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WORLD FOOD SYSTEMS POLS 333 Winter 2012

Tuesday and Thursday 2:10 – 4:00 p.m. Building 3, Room 213

Professor Shelley L. Hurt Office Hours: Building 47, Room 11C Wednesday: 12:00-4:00 p.m. Phone: (805) 756-2017 or by appointment Email: shurt@calpoly.edu COURSE DESCRIPTION: This GE-Area F course provides students with an integrated, interdisciplinary study of the technologies of global food production, environmental and social issues related to the application of those technologies and moral and ethical issues associated with global food production and distribution. We will emphasize the politics of change with regards to these significant global issues. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: This general education course prepares students to analyze various cause and effect relationships while trying to understand the dynamics underlying global food production. We evaluate causal mechanisms, levels-of-analysis, theoretical paradigms, and key concepts to assist students in understanding these dynamics. In particular, we examine numerous contentious issues from competing perspectives each week for students to develop the necessary critical-thinking skills for evaluating the empirical basis and logical coherence of arguments. These weekly exercises train students to acquire a skill set for critically understanding the politics surrounding the world food system. CAL POLY - UNIVERSITY LEARNING OBJECTIVES -GE AREA F: Area F: Upper-Division Educational Objectives

• EO 1 understand the relationship between technology and its scientific basis; • EO 2 understand and be able to articulate the considerations (which may include scientific,

mathematical, technical, economic, commercial, and social) that are necessary for making rational, ethical, and humane technological decisions.

Area F: Upper-Division Criteria Upper-division Courses in Area F must meet EACH of the following criteria: Since courses satisfying the technology elective are integrative in nature and build on an Area B foundation, they must be upper-division and, as a minimum, require junior standing and have as a prerequisite the completion of Area B. If necessary, specific Area B foundation courses (e.g. Math 141, BIO 151, etc.) may be listed as prerequisites. Since GE technology elective courses should be designed to be accessible to a wide range of students, the prerequisites may not be overly restrictive. The course proposal and expanded course outline must clearly indicate how the course is accessible to a broad audience, as well as how the course:

• CR 1 builds on the Area B foundation;

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• CR 2 will instruct students about one or more areas of technology having a coherent theme, with an emphasis on how the technology works.

• CR 3 develops an awareness of how basic scientific and mathematical knowledge is used to solve technical problems;

• CR 4 develops an awareness of the methods used and difficulties inherent in applying technology to solve social, economic, scientific, mathematical, artistic, and/or commercial problems;

• CR 5 addresses the ethical implications of technology; • CR 6 includes critical examination of technology from multiple perspectives; • CR 7 provides students with an historical, contemporary, and future-looking perspective of

the technology; • CR 8 incorporates a writing component. In addition to the above criteria, the following are

strongly encouraged: • C9 courses that are interdisciplinary in nature; • C10 courses that examine local or current issues; • C11 courses that address how new and emerging technologies impact society.

All General Education courses must have a writing component. In achieving this objective, writing in most courses should be viewed primarily as a tool of learning (rather than a goal in itself as in a composition course), and faculty should determine the appropriate ways to integrate writing into coursework. While the writing component may take different forms according to the subject matter and the purpose of a course, at least 10% of the grade in all GE courses must be based on appropriate written work. COURSE FORMAT: Each class meeting consists of lectures and discussion of the readings and topics for the given day and week. REQUIRED BOOK: The assigned book and course reader are at the El Corral University Bookstore. 1) Robert Paarlberg, Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford: Oxford University Press,

2010.) 2) POLS 333 Course Reader COURSE EXPECATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS: Students are required to read all assigned material before class, attend class regularly and punctually, write 2 two-page essays, complete a midterm examination and a final examination, and complete nine quizzes. Students are expected to participate actively during classroom discussion sessions due to the fact that this general education course is upper-division. The reading load for the course is manageable; therefore, I expect students to keep up with the workload and bring to class questions and comments for discussion. Participation and Attendance: Since POLS 333 is an upper-division course, students are expected to attend regularly. I also expect students to participate in class about the day’s readings.

