FOR NEXT MONDAY'S DISCUSSION GROUPS....

WEEK 2: America’s Industrial Food System



Readings:

• Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Chapters 1-9 (pp. 17-126)
• “Food Miles and Packaging: A Contrarian View”

Videos: 
Optional films for enrichment:

• Food, Inc. (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! This is essentially a film version of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and another great book, Fast Food Nation.)
• King Corn (More depth about the role of corn in our food system)
• Fed Up (About the obesity epidemic and the role of sugar and politics)
• Super Size Me! (In which the filmmaker only eats McDonald’s for 30 days YIKES)

The Questions:

1. What are the ADVANTAGES of the U.S. food system?  What do we love and celebrate about it?
2. Why are US Americans “corn people”?  What are the many dimensions of our food system’s relationship with corn? 
3. What are the benefits and problems of the way we raise food animals in the U.S.?
4. What is the relationship between the food industry and the obesity crisis?  Why are the chips (pun intended!) stacked against families with less money?
5. Is factory farming worth the trade-offs?  What would you be willing to give up in order to have a different agricultural paradigm?