Food Studies Commons^™

Full Circle: Building A Local Economy Through Pollinator Enterprises In The Food System, Catherine M. Demets

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

As the alternative food movement gains traction in mainstream American society, it is essential to document how enterprises in the movement are building robust local economies. As Eric Holt-Giménez (2010: 1) points out, the movement “has successfully shone the spotlight on hunger and food access in the US, created a drive for more local food, and gotten better policy from the federal to the local level,” yet no assurance exists that our society’s interest in food issues is not a passing fad. Rather, we should ask: “how do we turn initial reforms into lasting food system transformation?” (Holt-Giménez 2010: 1). …

Spatial And Temporal Changes In Halal Food Sales And Consumption A Case Study Of The City Of Dearborn, Michigan, Sam Roodbar

Masters Theses

With a population of 3.2 million and growing in the US, Arab Americans are an integral part of the economy and culture of the United States and the world. The southeast portion of the state of Michigan is home to more than 300,000 Arab Americans. One of the main agents of cultural maintenance and support for the Arab American community are their ethnic food traditions, specifically Halal food. Since the introduction of Halal food in the United States, the sales and consumption of Halal products has increased immensely. This research seeks to answer four related questions focused on the entrance …

Not So Bizarre Foods: Exploring The Historical And Cultural Traditions Behind The Foods Of France, Germany, And Italy, Kari Pederson Behrends

Capstone Collection

Not So Bizarre Foods is a summer-term program designed for upper-level Culinary Arts students from Johnson and Wales University, Providence. Unlike other programs serving students in the Culinary Arts, this unique model includes multiple locations and an internship. The proposed program features three month-long modules based in Lyon, France; Munich, Germany; and Naples, Italy allow for comparison across locations. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of Kolb, Vygotsky, and Mezirow, the experiential, transformative curricular design combines an academic seminar, a practical seminar, and an internship placement, emphasizing the interplay between history, culture, and culinary tradition, a concept inspired by the popular …

Gender And Food Access In Adams County: Food Provisioning, Identity Formation, And Survival, Emma E. Korowotny

Student Publications

This project analyzes food access issues in Adams County, specifically within the setting of South Central Community Action Programs and the Gleaning Project through the collection of individual testimonies. Budget, time, transportation, health, and household composition emerged as common themes that affect food access within this rural community and limit choice and agency, and also serve as a major influence in the process of food provisioning and identity formation, especially in terms of motherhood, parenting, and caregiving. In most cases, due to these systemic shortcomings, individuals and families navigated multiple solutions to these challenges in order to sustain themselves and …

No. 14: The Impact Of Proximity To Wet Markets And Supermarkets On Household Dietary Diversity In Nanjing City, China, Taiyang Zhong, Zhenzhong Si, Jonathan Crush, Zhiying Zu, Xianjin Huang, Steffanie Scott, Shuangshuang Tang, Xiang Zhang

Hungry Cities Partnership

Existing studies suggest that despite the proliferation of supermarkets, traditional wet markets have persisted in many countries and have been playing an important role in people’s daily food access. Yet, studies investigating the issue of food access and its influences on food security have mainly focused on food deserts and the proximity to supermarkets, with limited focus on wet markets and other food outlets. This study investigates the influence of the proximity to wet markets and supermarkets on urban household dietary diversity in Nanjing. Based on the data collected through a citywide survey in 2015 and the map data of …

No. 09: The State Of Household Food Security In Nanjing, China, Zhenzhong Si, Taiyang Zhong

Hungry Cities Partnership

This report on the state of food security in Nanjing, China, is based on a 2015 city-wide survey conducted by Nanjing University and the Hungry Cities Partnership. The research found that most of the city’s residents are food secure, with access to desirable foods and high dietary diversity throughout the year. Nanjing has a high level of economic development, low unemployment, and spatially dense food supply networks. However, a high average level of food security obscures the finding that about one household in five is food insecure according to the Household Food Insecurity Access Prevalence indicator. Female-centred households, households that …

No. 10: The State Of Household Food Security In Maputo, Mozambique, Inês Raimundo, Cameron Mccordic, Abel Chikanda

Hungry Cities Partnership

The Hungry Cities Partnership aims to promote inclusive growth in urban food systems in Maputo and other cities of the Global South. The production of new empirical knowledge about the levels of household food security and the various facets of the urban food system is a core component of this effort. This report presents and analyses findings from a city-wide survey of 2,071 households that found that most Maputo households are food insecure and that more than a third can be categorized as severely food insecure. Dietary diversity in the city is extremely low and almost half of households had …

No. 13: The State Of Household Food Security In Mexico City, Mexico, Guénola Capron, Salomón Gonzalez Arellano, Jeremy Wagner, Cameron Mccordic