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Academic Honesty: All students are required to familiarize themselves with the University policy on academic honesty and integrity found in the Cal Poly catalogue on “Academic Dishonesty: Cheating and Plagiarism.” http://www.calpoly.edu/~acadsen/documents/Cheating&Plagiarism.html Writing Lab: Please use the University Writing Lab to assist with your essays. The Lab is an excellent resource. More information can be found at the University Writing Lab website: http://www.calpoly.edu/~wrtskils/writlab/index.htm Grade Distribution: 2 Short Essays 18% 9 Quizzes 27% (9 x 3% = 27%) Midterm Exam 25% Final Exam 30% Short Essays: The 2 two-page essays are based on the required readings for that given week. The paper topic should address the theme of the week in relation to a particular issue raised in the required readings, such as the dilemmas of famine and obesity, trials of world food markets, dangers of agroterrorism, and opportunities and risks of genetic engineering. The due dates of the two essays correspond to a student’s group assignment on the syllabus. These group assignments are distributed the first week of class. The essays must be turned in at the beginning of class. They must be typed, 12 pt. font, double-spaced, with 1 inch margins. Make sure to put your name, group identifier, date, and class on the essay. I do not accept emailed papers. Paper must be stapled. Late papers will be penalized a full-letter grade on the day they are due and an additional letter grade for each additional day. Midterm Exam and Final Exam: The midterm and final exams are based on the lectures, discussions, and multimedia information presented in class. These examinations assess students’ retention and understanding of the course material, specifically the in-class material. Both exams are based on a combination of multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the blank questions, and short essay questions. The midterm covers the first five weeks of the course and the final exam focuses mostly on the second five weeks of the course, although some questions may draw from topics discussed in the first half of the class. In other words, the final is a partially comprehensive final examination covering material from the entire ten weeks of the course. Quizzes: The professor administers nine multiple-choice quizzes on Blackboard each week during the term. The quizzes are designed to test students’ comprehension of the required readings before classes commence for the week. In other words, the quizzes are designed to ensure students come to class after completing and being tested on the readings. These multiple choice online quizzes become available on Blackboard at midnight on Friday each week and the quiz must be completed by 2:00 p.m. (the beginning of class) on the following Tuesday. Thus, students have three and a half days to complete the quiz before classes start each week. The quizzes ONLY test students on the required readings. There are 15 questions on each quiz and students have 15 minutes to complete the quiz.

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Course Ground Rules: 1) The most important ground rule for this class is mutual respect. I expect each student to

treat each other and the instructor with respect inside and outside of the classroom at all times. You can expect the same courtesy from Professor Hurt. As the instructor, I reserve the right to remove any student from the class for misbehavior.

2) I do not allow any electronic devices in the classroom, including laptop computers. 3) I expect students to use email etiquette at all times. 4) Every class session starts on time, at precisely 2:10 p.m. Please be in your seats and ready to

participate fully by that time. Current Events: Students are strongly urged to subscribe to and/or read online everyday the international coverage from a major newspaper such as the Financial Times or the New York Times. COMMUNICATION WITH INSTRUCTOR: My office is located in Building 47, Room 11C. The best way to reach me is via email and during office hours. My office hours are on Wednesdays from 12:00–4:00 p.m. I am also available by appointment. My email address is shurt@calpoly.edu and my office phone number is 805-756-2017. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Academic accommodations are available for students with disabilities who are registered with the Disability Resource Center. Students in need of disability accommodations should schedule an appointment with me early in the quarter to discuss any accommodations for this course, which have been approved by the Disability Resource Center. For more information, please consult Cal Poly’s General Policy Statement: http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/eligibility/general_policy_statement.htm

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SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND LECTURES:

Unit 1: Pover ty amidst Plenty

Week I: January 3rd & 5th – Introduction & UN Millennium Development Goals Tuesday (First Class): Overview of course description, requirements, and ground rules. Thursday: Paarlberg, “An Overview of Food Politics,” Food Politics, chapter 1, pp. 1-7 Lester Brown, “The Great Food Crisis,” Foreign Policy (January 10, 2011): 1-5. Week II: January 10th & 12th – World Food: Population & Hunger Tuesday: Paarlberg, “Food Production and Population Growth,” Food Politics, chapter 2, pp. 8-17. Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, “More than 1 billion people are hungry in the world. But what if the experts are wrong?” Foreign Policy, (May/June 2011): 66-73 Thursday: Paarlberg, “The Politics of Chronic Hunger,” Food Politics, chapter 4, pp. 32-43. Paarlberg, “The Politics of Famine,” Food Politics, chapter 5, pp. 46-53. Frances Lappe, “A Right to Food?” The Nation (August 24, 2006): 1-3 GROUP A = paper 1 due!

Unit 2: Promises and Per i l s o f Modernizat ion

Week III: January 17th & 19th – Politics of the Green Revolution Tuesday: Academic Holiday – No Class!! Thursday: Paarlberg, “The Green Revolution Controversy,” Food Politics, chapter 6, pp. 56-67.

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Nick Cullather, “Miracles of Modernization: The Green Revolution and the Apothesis of Technology,” Diplomatic History vol. 28, no. 2 (April 2004): 227-254. Joshua Lederberg, “Food Needs Require Us to Apply Basic Biology” The Washington Post, (January, 25, 1969): 1-2. George Getze, “‘Genetic Engineering’ Boosting Crops Yielded by Food Grains,” Los Angeles Times (October 26, 1969): 1-2. GROUP B = paper 1 due! Week IV: January 24th & 26th – Politics of High Prices and Obesity Tuesday: Paarlberg, “The Politics of High Food Prices,” Food Politics, chapter 3, pp. 20-28. Nick Cullather, “World food prices aren’t too high – they’re too low.” The Globe and Mail, (2011), 1-3 Thursday: Paarlberg, “The Politics of Obesity,” Food Politics, chapter 8, pp. 81-91. Nick Cullather, “The Foreign Policy of the Calorie,” The American Historical Review vol. 112, no. 2 (April 2007): 337-364. GROUP C = paper 1 due!

