Write about five food products that are imported from other countries in a three to four page maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font and word-processed paper. Number the pages. You must include a brief bibliography in AMA format consisting of at least 10 references (two per item). Read the entire instructions before starting your assignment. Rationale For Assignment:
Knowing more about different cultural groups can help you better understand and relate to people from different cultures and backgrounds. Learning more about Fair vs. Free Trade can help you become more aware of interconnections (global, economic, environmental, etc.) and more discerning in your food consumption decision-making. Through this assignment, you may gain new respect for how individual and collective food purchases impact the global production of food and human rights.
Assignment Description:
Visit a grocery store that caters to foods from another country (for instance, a Chinese grocery store or Mexican grocery store). If this is not available where you reside, visit a “regular” grocery store, but go to the aisle that is labeled international or ethnic. Choose five food products that are imported from other countries, and that interest you. Do not select products made in the USA even if they represent ethnic foods from another country. Thus, exclude popular branded products like La Choy, Old El Paso, Lipton etc for this assignment. Also do not select products like avocados, mangoes, berries or other produce or bulk items which may be imported from another country but are not manufactured. The products you select need to be manufactured overseas and imported into the US.
Write a paper including all of the following points for each product:
1. How is each product used? For instance, is it a spread for crackers or a food eaten alone or an ingredient for a main dish? This is information that may be found on the food product itself, or within your text, or on a website, etc. You will need to cite your source(s).
2. What is each product’s main ingredient? The first ingredient listed on a label is the one with the largest volume, by weight. There is a possibility there may be more than one main ingredient.
3. Is there any significant nutrition information on any of the labels? Nutrition information refers to the number of calories, fat, carbohydrate, sugar, protein, vitamins and minerals. If the product label makes a nutrition claim like low fat, no salt or low/ no sugar), please include this information.
4. If there is a specific nutrient or health claim (like heart healthy, good for bones etc) explain how the claim is defined with food labeling claim information from the FDA website
Nutrient claims are claims about nutrients in a particular food, such as low in fat or sodium or good source of calcium. These claims need to meet certain criteria to be placed on a food label. Health claims, on the other hand refer to a relationship between a food and health rather than a statement of content. They are limited to disease risk reduction. For example, diets high in soluble fiber such as oatmeal may reduce the risk of heart disease or diets containing substantial amounts of calcium may reduce the risk for osteoporosis. See:
5. Assess whether the product claim is true, based on the FDA information. (Remember to add this website to your bibliography if applicable).
6. Record if any of the product labels claim vegetarian, vegan vegetarian, halal, kosher or fair trade designations. Be specific.
7. Research and discuss how your individual purchase of these foods may support the global food supply. The global food supply chain involves all individuals, organizations, resources, activities and technology involved in the creation and sale of a food product, from the farm and delivery of raw materials supplied to the manufacturer, transport, delivery and its eventual use by the consumer. Ibe Atlas of Food, as noted in recommended resources in the module entitled
“Course Information: Nuts and Bolts”, may be a good reference for this topic.
8. How would these products be used or to whom would they appeal? For instance, are they only appealing to teenagers or children? Are they eaten only at weddings or special occasions?
9. Research and discuss how the purchase of these products may affect the environment. This part of the paper may require you to determine logical scenarios for what may happen, rather than what is actually happening. For instance, has deforestation occurred as a result of increasing demand for the type of agriculture required to grow one or more ingredients that make up this food ~ and how might this affect the environment? As another example, are pesticides used or not, and what might be the environmental effect of this? How might transporting this product from overseas or its packaging affect the climate, vs. purchasing a product produced locally? How does the packaging affect the environment? Is it recyclable and or eco-friendly?
10. Include at least 10 references (a minimum of two references per product selected). These could include Journal articles, websites, books etc. Check out the EMU library for additional resources. All students, including distance students have online access to the EMU library. Do not use Wikipedia as a reference resource for this assignment.
The AMA style of citation is used by the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In this style, references need to be incorporated in the body of the paper as a superscript. Pay attention to how to cite references correctly- it is often a place where students miss out on points.