Hungry Cities Partnership

This report presents and analyzes the findings of a household food security survey conducted by Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana as part of the Hungry Cities Partnership in Mexico City from January 10-19, 2016. It is a supplement to HCP Report No. 7: The Urban Food System of Mexico City, Mexico (Capron et al 2017). HCP Report No. 7 discusses the history, demography and economy of Mexico City, and contains an overview of the existing literature on its changing food system. This report provides a foundation for future research of Mexico City’s food system, its food security and informal sector. It also …

No. 12: The State Of Household Food Security In Cape Town, South Africa, Jonathan Crush, Mary Caesar, Gareth Haysom

Hungry Cities Partnership

This research report presents and analyzes the findings of a household food secu-rity survey conducted in the City of Cape Town, South Africa, by the Hun-gry Cities Partnership (HCP) and the African Food Security Urban Network (AFSUN) in 2013 and 2014. It is a supplement to, and should be read in con-junction with, AFSUN Urban Food Series No. 11: The State of Urban Food Insecurity in Cape Town (Battersby 2011) and HCP Report No. 3: The Urban Food System of Cape Town, South Africa (Crush et al 2017).

The AFSUN report examines the results of a food security survey conducted …

No. 15: The Food Security Implications Of Gendered Access To Education And Employment In Maputo, Cameron Mccordic, Liam Riley, Inês Raimundo

Hungry Cities Partnership

The multiple linkages between gender and household food security in cities have been observed in diverse settings, at multiple scales, and through a variety of disciplinary lenses. The Hungry Cities Partnership is rooted in the importance of inclusive growth of cities, which includes a fundamental concern with genderbased injustices that reduce inclusivity, sustainability and food security by underpinning structural poverty. This discussion paper is motivated by the gap in policy-ready quantitative data needed to identify the ways in which gender inequality, food insecurity, and public policy are interconnected. Analysis of the 2014 survey of household food security in Maputo identified …

No. 22: Predictors Of Household Food Insecurity In Maputo And Matola, Mozambique, Cameron Mccordic, Ezequiel Abrahamo

Hungry Cities Partnership

The rapid growth of Maputo and Matola (neighbouring cities in Southern Mozambique) has dramatically changed each city’s demographic and food insecurity profile. Previous research in Maputo indicates that household access to infrastructure plays an important role in determining vulnerability to food insecurity. This paper investigates (a) whether this relationship is also true of Matola and (b) whether the demographic composition of households plays a role in defining vulnerability to food insecurity in either city. Using household survey data collected by HCP in 2014 in Maputo and Matola, the paper demonstrates that inconsistent access to water, electricity, medical care, cooking fuel …

No. 13: The Growth Of Food Banking In Cities Of The Global South, Daniel N. Warshawsky

Hungry Cities Partnership

As the number and size of food banks increase globally, it is critical to research how food banks fit into existing food systems and their role in reducing food insecurity and food waste. After examining the political ecology of urban food waste in food systems, this discussion paper examines the globalization of food banking and its growth in the Global South. Through a case study of FoodForward SA, it critically analyzes the roles that urban food banks play in cities of the Global South. Since many countries in the South have both the highest levels of food insecurity and the …

No. 11: The State Of Household Food Security In Nairobi, Kenya, Samuel Owuor

Hungry Cities Partnership

This report presents the results of a city-wide household food security survey of 1,434 Nairobi households, conducted by the Hungry Cities Partnership and the University of Nairobi. Among the key findings was that 70% of households in Kenya’s capital experience food insecurity, with one-quarter severely food insecure. As the first city-wide survey of household food security in Nairobi, this report provides researchers and policy-makers with detailed data and information about the overall food security picture, as well as important insights into the operation of the city’s food system. In particular, the report demonstrates the vital importance of Nairobi’s food markets …

No. 08: The Urban Food System Of Windhoek, Namibia, Ndeyapo Nickanor, Lawrence Kazembe, Jonathan Crush, Jeremy Wagner

Hungry Cities Partnership

The surprisingly high rate of supermarket patronage in low-income areas of Windhoek, Namibia’s capital and largest city, is at odds with conventional wisdom that supermarkets in African cities are primarily patronized by middle and high-income residents and therefore target their neighbourhoods. What is happening in Namibia and other Southern African countries that make supermarkets so much more accessible to the urban poor? What are they buying at supermarkets and how frequently do they shop there? Further, what is the impact of supermarket expansion on informal food vendors? This report, which presents the findings of the South African Supermarkets in Growing …

Cacao Together: A Model For True Sustainability In The Chocolate Industry, Kerstin Roos