Unit 3 : Geopol i t i c s o f Food, Trade , and Aid

Week V: January 31st & February 2nd – Food as a Strategic Resource MIDTERM during second hour of Thursday’s class! Tuesday: Paarlberg, “Food Aid and Food Power,” Food Politics, chapter 7, pp. 70-77. Lester Brown, “The New Geopolitics of Food,” Foreign Policy (May/June 2011): 1-9 Sidney Mintz, “Food and Its Relationship to Concepts of Power,” in Food and agrarian orders in the world-economy, Philip McMichael, ed., (Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995): 3-14.

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Thursday: Shelley L. Hurt, “Seed Wars: The Promises and Pitfalls of Agricultural Biotechnology for a Hungry World,” Miller Center Report vol. 20, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2004): 29-34. Shelley L. Hurt, “Relaxing patents on biotech seeds,” San Diego Union-Tribune (September 11, 2003): 1. MIDTERM! Second hour of class Week VI: February 7th & 9th – Food as a Humanitarian Resource Tuesday: Paarlberg, “The Politics of Farm Subsidies and Trade,” Food Politics, chapter 9, pp. 95-108. Catherine Bertini and Dan Glickman, “Farm Futures,” Foreign Affairs vol. 88, no. 3 (May/June 2009): 93-105. Thursday: Jennifer Clapp, “The Political Economy of Food Aid in an Era of Agricultural Biotechnology,” Global Governance vol. 11, no. 4 (October 1, 2005): 467-485. Philip McMichael, “The power of food,” Agriculture and Human Values, (2000): 21-33. GROUP D = paper 1 due! Week VII: February 14th & 16th – Biopiracy and Agribusiness Tuesday: Robert E. Armstrong, “From Petro to Agro: Seeds of a New Economy,” Defense Horizons 20 (October 2002): 1-8. Vandana Shiva, “North-South Conflicts in Intellectual Property Rights,” Peace Review 12:4 (2000): 1-8. Thursday: Paarlberg, “Agribusiness, Supermarkets, and Fast Food,” Food Politics, chapter 11, pp. 127-136. Michael Pollan, “Playing God in the Garden.” The New York Times Magazine, (1998): 1-17. GROUP A = paper 2 due!

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Unit 4: Contemporary Chal l enges for the World Food System

Week VIII: February 21nd & 23rd – Agroterrorism Before and After 9/11 Tuesday: O. Shawn Cupp, David E. Walker II, and John Hillison, “Agroterrorism in the U.S.: Key Security Challenge for the 21st Century,” Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science vol. 2, no. 2 (2004): 97-105. Lawrence Wein, “Got Toxic Milk?” New York Times (May 30, 2005): 1. Gavin Cameron, Jason Pate, and Kathleen Vogel, “Planting Fear,” Bulletin of Atomic Scientists vol. 57, no. 5, (October 2001): 38-45. Thursday: Marion Nestle, “The Future of Food Safety: Public Health versus Bioterrorism,” Safe food: bacteria, biotechnology, and bioterrorism (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2004): 249-274. Andrew Pollack, “Fear of a Swine Flu Epidemic in 1976 Offers Some Lessons, and Concerns, Today,” New York Times (May 9, 2009): 1-3. GROUP B = paper 2 due! Week IX: February 28th & March 1st – Synthetic Biology, Clones, and Beyond Tuesday: Paarlberg, “Agriculture, the Environment and Farm Animals,” Food Politics, chapter 10, pp. 110-123. Michael Specter, “Test-Tube Burgers,” The New Yorker vol. 87, no. 14 (May 23, 2011): 32-40. Rick Weiss, “FDA Says Clones Are Safe For Food,” The Washington Post (January 15, 2008): 1-3. Andrew Pollack, “U.S. Bioethics Commission Gives Green Light to Synthetic Biology,” New York Times (December 16, 2010): 1-3. Rob Stein, “Glowing Green Monkeys Illustrate Important but Controversial Advance,” The Washington Post (May 28, 2009): 1-3. Thursday: Paarlberg, “Organic and Local Food,” Food Politics, chapter 12, pp. 139-153. Paarlberg, “Food Safety and Genetically Engineered Food,” Food Politics, chapter 13, pp. 155-165.

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Rick Weiss, “Can Food from Cloned Animals Be Called Organic?” Washington Post (January 29, 2007): 1-3. GROUP C = paper 2 due! Week X: March 6th & 8th – The Future of Food: Power, Profit, and Technology Tuesday: Paarlberg, “Who Governs the World Food System?” Food Politics, chapter 14, pp. 174-187. Roger Thurow, “The Fertile Continent,” Foreign Affairs vol. 89, no. 6 (Nov/Dec 2010): 102-110. Robert F. Service, “Growing Threat Down on the Farm,” Science vol. 316 (May 25, 2007): 1114-1117. Thursday: REVIEW GROUP D = paper 2 due! FINAL EXAM ON THURSDAY, MARCH 15TH AT 4:10 p.m.