Food System Project

Assignment Descriptions
The information below outlines all the assignments required for this course. Most of this
information is available within the modules as well.
Your Food System Project
This assignment will encourage students to explore and critically analyze issues in the food
system using the lens of one food product. The assignment includes three stages that will require
each student to work individually and with a group (up to 5 members).
Part 1 – Group Proposal (10% of the final grade)
As a group, students will explore a food item at various stages of the food supply chain or food
system.
Follow the steps below to sign up to a group.
Selecting a food item and forming a group
You are required to self-enroll in a group for two of the required assignments – the Group
Proposal and the Group Presentation. Your instructor will create groups in D2L under the
category titled ‘Food System Project’.
• Selecting a food item: Each group is labeled with a different food item. Sign up to the
item you wish to explore in more detail. This will be the food item that you will explore
in more detail in the Group Proposal, Individual Paper, and the Group Presentation.
If there is a food item you are interested in as a group, but it is not listed, please contact
your instructor and propose the new food item.
• Group enrolment: You will be required to self-enroll in a group on D2L. To enroll in a
group, go to ‘Communication’ in the navigation bar and then ‘Groups’. When viewing
the ‘Groups’ table, you will find a list of food items (each food item represents one
group) and you will see how many members have already enrolled in each group. The
group limit is 5 people. To select a group – click select and confirm your enrollment in
the group. Once you enter a group, you will be able to view the related assignments and
discussions associated with the group. You can use the group discussions to contact your
group members. You can also email your group members using the email icon. When you
email your group this way, the emails will remain anonymous and will not be displayed.
You have to ask fellow group members to share their email.
You can find more information about groups in D2L here:
https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/students/tutorials/groups/
The deadline to enroll in a group is by Friday of Week 3 at 11:59 pm EST. If you do not sign
up by that time, you will automatically be placed in a group. However, you are encouraged to
sign up to a group as soon as possible. This will ensure you have sufficient time to communicate
with your group and submit a good quality proposal.
By default, users cannot self-enroll in more than one group. If you want to change groups, you
must leave a group first and then sign up to a new group. Leaving and changing groups is not
permitted after the end of week 3.
Completing the “Group Proposal”
Review the document titled ‘Group Proposal Template’. You will find this document on D2L
under ‘Assignments’. The document outlines specific instructions for the proposal and provides a
template of what you are required to submit as the Group Proposal. The group proposal forms
the basis of the next stages of the assignment – the individual paper and the group presentation.
In completing the template, each student will focus on one stage of the food system for the
food item, such as production, processing, or environmental, political, or cultural aspects of the
food item. Please ensure each group member focuses on a different stage of the food system
for the food item. Aim to minimize overlap between topics. There are many topics you can
consider under each stage of the food system. Develop a focused topic. A more focused topic
will allow you to explore an issue more rigorously and more thoroughly. To do this, narrow
the scope of your topic. For example, pesticide use of coffee production, corporate
concentration in the production of coffee, the environmental impacts of coffee pods or the
impacts of fair trade on small coffee producers. These are all good examples of a focused
topic.
Criteria Description
Required
Elements
All required components are completed
Organization Presents relevant information in the table that relate to the stages of the food
system and the thesis statements.
Thesis
statements
Thesis statements are clear and concise. Each student in the group is to
provide a thesis statement for their proposed topic. The topic is to relate to the
food item and take a sociological perspective.
References Includes a list of relevant, scholarly sources. A minimum of 5 sources in total
at this stage (or the number of students in your group). Any additional non-
scholarly sources used to research the proposal, such as web sources and news
items are also to be listed.
Although each group member is responsible for a different stage of the food system, you are
welcome to share and use the same sources for your papers and identify themes that connect
between your various topics. Ensure that the sources are relevant for your topic.
Do not underestimate the significance of the proposal. Use the proposal to ensure your topic is
well researched and that this is something you are interested in. The goal of the proposal is to
illustrate to the instructor that you have begun researching your topic and that you have a good
idea of what your individual paper will focus on. Developing a good group proposal will save
you a lot of time in writing your paper and developing the group presentation.
Coordination with your group for this work can be done in multiple ways. There are numerous
social media platforms as well as D2L that will allow you to communicate with your group
members online. As a group, you are responsible to communicate and collaborate with one
another in a fair and just manner.