Capstone Collection

This Course Linked Capstone provides a critical analysis of the concept of sustainable development and then uses this analysis to create a social venture plan for a non-profit called Cacao Together. This capstone project will identify challenges in the sustainable use of cacao by first critiquing the mainstream sustainable development initiatives of certification schemes and corporate sustainability programs. It then offers an alternate framework through the 5 Capital Livelihood assessment tool which when applied, shows the gaps in cacao sustainability initiatives generally. I then propose a social venture that will addresses the needs of many parts of the chocolate supply …

What's So Great About The Alternative? Understanding Motivations For Participating In Humboldt County Alternative Food Networks, Jessica Smith

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Participation in alternative food networks such as farmer’s markets, community supported agriculture (CSA), and community gardens has become an increasingly popular way to express opposition to the current industrial food system. Food justice scholars often criticize alternative food networks for operating within a neoliberal economic framework and suggest that structural inequalities within the food system are not able to be addressed by alternative food networks in the same way they are through food justice or food sovereignty. The goal of this research is to discover individual motivation behind participation in local alternative food networks in Humboldt County. I am curious …

“We’Re Being Left To Blight”: Green Urban Development And Racialized Space In Kansas City, Chhaya Kolavalli

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

In this dissertation, I explore ‘green’ urban development and urban agriculture projects from the perspective of residents of an African American majority neighborhood in Kansas City—who reside in an area referred to as a ‘blighted food desert’ by local policy makers. In Kansas City, extensive city government support exists for urban agricultural projects, which are touted not just as a solution to poverty associated issues such food insecurity and obesity, but also as a remedy for ‘blight,’ violence and crime, and vacant urban land. Specific narratives of Kansas City’s past are used to prop up and legitimate these future visions …

The Chinese Cultural Influence On Filipino Cuisine, Brandon Chase Lantrip

Master's Theses

This paper illustrates the impact of the Chinese cultural influence upon the Philippines with the primary focus being on Filipino cuisine. It examines how the Chinese cultural influence not only contributed to the development of Filipino cuisine, but how Chinese culture has also influenced the everyday life and culture of the Philippines through language and customary practices for over a millennium. The first section of the paper analyzes the cultural connection between China and the Philippines. The second section illustrates the Chinese language influence and it’s effect upon Filipino cuisine and culture. The third section explores the contested origins of …

No. 12: Compounding Vulnerability: A Model Of Urban Household Food Security, Cameron Mccordic

Hungry Cities Partnership

The efficiency of the infrastructure systems in cities will define the extent to which dystopic visions of urban futures become a reality. At the level of the individual household, vulnerability to hazards in cities is defined, in part, by the ability to access essential resources and services. This discussion paper proposes a model to help explain the relationship between access to urban infrastructure systems and household vulnerability to food insecurity. Food access in cities is primarily achieved through food purchases, where households convert assets into food at retail locations. When a household falls into food insecurity through trading household assets …

No. 11: Urban Food Security, Rural Bias And The Global Development Agenda, Jonathan Crush, Liam Riley

Hungry Cities Partnership

This discussion paper sets out the global, African, and South African contexts within which both urban development and food security agendas in Africa are framed. It argues that the pervasive rural bias and anti-urbanism identified in the international and regional food security agendas in the first decade of the 21st century have persisted into the second. In examining whether the last decade has brought any significant changes to the dominant discourse and its accompanying sidelining of urbanization and urban food security in policy debate and formulation, the authors find that there are promising signs for cracks in the edifice but …

Addressing Racism In Urban Agriculture: The Case For An Urban Agriculture Land Trust In Bridgeport, Connecticut, Chelsea Gazillo

Capstone Collection

Cities across the United States have started to adopt urban agriculture zoning ordinances which provide access to land and encourage food production in low-income black and brown communities. However, many cities fail to use an anti-racist lens in the creation and implementation of these policies. According to scholars and activists, anti-racist practices in urban agriculture zoning require that first, community organizations and policy makers co-create policy with black and brown communities and second, develop secure land tenure arrangements for urban agriculture. In this case study of the development of an urban agriculture zoning ordinance by the Bridgeport Connecticut Food Policy …

Why Are We Willing To Pay S$20 For A Bowl Of Ramen But Not Bak Chor Mee?, Margaret Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Earlier this month, Singapore’s Hill Street Tai Wah Bak Chor Mee emerged first in the annual Top 50 World Street Food Masters list, making it the second time the hawker has been lauded internationally; it was one of two hawkers here to be awarded a Michelin Star earlier. Out of the top 50 in the World Street Food Masters list, 14 were Singapore hawkers. It says something about the high standards of our hawker fare in Singapore. Yet, Singaporeans are a spoilt lot when it comes to food, and the people we take most for granted are hawkers.

