Food & Farming Assignment Topics
Online Magazine Pages - each student is responsible for one of these topics.
You will: create an online magazine webpage 1-2 page spread, present your information to the class, identify key information for the class
Marking Guide for this assignment will be posted shortly.
Your page should include/follow these guidelines:
- a clear title (and subtitle in some cases)
- a box with sources of your information
- related pictures (2-5 per page)
- important information summarized in your own words
- full editing of grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization
- 3 new vocabulary - clearly explained
- interesting facts - "did you know"
- make note of any key research or evidence for your topic
- a good layout - clear, easy to follow, relates to topic, good balance of information, vocabulary, pictures
The TOPICS
1. Food/Farming Cover & Vocabulary - Ms. Fell will do this one as a sample page to show standard expected for the assignment
2. Big Changes in Farming over the years - genetically modified crops, cloning, mechanization, irrigation, intensive vs extensive farming, large companies take over, industrial (factory farming), ability to produce "cheap" food
3. New Technology that is being used now for farming - Look at this article
http://farmindustrynews.com/precision-farming/20-technologies-changing-agriculture#slide-0-field_images-45641
4. Genetically Modified Food - what is it, what are the benefits, what are the dangers, what countries have banned it, what countries are the biggest producers of it
5. Recent Issues in Farming (identify and summarize)- change in animal diet, industrial system failures, ammonia to kill bacteria, soil degradation, waste runoff, oil usage, environmental cost, health related concerns, is cheap food good food
6. Fast Food - what is it, when did it come about and why, what the highest selling chains, what are the benefits, what are the dangers, what are the best and worst fast food options for you
7. Organic Food + Whole Foods - what are they, what are the benefits, what are the negatives
8. Factory Farming - what is it, what are the benefits, what are the dangers, what solutions are there to the issues in factory farming
9. Cash Crops - what are they, common examples and the country they are commonly grown in, what are their advantages and disadvantages
10. Super foods + Important Minerals and Vitamins (could be split into 2 topics) - what are they, why are they so good for us, what are some of the most important vitamins/minerals, what foods can we get them in and what is the benefit
11. Life of a farmer: part 1 - in a developing country - duties and roles, how much money they make, the hours they work, technology they use, how prpductive they are
12. Life of a farmer: part 2 - in a developed country - duties and roles, how much money they make, the hours they work, technology they use, how productive they are
13. Preservatives and Food Fillers - what are they, what are common examples, why are they good, why are they bad, what foods are they most used in
14. BSE - mad cow disease - what is it, why did it happen, where did outbreaks occur, what happens to infected humans, are we still at risk today
15. Food Issue: Obesity, Hypertension, Anorexia, Bulimia - what are they, why do they happen, how do you treat it, what solutions are there to these problems
16. Food Issue: Diabetes - what is it, how does it happen, what kind of treatment and cost is there
17. Food Issue: Cancer - what are some of the food/drink based causes, what are ways to lower your risks or chances of it, what are the treatments and costs of it, who typically is affected by it
18. Canadian Food Guide - what is it, what is a balanced meal, what other food guides can you use, what information is the food guide missing
19. The China study- what is the book and study about, what is a plant based diet, what are the results of the study saying
20. The Meat Debate - should we be eating meat: carnivore, vegetarian, omnivore, what benefits are there of eating meat, what negatives are there of eating meat, how has meat changed over the years
21. Corn + Soybean byproducts - what is corn, what is a soybean, what products are they turned into, how much is produced a year, why are they good, why can they be considered bad
22. Processed food - what does this mean, what health dangers are there, who are the largest manufacturers of it, can processed food be healthy
23. Food labels - why should we read them, how do you read them, what are the most common ingredients and where do they come from, what information should be labeled but is not, what advice can you give to help people choose healthy food
24. Environmental impact: soil degradation, water use, clearing trees for farmland, animal runoff, factory waste...
25. Solutions + Suggestions + Advice (the whole class) but Ms. Fell will put together
26. Movies/Books/Television shows about food / farming = Ms. Fell will do
27. Key Figures/People/Companies in food & farming- PETA, Thomas Malthus, Monsanto, Tyson, JBS, Oxfam, FAO, General Mills, Nestle, Coca Cola, Danone
28. Antibiotics and Hormones given to animals - what is the purpose of this, who makes money, is it harmful to our health: why or why not
29. Pesticides and Herbicides - what are they, why are they good, why are they bad, what are the alternatives, biggest companies/most popular brands
30. Vegetarianism and Veganism - what is it, what are the positives, what are the negatives, what are the reasons to choose this lifestyle, do they live longer
31. Protein: what is it, what are the major sources of it, what does it do for our body
32. Benefits of Vegetables + Benefits of Meats (could be split into 2 topics) What benefits does eating vegetables provide for our skin, hair, body, mind etc... What benefits does eating meat provide for our skin, hair, body, mind etc... , what are some of the best vegetables to eat, what are some of the best meats to eat, what do we need to watch out for when eating vegetables or meat
33. Foods to avoid: little nutritional value or dangerous to you - high density sugar, trans fats, salt, what happens if you eat too much of these bad foods
34. Modern Food Issues: Allergies, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Celiac Disease, Food Intolerances - what are these issues, what can be done to help these issues
35. Calories & Daily Diet + Dieting - what is a calorie, how much do we need daily, what are some of the common diets, why can dieting be dangerous, what are the dangers of high density, high calorie foods
36. Energy & Sports drinks - highest sales/most popular, what ingredients are in them, why are they good, why are they bad, what is an alternative to them
You will: create an online magazine webpage 1-2 page spread, present your information to the class, identify key information for the class
Marking Guide for this assignment will be posted shortly.