Submission: The deadline to sign up to a group is by the end of week 3. Submit your completed
proposal as a group to the D2L assignment link titled “Group Proposal” by 11:59 pm EST on
Friday of Week 4. Only one submission is required per group. Do NOT email your submissions.
Emailed assignments will not be marked.
Part 2 – Individual Report (20% of the final grade)
Individually, each student will be responsible for writing a report about one food system issue
related to their food item.
Write a 1500-word report that outlines and analyzes one of the issues from your proposal. This
is to be completed independently. Each paper topic should be unique. It is not sufficient to
simply describe the stage of the food system or food chain. For example, it is not sufficient to
simply describe how coffee is produced or processed. You will find that each stage of the food
system/food supply chain will have any number of sub-issues. Think about the social
implications of each topic. Think about: Who are the winners and losers during the production
of the food item? Who holds the power in the processing of your item? What knowledges are
considered most important and valuable during the promotion or marketing of your food item?
As in the proposal, each group member is to select one stage of the food system/food supply
chain, focus on a specific topic within that stage of the food system and write an analytical
paper about it, on their own. Avoid overlap of topics between group members. Each group
member should have a different topic. This way, each student can contribute new and unique
knowledge to the group presentation. The goal is for each of you to contribute to an overall “big
picture” of the food system for the food item you are researching.
Content and style requirements: The writing of an assignment from a sociological perspective
requires the primary use of scholarly sources, such as scholarly journals, or books. The report
should be approximately 1,500 words (+/-) 50 words. The abstract is included in this word count.
This word count does NOT include the title page or bibliography. Please use the format in the
chart below to structure your paper. Use Times New Roman, 12-point font size, and double line
spacing. You are required to include a full reference list of all materials used in the paper.
• Sources of Evidence: At least four scholarly sources (peer-reviewed) journals, book
chapters or books, plus the required textbook (Koc, Sumner, & Winson, 2021) are
included (for a minimum of five references). There is a list of suitable sources in Chapter
1 of the text on page 13. The list on page 13 includes examples of suitable sources. These
are examples of academic, peer reviewed scholarly sources. Feel free to use other
scholarly and peer reviewed sources. You are not limited to that list.
• Currency and quality: Sources are carefully selected, with attention to timeliness and
relevance.
• Application and Relevance: Research is appropriate and relevant for the assignment topic
and sufficiently integrated into the analysis.
• Non-scholarly Sources: In addition to scholarly sources, you may include other relevant
sources from media or web sources to highlight current discourse on the topic. Analysis
provides context for why these sources are relevant, and how they relate to the research
presented. See note below.
• Follow APA guidelines for citation format (APA 7th edition preferred) – see Ryerson
University Library’s Citation Guide.
In addition to sociological sources, you may require other data, such as government data from
Statistics Canada, Health Canada, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-
FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), or other reputable sources such as Food Secure
Canada (FSC) to provide a rationale for your argument. If you are providing any context for your
paper from news sources, please note that these are NOT scholarly sources and will NOT count
towards your minimum required number of scholarly sources. For example:
• Newspaper articles (Toronto Star, The National Post, Huffington Post, etc.)
• Magazine articles (Macleans, Newsweek, The Economist)
• Encyclopedia reference (including Wikipedia)
• Dictionary references
• Non-scholarly websites, blogs, etc.
The content in the online modules is NOT to be used as a source of reference for your paper.
Any issue raised in the module must refer to the original scholarly source(s) upon which it was
based.
Criteria Description
Abstract The abstract provides a 150-word synopsis of your paper and has the
following elements:
• 1–2 sentences on the central issue and context
• The abstract is on the main points of the analysis
• 1–2 sentences on key conclusions
Introduction The essay introduction provides brief context for your topic. It should
include your thesis statement and an overview of the essay’s structure.
Background In this section you can provide background information about your food
item and your stage of the food system or supply chain. You can outline
why this topic is important. You can also outline a few major debates
that are currently taking place regarding your topic. This will help the
reader situate your topic within a broader body of literature. You are
welcome to incorporate relevant course content here as well.