The Donation-Based Approach To Solving Critical Social Issues: An Examination Of The Food Waste Recovery Approach To Solving Hunger In The United States, Desa Radic

Capstone Collection

As the issue of hunger continues to plague the lives of nearly 1 billion people around the world, we need to find real, lasting and empowering solutions. This is an interdisciplinary research study into the donation-based approach to solving critical social issues in the United States by examining the food waste recovery and hunger debate. Social, public and private sectors advocate that hunger can be solved through food waste recovery and redistribution methods. From a systems perspective, such thinking is not only problematic for the people facing hunger, but raises concern of achieving overall social justice and change. Using qualitative …

Food For Thought: Analyzing The Impacts Of Livestock Factory Farming In The United States, Mallory Russo

Student Theses 2015-Present

The practice of large scale factory farming in the United States has raised moral and ethical questions since its establishment in the mid twentieth century. Though a relatively modern development in the field of agribusiness, factory farming has already accounted for drastic damage to both public and environmental health. Factory farming requires the unsustainable use of resources, gives off toxic waste, and poses a serious threat to public health. This paper aims the further analyze those damages, as well as investigate the lack of transparency and political corruption carried out by factory farm industry leaders. Major factory farming companies have …

Divine Intervention: Designed For Social Evolution By Integrating Natural Order, Anatoshia L. Wyatt

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

There is a long tradition in architecture of using ordering systems found in nature and science to create built space. This thesis builds upon such line of thought to propose new design methods based on ordering systems with a particular focus on social relations. It focuses on the design of a community center in the city of Atlanta which is considered as a catalyst for jumpstarting the betterment of society through improvement of social bonds, community involvement, activism, meditation, and the integration of nature in the community. The design is situated on the Bellwood Quarry site and creates an ecological …

The Passage Of The 2016 Ballot Question #3 In Massachusetts And Its Implications, Hannah Silverfine

Sustainability and Social Justice

In the 2016 Massachusetts primary election, ballot question #3, “Massachusetts Minimum Size Requirements for Farm Animal Containment”, aimed to improve welfare standards for cows raised for veal, female sows confined to gestation crates, and chickens caged for eggs. This study seeks to analyze the complex relationship between local and national food systems, and articulate the multi-level implications of Question 3. Research examines the rationale behind voting, campaign narratives, and campaign financing in Massachusetts, and ultimately compares the implications of Question 3 with those of California’s 2008 Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. The lenses of animal geographies and the political …

No. 10: The Hungry Cities Food Purchases Matrix: A Measure Of Urban Household Food Security And Food System Interactions, Jonathan Crush, Cameron Mccordic

Hungry Cities Partnership

Recent theoretical work has suggested that urban food security is the result of food system interactions. This work highlights the challenge of assessing household-level food insecurity and relating it to the broader food system. One priority is to develop food security metrics that incorporate household interactions with the food system retail environment. The Hungry Cities Food Purchases Matrix (HCFPM) is one such metric that has been developed for situating household food sourcing behaviour within the urban food system. The matrix has been successfully administered in a number of cities in the Global South by the Hungry Cities Partnership. This paper …

"Transnational" Eating: The Food Culture Of Dominican Immigrants In Ri, Vanessa Garcia Polanco

Senior Honors Projects

Food, as an universal topic that transcends borders, times, and places, is a pathway towards understanding a group's transnational and local identity (Mares). Food culture as it refers to the practices, attitudes, and beliefs as well as the networks and institutions surrounding the production, distribution, and consumption of food provides fundamental understanding of a group (Long).Sociologists defined “transnationalism” as the process by which immigrants build social fields that link together their country of origin and their country of settlement (Glick Schiller et al. 1992:1). At the same time, migration flows influence the local context structure and the impacts of global …

Vulnerability And Resilience: The Farmers Of Sagara Village, Nick Olkovsky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agriculture is a large part of the economy and society of Tanzania, equating to 28% of the country’s GDP. Up to 80% of these farms are owned and worked by 19 million smallholder agriculturalists (FAO, 2015). Smallholder farmers are an inherently vulnerable demographic, due to their high reliance on agriculture for food and income in addition to their limited financial, technological, and labor resources (Morton, 2007). Simultaneously, these farmers are often uniquely adapted for the challenges they face, having developed strategies of addressing and mitigating risks over many generations. This study investigates the adaptative capacity of smallholder farmers in Sagara …

Supermarket Savvy: An Analysis Of Psychological Exploitation Within Grocery Stores, Calvin Brinkworth

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As obesity rates continue to climb around the world, an increased effort is needed to explore all means of prevention and intervention. Although previous research has examined the effectiveness of strategies like nutritional education, little research has been conducted surrounding the interplay of psychology and marketing within the context of grocery stores. As such, this paper examines the presence of psychological manipulation within grocery stores and the influence is has upon product choice, and ultimately consumption. Several key variables have been taken into account for this analysis, including store layout, location, product placement, packaging, and others, to provide a holistic …