#13 Food, Food, Food! Glorious Food!
Wednesday – 10:00 a.m. Winter 2009 (14 Weeks)
Coordinator: Jerry Beigel Co-coordinator: Marilyn Thomas
Course Description
Today, even Walmart is selling organic food.
Today, Californians have fresh blueberries and peaches in the winter because of globalization, marketing and transportation revolutions.
Today, Starbucks and other “gourmet” coffees have revolutionized our coffee habits.
Today, not just Los Angeles, but nearly every community of any size commonly has Mexican, Chinese, Italian and other ethnic restaurants, something that would have been unthinkable a generation ago.
Today, “genetically engineered food” is more controversial than hybrid food ever was.
Today, farmers are facing water shortages and higher costs, fishermen are facing collapsed fish stocks in the oceans and streams, ranchers are facing a public revolt against factory feedlots. In short, never has food production been so abundant and so fragile, never have our restaurants and stores offered us more choices, and never have we become so aware and critical of the food we eat. Never have we Americans become so obese while, at the same time, hunger has become a larger problem in our own country as well as elsewhere.
Beyond all that, how did human beings go from a hunter-gatherer society to an agricultural one? When and how did food cease being “organic”, and now is in demand again? Where did chocolate come from....and crepes suzette....and lemon meringue pie....and sausages....and raspberries...and wine, whiskey and beer....and all the other appetizers, main courses and desserts which comprise our daily diet? This S/DG hopes to provide some insight into all the above, and more, without gaining weight!
Topics
1. Overview of agriculture; the origin, rise, fall and re-emergence of agriculture as a national asset and priority; water and soils
2. From the fields, orchards and waterways to your table: Bartering, marketing and distribution of food; corporate giants and family farms
3. Producing food: Then and now; hybridization vs. genetic engineering; profit and loss; land use
4. Bread: In the beginning and now; the staff of life: a cornucopia of grains, cereals and pastas; the differences around the world
5. Milk, cheese, butter and eggs; origins of dairying and dairying today; high tech vs. high quality
6. Meat: Eating animals; cultural taboos and delicacies; free range vs. factory farms and ranches; using growth hormones and anti-biotics
7. Seafood: What’s going on in the oceans? Fisheries and aquaculture; from local subsistence to global industry to possible collapse
8. Sugars, chocolate, sweets, cakes, pies, etc.; the rise of the sweet tooth, ethnic favorites and customs; samples allowed
9. Edible plants: Fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, roots, stems, flowers and leaves; local favorites; creating global markets; city gardens; organic vs. pesticides, and their costs
10. Flavorings: Herbs, spices and seasonings; teas and coffees; wars, histories and local favorites
11. Wine, beer and liquor: How they came about; fermentation--the nature of alcohol; microbreweries and artisan wines; taboos, addictions
12. Restaurants and takeout: From the original inns to today’s fast food outlets, white tablecloth and gourmet dining; national cuisines; ethnic favorites; the demise of the coffee shop and the rise of the coffee house
13. Home cooking: Cooking from scratch; food budgets; cookbooks; the rise of frozen dinners and pre-prepared dinners; family dining habits
14. The future of food: How food will change during the next 20 years; government and food, including schools and prisons, food stamps and surplus commodities; non-governmental organizations (ngo’s)
Bibliography: No core book, but there is an ocean of books on the topic, including:
Grescoe, Taras. Bottom Feeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood
Jones, Evan. American Food: The Gastronomic Story
McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking, Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Patel, Raj. Stuffed and Starved
Thomas Pawlick. The End of Food
Michael Pollan. In Defense of Food, An Eaters Manifesto
Michael Pollan. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Roberts, Paul. The End of Food
Eric Schlosser. Fast Food Nation
Raymond Sokolov. Why We Eat What We Eat Food in History,
Reay Tannahill. Food in History
Visser, Margaret. Much Depends on Dinner
Innumerable newspaper, magazine and internet articles and references.
Pre-Meeting: Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 10:00 a.m. Rm. 201
|