Public Affairs 5890: U.S. Food Policy

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This is a sample syllabus to provide general information about the course and it's requirements. Course requirements are subject to change. This syllabus does not contain all assignment or course detail and currently enrolled students should reference the syllabus provided by their instructor. For a specific syllabus, please email us a request.

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Course Overview

3 Credit Hour
Modalities Available: In-Person

An examination of national food affairs; the policy and practice of food. The approach is to introduce institutions, tools and topics. The numerous federal public agencies such as the FDA, USDA, CDC and others are described. Common policy tools such as information-based, process versus performance standards, and interactions with market-based public-private partnerships will be placed within their motivating theory and discussed in a supply-chain context. Attention will focus on contemporary policy topics including; food insecurity, health claims, taxes and obesity, novel ingredients and processing techniques, access, sustainability, consolidation, food advertising, and foodborne illness.

Learning Outcomes

Identify the range of institutions which target modern-day food policy issues.
Evaluate the use of policy tools to address social, economic and environmental aspects of food.
Track the development of key federal food policy topics, such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Farm Bill and Food Safety Modernization Act.
Conduct independent in-depth work to enhance research and communication skills.

Requirements and Expectations

A text book may be required for this course. Consult your instructor's syllabus for details.

Get to Know Me – video introduction, 2%
Discussion Posts (at least 8 over the semester), 8%
Journal article presentation (10%) and critique (10%), 20%
Exam (take home/open book), 40%
Final paper, 30%

In part to practice for the exam, in part to share with your peers and benefit from our varied backgrounds and perspectives, and in part to stay engaged throughout the semester post at least 8 times during the semester for a total of 8 points. These can be a direct answer to the question/prompt or a reaction to another's post. These should be about 100 words and include references/resources - evidence based. Post by 5pm Friday each week.

This assignment is designed to get you critically evaluating research about a contemporary US food policy issue, understanding the theory (tool) upon which the policy is based and the institutions involved. It is also intended to have you read articles in a key academic journal to start your final paper. Select a recent (2010 on) article from the journal Food Policy and post the pdf to allow others to review. Prepare a summary and presentation of the institution, tool and topic -- approximately 1,000 words and 4 slides of a presentation. You will lead a Q&A discussion in class about what you have learned from the paper, its limitations and where else this approach may be used. You should choose a topic that you will focus on in your final paper so you can include this discussion as part of your literature review.

Presentation

10% of your grade
- Non-verbal communication, 1 point
- Clarity of communication, 2 points
- Timing, 1 point
- Content, 3 points
- Q&A, 3 points
- Total: 10 points
5 minutes of presentation + 2 minutes Q&A

Critique

10% of your grade
Summarize the article being clear to describe the topic, institutions and policy tool(s)
Where else might the approach be useful?

Select a contemporary US food policy topic and describe the evolution of institutions and tools over time through a review of the literature.

Be clear about what problem(s) the policy is trying to solve.
Include data that describes the policy environment – how big of a problem is this? For whom?
Review previous studies that assess policy tools for this topic.
Recommend a new policy or changes to the existing policy.