How Food has Shaped the World

• Why are you taking this course?

• Whatever you are studying you can make a

connection to food.

• Whatever you end up doing you can make a

difference through food.

Course Structure• Final Project 50% of the grade

• In a group of five come up with a plan of action to effect

change around food.

• Document your project in a video

• Portfolio of Class Assignments 40% of grade

• First class assignment is done by everybody

• Pick two additional assignments one of which must be

a group project

• There are limited numbers for each assignment

• Weekly quizzes 10% of the grade

• Quizzes will be on the required readings and videos in

preparation for each class

Assignment 1: Food Adventure

• In a group of five leave your comfort zone

• Research and experience

• New neighborhood

• New cuisine

• New restaurant

• Write a blog entry on the class blog site

2. Food as an Industry

• Guest Speaker: Danny Meyer

• Highly Acclaimed NY restaurateur

• Author of best-selling book Setting the Table, The

Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business

-Restaurants in the U.S

alone employ 13.1

million people – one of

the largest private

sector employers

-Global hospitality

industry generates 3.5

trillion annually

-More than 10% of the

global workforce is

involved in the

hospitality industry

-Restaurant industry job

growth has outpaced

national growth for 13

consecutive years

Hospitality & tourism generate 9% of global GDP and 8% of world employment

Assignment 2: Business Plan

• Write a business plan. (min 3 pages)

• Your company should be related to food in any

way

• Restaurant, Catering

• Food Store, Kitchen Equipment Store

• Composting company

• Farm, Vegetable, Fish

• PR agency

• NGO

3. Craft of Cooking

GW Faculty: José Andrés

Assignment 3: Cooking Video

• In a group of 5, select a cooking technique.

• Create a 5-10 minute video segment for a

cooking show.

4. Science of Food

• Guest Speaker: Harold McGee

• Harvard Professor

• Author of On Food and Cooking

• Guest Speaker: Michael Brenner

• Harvard Professor

Nicolas Appert1749-1841

Louis Camille Maillard

1878 - 1936

The Queen of Ice Cream

Agnes B. Marshall

1855-1905

Assignment 4: Science of Food

• Pick a recipe or cooking technique

• Research the science that explains what is

happening.

• Write up your findings in an essay.

5. Food Supply Chain

• Guest Speaker: Warren Belasco

• UMBC Professor of American Studies

• Author of Food: The Key Concepts

• GW Faculty: James Foster

• GW Department of Economics and International Affairs

Assignment 5: Action Plan

• How do your food choices impact others and the

world around you?

• Design a support system to help people make

ethical decisions with regard to food.

6. Food and Government

• Guest Speaker: Alice Kamps

• Curator of the National Archives

• GW faculty: John Banzhaf

• GW Law School

(1875-1918)

Frank Nicholas Meyer

National School Lunch

Program 1946

Assignment 6: Legislative Proposal

• Research and design an action plan to deal with

an issue related to food

• Write up your plan as a proposal

• Send your proposal to a local government

representative

7. History of Food

• Guest Speaker: Christopher Kimball

• Editor and Publisher of Cook’s Illustrated

• Host of America’s Test Kitchen

• GW faculty: Caroline Smith

• GW Department of Writing

Fire began 1.8 million years ago

It is theorized that sugarcane

was first domesticated as a crop

in New Guinea around 6,000

B.C. Crystallized sugar was

reported 5,000 years before the

present in the Indus Valley

Civilization, located in modern-

day Pakistan and north India

Spanish conquistador Hernán

Cortés may have been the

first to transfer the small

yellow tomato to Europe after

he captured the Aztec city of

Tenochtítlan, now Mexico

City, in 1521, although

Christopher Columbus, a

Genoese working for the

Spanish monarchy, may have

taken them back as early as

1493.

Mahatma Gandhi1869-1948

Gin & Tonic!

Assignment 7: Recipe Comparison

• Compare and contrast two different recipes from

different times or different cultures.

• Discuss what they reveal about the time or place

they originate from.

• Create a timeline for one of the ingredients.

8. Food and Public Health

• Guest Speaker: Phillip Derfler

• USDA

• GW Faculty: Uri Colon-Ramos

• GW School of Public Health

Non-pasteurized cheese &

un-refrigerated eggs

Assignment 8: Public Safety Research

• Select a public safety debate

• Raw milk

• E. coli contamination

• Recalls of food

• Research the events surrounding the public

safety debate within the last ten years.

9. Food and National Security

• Guest Speaker: Rear Admiral Jamie Barnett

• Mission Readiness

• Guest Speaker: Jonathan Shrier

• Department of State’s Special Representative for

Global Food Security

Assignment 9: National Security

• How does insecurity or conflict worldwide

influence or contribute to national security

issues?

• Research current events

• Write an essay on your findings

10. Hunger and Obesity

• Guest Speaker: Ellen Gustafson

• Co-founded FEED Projects

• Launched The 30 Project

• GW Faculty: Kim Robien

• GW School of Public Heatlh

Assignment 10: Food Habits

• Determine your current BMI.

• Determine the number of calories you need to

maintain your current weight.

• Keep a food and drink journal for a day.

• Review your calories from beverages, is there a

way to reduce this calorie-intake?

11. Food and Pop Culture

• Guest Speaker: Andrew Zimmern

• Co-creator and host of Bizarre Foods with Andrew

Zimmern on Travel Channel

• GW Faculty: Clay Warren

• GW Department of Communication

Assignment 11: Food Advertising

• Find a food ad and discuss its properties along

straight (persuasion) or crooked (subconscious)

dimensions.

• Include reasons for why you have come to your

conclusion in your essay.

12. Food Crisis and International Aid

• Guest Speaker: Michael Elliott

• CEO of ONE campaign

• GW Faculty: John Forrer

• GW School of Public Policy and Administration

Assignment 12: Governance Networks

• As a group, interview a member of a governance

network.

• What are the issues facing this organization?

• What are some potential solutions?

• In a governance network you are set up not to

care about yourselves, is that possible?

Make a Change Through Food

Final Project

• This is 50% of your grade

• As a group make a plan to make a difference

through food.

• Put your plan into action.

• Make a video where you explain your project

• Use rule-making proceedings to effect change

• Start a business

• Start a non-profit