Avery Indermaur
Sustainability Engagement Certificate ePortfolio
ENV 290S: Food, Environment, Health, and Public Policy
Taught by Kelly Brownell; Spring 2020
Overview
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This special topics course was cross-listed with public policy, economics, global health, political science, and psychology. It sought to explore the the social, biological, psychological, and economic factors that drive food choices; historical and political influences on food systems; food justice and equity; how food production affects the environment and vice versa; food marketing; legal approaches to addressing food issues; and the policies that have been or could be used to improve agriculture, food systems, and health.
Connection to Sustainable Agriculture
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While my first elective course mainly connected to sustainable agriculture and land use, this course focused on analyzing our food system as a whole, from field to fridge. Though I am not normally keen on policy-focused courses and tend to be more interested in the science side of environmental studies, this course was engaging and helped me understand the intricacies and difficulties associated with developing food and nutrition policies. We talked about many issues of social sustainability surrounding food from obesity and overnutrition in the U.S. to undernutrition and lack of health education in developing countries. Since Dr. Brownell has worked extensively in the food policy realm, he was able to talk about his personal experience with policy issues we discussed, particularly public health, school nutrition policy, and soda taxes.
We also covered problems pertaining to economic sustainability of the food system. For instance, big food companies prevent proper standards of school nutrition from being adopted, focused more on profit from selling their processed foods than improving child health. On a local level, making sure everyone has access to enough healthy food is crucial, and the models we typically rely on, like food pantries, have many limitations.
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One of the main themes we touched on throughout the course was the interplay between food insecurity and obesity. Since I am very interested in the connection between sustainability, food, and wellness, thinking about ways to alleviate food insecurity and public health issues while making the food system more sustainable is very compelling to me. This course cemented my understanding of how important it is to bring healthy food into food insecure communities in a way that is accessible and inexpensive. Also, the addition of healthy food and ingredients in these areas needs to be supplemented with knowledge about ways to prepare fast, healthy meals, since many people in food insecure communities do not have the time or skill to prepare elaborate meals for their families.
Written Work
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Research Project Proposal
Impact of Parental Control on Children's Eating Habits
Our first writing assignment was a research project proposal. We chose a policy intervention that we wanted to investigate and wrote a paper including why it is important, how our study would be designed, our expected results, and what the implications would be if we were correct. For my piece, I focused on parents' level of control over their children's eating. My study compared unhealthy and disordered eating habits in children whose parents restricted children's diets versus those who gave them unhealthy food in moderation.
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"An added burden falls on parents, who have to decide not only what is healthy for them but what is healthy for their children, too. Is it okay to give them PopTarts for snack? Can they have dessert after dinner? Should we make them drink milk even if they hate it?"
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Op-Ed
Family Meals: The Underrated Key to Your Child's Success
Our second writing assignment was an op-ed on any food policy-related issue of our choosing. As part of the assignment, we had to go through the process of submitting the piece to reputable news outlets as well. I wrote about the impact that family meals have on happiness, health, and child development.
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"It is 8:30 when I finally hear the hopeful hum of the garage door opening. I finish my math problem and rush downstairs, greeting my sweaty, red-faced sister and my heavily-burdened dad, loaded down with her soccer and school bags alongside his briefcase. Their arrival means one very important thing: it’s time for dinner."
Final Presentation
Community Gardens: Benefits and Challenges
Our last assignment was to give a 15-minute final presentation again on any food policy-related issue of our choosing. I chose to highlight an environmental, social, and economic sustainability strategy that I believe in: community gardens. I talked about the environmental, physical, mental, and community health benefits that community gardens provide. I also discussed some of the challenges of starting community gardens, like initial spending, testing, and upkeep. Lastly, I reviewed three case studies of garden projects around the world to show how they dealt with these challenges and which benefits the gardeners and surrounding community gained at each site.
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"Conclusion: Community gardens are a way to alleviate food insecurity and environmental sustainability concern. They offer an opportunity to advance individual mental and physical health, social cohesion, and environmental health at the community level."