ENS 174 FOOD PRODUCTION AND CULTURE IN AMERICA: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

This course will examine how food is grown, shown, processed, prepared, marketed, consumed and even how it relates to climate change and the GMO choices of tomorrow. Students will learn about food choices and how they are impacted by culture, personal perception, politics and economic status. Food in the Colonial Era will be examined on two different days, in one of North Carolina’s oldest continually operating settlements and at a Revolutionary era grain mill. Another focus will be the livestock industry and how it has been impacted by the public’s changing perception of acceptable farming practices. The culmination of these experiences will help the student better understand the food system in America. This course will use a dynamic mix of invited speakers and frequent field trips. These excursions will relate to the culture around food, its production and the choices we make on how it is prepared and what we consume. The large number of field trips means some days will be extended, while others will be shortened, or cancelled to ensure students receive the appropriate hours for winter term course credit. Anyone who registers for this course will need to have a flexible schedule to allow for participation in all of the activities, even those that run past 12:00 noon. This course counts toward the Society requirement in the Core Curriculum. This course cannot be used to satisfy a Science requirement.