Analysis/Discussion In this section, please focus on providing evidence in support of your
thesis statement or argument. Please ensure that your analysis
incorporates scholarly sociological (and/or food studies) literature. Your
writing should clearly incorporate several key themes or concepts from
the course in a way that demonstrates a solid understanding. You will be
required to think critically and assess how this content supports your
thesis statement.
• Use a critical approach. Critical analysis focuses on the source
nature and consequences of power relationships. Critical
sociologists who study food raise questions such as how
differential access to land, resources, and healthy food affects
human health and how the environment is affected. They also
emphasize how social institutions and popular beliefs can resist or
reinforce the existing distribution of power and of resources.
• Both direct quotes and an author’s ideas must be referenced in
your paper script using in-text citations (APA style). Do not use
more than 10% of the word count as direct quotes.
Conclusion Your conclusion should clearly link to the opening remarks from your
introduction. It should provide a brief summary and highlight significant
points from your analysis. It is not a section of the paper to introduce
new evidence and analysis.
Writing Style • Your paper is to be organized as outlined above and presented in a
coherent style.
• Your analysis is to be clearly written and free of grammatical and
spelling mistakes.
• Proper referencing style (APA) for citations is required.
See Ryerson University Library’s Citation Guide for support on
using APA.
Submission: Submit your report to the D2L assignment link titled “Individual Report”. No hard copies or email submissions will be accepted.
Note: You will not be required to share your paper with your group members, but you are
encouraged to share your abstracts with your team as you prepare your final presentation.
Part 3 – Group Presentation (20% of the final grade)
As a group, students will develop a presentation that provides a critical analysis of the food
system using what they have learned in their individual reports. As a group, you will develop a 5
– 10 minute presentation about your food item, highlighting key issues from your written report.
Content: By this time, you have all researched and written individual reports about different
stages of the supply chain/food system of a specific food item. In the group presentation you
will put all that knowledge together and present a broader story about the food item.
In the presentation:
• Provide relevant background information about the food item and present some of the
key social issues associated with that food item.
• Work together to share and synthesize information to create a holistic and fluid
presentation that is interesting and engaging. Avoid simply having each group member
present their piece separately. Work on the presentation together as a group by sharing
and exchanging information and helping each other develop a cohesive representation of
the food item. Avoid reading from your paper, it will not make for an engaging
presentation. Find connections or common themes between the different stages of the
supply chain/food system and demonstrate the significance and implications of those
connections.
• The style and content of the presentation should be at a level that would be informative
and engaging for your peers in the class. That is, your audience has a general familiarity
with the issues, but your task is to provide a detailed and critical presentation of the
issues that occur along the food chain for your food item.
Format: You have the freedom to present your research in various digital formats. You can use
slide presentation software (e.g., PowerPoint, Google Slides, Canva, Powtoon, Animaker) with
your voice recorded over it, or you can make a short movie. The digital presentation must have
a vocal component. Not every group member has to speak in the presentation, but all students
must contribute equally to the development of the presentation. Presentations can take various
tones. You can make the presentation humorous or serious. You can create a mock news
broadcast, a commercial or a public survey announcement. Creativity in format is encouraged.
The presentations are to be 5-10 minutes long. There is no written component to this
assignment, nor will it be presented to the rest of the class.
Criteria Description
Required Elements Length, every student’s stage of the food system/supply chain is
included
Creativity Presentation is engaging and is presented in a style engaging to a
peer audience
Organization Presents and synthesizes key issues on the topic from student
reports in a cohesive manner
Critical Thinking and
Analysis
Demonstrates critical thinking and analysis of issues relevant to the
food system
Submission: The presentation must be recorded and a URL link to the presentation (ex. a
YouTube link or a Zoom/Google Meet recording) must be submitted to the D2L assignment
link. Include a list of all your group members with your submission. You can create a word
document with the link to submit to the dropbox (D2L only accepts files for submission, not
links). Since you are creating a URL link, please account for the possibility of technical issues
and the time that videos take to upload as a URL. This can sometimes take several hours
depending on the format and size of the video.Please ensure your link works prior to
submission. This is your responsibility.
Do NOT submit presentations via email. Assignments will not be marked if sent via email.
Submit a link to your group’s pre-recorded presentation (e.g., a narrated PowerPoint, a
Zoom/GoogleMeet recording, or a YouTube video) to the D2L assignment link titled