Mrs. MacColl's Biology Page

Biology IH 4th Quarter Take Home Project

Below you will find:

• Topics Studied

• Requirements

• Grading Criteria

• General Information

We have studied and/or will be studying the following:

• Comparative anatomy

• Human body organization

• Organ systems of the human body

• Fast Food Nation

"Fast Food Nation Portfolio"

In 2000, Americans spent more than $100 billion on fast food.  Americans now spend more money on fast food than on higher education, personal computers, computer software, or new cars!  According to Eric Schlosser, the fast food industry has:

• Triggered the homogenization of our culture.
• Hastened the “malling” of our landscape.
• Widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
• Fueled an epidemic of obesity.

You are to prepare a portfolio for your Fast Food Nation project.  Your portfolio will contain the following assignments:

1. “Whatever replaces the fast food industry,” the optimistic Schlosser concludes, “should be regional diverse, authentic, unpredictable, sustainable, profitable – and humble.”  (288)  What indications of this blend do you find in your community?  What moderately priced restaurants other than those owned or franchised by fast-food chains are established in your community?  How do they prepare and serve food?  What can we do to encourage the kinds of restaurants and the quality of food that Schlosser calls for?  Research to make sure your restaurant(s) are not owned by a larger franchise! Your findings should be presented in a newspaper article.
2. Construct a list of the pros (benefits) and cons (drawbacks) – social, economic, environmental, medical, etc. – that you associate with fast food and its suppliers.  In an essay, determine and discuss which benefits and drawbacks are the most important.  Also, list possible means of correcting or alleviating the negative aspects of the industry if any.
3. Create a collage using examples (photographs, pictures, etc.) of fast-food and soda marketing and advertising to young people “through playgrounds, toys, cartoons, movies, videos, charities, and amusement parks, through contests, sweepstakes, games, and clubs, via television, radio, magazines, and the Internet,” (51) and via other advertising venues, including school busses, school cafeterias, classroom teaching materials, and even baby bottles.  You may NOT use downloaded pictures from the internet.  GET OUTSIDE AND TAKE YOUR OWN PHOTOGRAPHS!  LOOK IN MAGAZINES TO GET PICTURES!
4. Schlosser insists that “the right pressure applied to the fast food industry in the right way could produce change faster than any act of Congress.”  (267)  In a dialog with President Bush, determine what “the right pressure” might be.
5. Schlosser notes that “the values, the culture, and the industrial arrangements of our fast food nation are now being exported to the rest of the world.”  (10)  Research in the newspapers, magazines, and broadcast transcripts and videos instances of the appearance of fast food suppliers in other countries, the impact on, and reactions within, those countries, and the values and cultural components that seem prominent.  Present your research in a CNN investigative report.
6. Monitor several hours of Saturday morning children’s programs, on several channels, and record the instances of in which fast food is mentioned, shown, associated with characters, and associated with programs (either as content or advertiser).  Compile your findings and prepare an overall statistical analysis on the impact of fast food on children’s entertainment.  Your analysis should include both quantitative (graph) and qualitatative (written) data.
7. Write a food critics account for a national cuisine magazine of a visit to a fast food restaurant and a description of a meal there using only the correct technical/scientific terms for the ingredients in the items included in that meal.  For example, rather than saying, “I had a Big Mac,” describe each component of the Big Mac in terms of its ingredients (including flavors and aromas).

Your project will be graded upon the following criteria:

Your portfolio must be presented in a three-ring binder with a creative title that describes all of your research.  Each entry must have a designated tab.  DO NOT USE CLEAR SHEET PROTECTORS!  All entries must be DOUBLE SPACED!

General information:

Projects turned in late will not be graded!

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