ASU Food Systems Issues Critical Examination

Final Paper: Structured Abstract AssignmentA structured abstract is one in which a synopsis of the paper you will write is
categorized under headings, usually including a background, statement of objective
or research question, and statement of proposed outcomes. For your abstract
assignment, you should first spend some time combing through literature related to
your chosen issue related to food systems and health, sustainability, policy, and/or
ethics.
Based on an initial reading of the literature you found, create a short abstract
providing information about the final paper you will write using the following
structure. Follow the structure exactly; that is, first type a proposed title for your
paper, then type your name. Below that, provide background information in a
section called Background. Follow that with a section titled Objective, etc. You can
literally copy and past the below and fill in each section with your own information.
The structured abstract should be roughly 150-200 words in length (including
section headers, but not including title and your name). Please write this with the
same voice you would use submitting an abstract to a conference.
Proposed Title for Paper
Your Name
Background. Briefly explain the context of your topic, in particular the food system
aspect/problem/controversy you are exploring in the literature you review. This
section should make it clear that there is an issue worth focusing on and which
requires consideration of academic literature to find a clear answer. For example:
“Entomophagy has recently been suggested as an alternative, more sustainable form
of protein production to feed a growing global population. [more on why this is an
important question]. It remains unclear, however, whether scaled production of
insects for human protein needs could be less resource intensive compared to other
forms of conventional animal agriculture.”
Objective. Identify what this paper will accomplish. For example: “The purpose of
this review is to assess the available science on scalability of agricultural insect
production, specifically grasshoppers, and to assess as best as evidence allows
whether resource allocations, including water, land, and fossil fuels could be
lessened compared to conventional animal protein production.”
Outcomes. Note at least one main outcome you expect to address in your paper. For
example: “The studies reviewed here suggest that while more research is certainly
necessary, grasshopper production and processing for human consumption
could/could not reduce resource needs when scaled to meet population-level
demands for protein.”
Final Paper: Critical examination of food systems issues
Assignment: For the final in this class, define a topic – narrow in scope and with enough
published science to support a brief review of the literature – in one of the following
broader topical areas: 1) food environment and health outcomes, 2) food policy and
health or environmental outcomes, 3) food and ethics, 4) food technology,
entrepreneurship, and/or solutions, or 5) food systems sustainability. (You are free to
contact me with your ideas if you are not sure whether they fit in one of these areas, or you
would like to propose another area you are interested in.)
Identify a research question within one of these umbrella issues, the exploration of which
illuminates a problem or debate within the food system. You should explore the topic from a
social, economic, ecological, or nutritional perspective, but you are welcome to address the
topic from multiple perspectives or add perspectives of your own. You will primarily use
class readings and other academic literature to research the topic, but some other sources
can be used as well, specifically those from authoritative organizations (e.g., the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics or the US Department of Agriculture). You should be able to provide
enough legitimate evidence to accomplish two outcomes: 1) offer some conclusion that
responds to your research question, and 2) support recommendations for areas of future
research OR provide ways in which the general public could apply the lessons from the
literature in their own lives. Try to find a topic about which there is a question that could
benefit from a literature review along both of these lines.
Expectations: This will be an evidence-based paper. As such, you are to structure and
compose this paper like a research paper you would submit to a journal. I do not expect you
to provide opinions of your own; rather, your conclusions will be derived from, and
supported by, assessments of literature you review in the paper. At a minimum, your final
paper should include a short and concise introductory section describing the
question/controversy/debate. It should then contain a body (headed in a logical way) that
is likely to be the bulk of the paper, covering various arguments related to your main topic
and supported by a sound (but of course, brief and necessarily non-systematic) literature
review. Finally, the paper should conclude with a conclusions section offering areas of
future research OR recommendations for the general public/practitioners. The paper
should include citations throughout and a reference list at the end formatted using this
course’s identified citation style (see Helpful Resources in Module 0).
Result: The resulting product should be a minimum of 1500 words in length and should
include all references (and perhaps more) that you covered in your annotated bibliography.
Formatting should be 1-inch margins all around, 12-point font, and 1.5 spacing between
lines. Include a title page with your name and a title of the paper.