Philosophy of Food

General Resources

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Diet Review and Improvement -- These assignments give you an opportunity to learn more about your own diet and consider the effects of specific changes you might try in to your diet.

Examples:
Use an online diet tracking site to create a "baseline" analysis of your diet.
Try small changes your diet by eliminating industrial processed food, not eating between meals, and reducing refined carbohydrates. Use a journal to track your experience of these changes.
In light of your study of nutrition, make a nutritional analysis of your diet and consider improvements.

Food System Research & Food Activism -- Research a specific aspect of food production and distribution in your local food system. A research focus involves documenting the issue and giving your analysis of it, whereas an activism focus may involve trying to promote positive change. Here are a few examples:

Visit a local supplier of organic foods or a local producer of industrial foods. Integrate relevant course issues into your analysis and reflection on your visit.

Examples: Visit Pure Eiyre Dairy in Othello, which touts its humane and organic methods. Sample their products, comparing them to industrial equivalents. http://www.pureeiredairy.com .
Try to visit Snyder's bread factory and then one of the artisan bakers in town: Common Crumb, Luna (Boosie's), Petite Chat. Assess one or more restaurant menus in terms of nutrition, sourcing, or gastronomy.
Visit a local organic ranch or farm to gain insight into their values and challenges. What are the economics of such an enterprise.
Food security -- Learn about the food distribution systems that supply food banks, community food pantries, and free meals. Where does the food come from? Who uses or depends upon this food system? How well does it work to provide food security?

Food movie and book groups -- Get together with other students or work on your own to deepen your understanding of an additional book or movie source on food. Choose journals and/or class reporting as part of this assignment.

Catching Fire Richard Wrangham -- This book by a leading medical anthropologist has been widely discussed and referenced in the last year. It brings together a fascinating literature on the effects of cooking on human evolution.
The Good Gut Justin and Erica Sonnenburg -- This microbiology couple at Stanford contributed this volume to the current discussion gut bacterial" or your microbiome.
Mindful Eating Jan Chozen Bays -- In this work, the author, a medical doctor, explores the ways that becoming a more mindful eater can improve your awareness of the importance of eating, your diet, control of appetite, and enjoyment of food.
In Meat We Trust Maureen Ogle -- Historians will like this story of the US cultural and dietary relationship with meat.
Philosophers at Table Raymond Boisvert and Lisa Heldke -- A recent work in philosophy on the nature of food and being human.

Short Term Research - Many of the issues and topics we discuss are in flux due to emerging research and changes in food production and consumption. Here are some suggested topics for further research.

What are the alternatives to "culling" of male layers or treatment of male calves at dairy operations?
Can we breed animals "back" to conditions prior to the distorted breeding programs of industrial agriculture?

David Kalplan's U of North Texas Philosophy of Food bibliography: [3]

Marler Clark -- [4]

Fasting -- Mark Mattson: Why fasting bolsters brain power. [5]

Functional Medicine Site: [6]

The Newbeats, "Bread and Butter" 1964 [7] Nancy Walker, "I Can Cook, Too!" [8]