Your page should include/follow these guidelines:
- a clear title (and subtitle in some cases)
- a box with sources of your information
- related pictures (2-5 per page)
- important information summarized in your own words
- full editing of grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization
- 3 new vocabulary - clearly explained
- interesting facts - "did you know"
- make note of any key research or evidence for your topic
- a good layout - clear, easy to follow, relates to topic, good balance of information, vocabulary, pictures
The TOPICS
1. Food/Farming Cover & Vocabulary - Ms. Fell will do this one as a sample page to show standard expected for the assignment
2. Big Changes in Farming over the years - genetically modified crops, cloning, mechanization, irrigation, intensive vs extensive farming, large companies take over, industrial (factory farming), ability to produce "cheap" food
3. New Technology that is being used now for farming - Look at this article
http://farmindustrynews.com/precision-farming/20-technologies-changing-agriculture#slide-0-field_images-45641
4. Genetically Modified Food - what is it, what are the benefits, what are the dangers, what countries have banned it, what countries are the biggest producers of it
5. Recent Issues in Farming (identify and summarize)- change in animal diet, industrial system failures, ammonia to kill bacteria, soil degradation, waste runoff, oil usage, environmental cost, health related concerns, is cheap food good food
6. Fast Food - what is it, when did it come about and why, what the highest selling chains, what are the benefits, what are the dangers, what are the best and worst fast food options for you
7. Organic Food + Whole Foods - what are they, what are the benefits, what are the negatives
8. Factory Farming - what is it, what are the benefits, what are the dangers, what solutions are there to the issues in factory farming
9. Cash Crops - what are they, common examples and the country they are commonly grown in, what are their advantages and disadvantages
10. Super foods + Important Minerals and Vitamins (could be split into 2 topics) - what are they, why are they so good for us, what are some of the most important vitamins/minerals, what foods can we get them in and what is the benefit
11. Life of a farmer: part 1 - in a developing country - duties and roles, how much money they make, the hours they work, technology they use, how prpductive they are
12. Life of a farmer: part 2 - in a developed country - duties and roles, how much money they make, the hours they work, technology they use, how productive they are
13. Preservatives and Food Fillers - what are they, what are common examples, why are they good, why are they bad, what foods are they most used in
14. BSE - mad cow disease - what is it, why did it happen, where did outbreaks occur, what happens to infected humans, are we still at risk today
15. Food Issue: Obesity, Hypertension, Anorexia, Bulimia - what are they, why do they happen, how do you treat it, what solutions are there to these problems
16. Food Issue: Diabetes - what is it, how does it happen, what kind of treatment and cost is there
17. Food Issue: Cancer - what are some of the food/drink based causes, what are ways to lower your risks or chances of it, what are the treatments and costs of it, who typically is affected by it
18. Canadian Food Guide - what is it, what is a balanced meal, what other food guides can you use, what information is the food guide missing
19. The China study- what is the book and study about, what is a plant based diet, what are the results of the study saying
20. The Meat Debate - should we be eating meat: carnivore, vegetarian, omnivore, what benefits are there of eating meat, what negatives are there of eating meat, how has meat changed over the years
21. Corn + Soybean byproducts - what is corn, what is a soybean, what products are they turned into, how much is produced a year, why are they good, why can they be considered bad
22. Processed food - what does this mean, what health dangers are there, who are the largest manufacturers of it, can processed food be healthy
23. Food labels - why should we read them, how do you read them, what are the most common ingredients and where do they come from, what information should be labeled but is not, what advice can you give to help people choose healthy food
24. Environmental impact: soil degradation, water use, clearing trees for farmland, animal runoff, factory waste...
25. Solutions + Suggestions + Advice (the whole class) but Ms. Fell will put together
26. Movies/Books/Television shows about food / farming = Ms. Fell will do
27. Key Figures/People/Companies in food & farming- PETA, Thomas Malthus, Monsanto, Tyson, JBS, Oxfam, FAO, General Mills, Nestle, Coca Cola, Danone
28. Antibiotics and Hormones given to animals - what is the purpose of this, who makes money, is it harmful to our health: why or why not
29. Pesticides and Herbicides - what are they, why are they good, why are they bad, what are the alternatives, biggest companies/most popular brands
30. Vegetarianism and Veganism - what is it, what are the positives, what are the negatives, what are the reasons to choose this lifestyle, do they live longer
31. Protein: what is it, what are the major sources of it, what does it do for our body
32. Benefits of Vegetables + Benefits of Meats (could be split into 2 topics) What benefits does eating vegetables provide for our skin, hair, body, mind etc... What benefits does eating meat provide for our skin, hair, body, mind etc... , what are some of the best vegetables to eat, what are some of the best meats to eat, what do we need to watch out for when eating vegetables or meat
33. Foods to avoid: little nutritional value or dangerous to you - high density sugar, trans fats, salt, what happens if you eat too much of these bad foods
34. Modern Food Issues: Allergies, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Celiac Disease, Food Intolerances - what are these issues, what can be done to help these issues
35. Calories & Daily Diet + Dieting - what is a calorie, how much do we need daily, what are some of the common diets, why can dieting be dangerous, what are the dangers of high density, high calorie foods
36. Energy & Sports drinks - highest sales/most popular, what ingredients are in them, why are they good, why are they bad, what is an alternative to them