What did you think of the Department of Agriculture’s conflict of interest to encourage Americans to eat what it characterizes as a “healthier diet” while also subsidizing the production of non-healthy food?

-Political Science-

Part 1 – Reflection essay, minimum 500 words – this should be broken down into at least three paragraphs
Part 2 – Complete full sugar gram research on all 6 categories of processed food
Part 3 – Your complete meal menu for one week
Missing information will cost you points and lower your grade

Link to ‘Fed-Up’
https://archive.org/details/FedUp2014Documentary

Part I – Write a reflection on the politics of food that were presented in this film. This means at least 500 words on ‘Fed Up.’ Some things to consider: What did you learn? What surprised you? What did you think of the Department of Agriculture’s conflict of interest to encourage Americans to eat what it characterizes as a “healthier diet” while also subsidizing the production of non-healthy food? What did you think about the altering of the McGovern Report and the World Health Organization’s report? Did you know that food lobbies, like ‘Big Sugar’ and ‘Big Dairy’ were so powerful? What did you think of food industry representatives as they insisted that their products were not harmful to consumers?

Part II – Do you read labels? You will for this assignment. In your local grocery store, corner market, 7-11, wherever packaged and processed food is sold, you will do some research find these items and report on their nutritional content. You can also go online to find labels:

5 cereals – give the actual brand name and product name and list the sugar content per serving
Example: General Mills, Trix, 10grams
5 cereals – give the actual brand name and product name and list the sugar content per serving
Example: General Mills, Trix, 10grams

DO NOT LIST PUNCH – Punch is NOT juice. If you list any type of punch, you will not receive credit for that entry.

JUICE DEFINITION: 100% liquid extract from fruits or vegetables or a combination of both – NOTHING else is added.

5 canned fruits 100% fruit:

ONLY NO-SUGAR ADDED/NO SUGAR – NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

– give the brand name and product name and list the sugar content per serving

5 types of sugared soda (No diet sodas! No artificial sweeteners! No Stevia-sweetened sodas!) – give the brand name and product name and list the sugar content per serving

5 baby food items no-sugar added fruits or vegetables or juices (no meats), packaged in a jar or pouch or bottle –– give the brand name and product name and list the amount of sugar per serving.

One brand of baby formula – list the first ingredient and the grams of sugar per serving and the carbohydrates per serving. Baby formula manufacturers are getting very sneaky, and laws allowing them to hide sugar on the labels are becoming common. Many formulas hide the sugar under ‘carbohydrates.’ We now know that corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup are sugars. Many baby formulas list corn syrup or lactose as the first ingredient, then claim 0 grams of sugar. These sugars are listed as carbohydrates to make it appear that the product contains no sugar.

Part III – The third part of this assignment is to keep track of what you eat for one full week, seven days. Read labels and keep a log of everything you eat from your morning coffee or tea or juice to your evening dessert or midnight snack. Include all snacks, sodas and every other food that passes your lips. Don’t lie and tell me you didn’t eat any sugar:) I know you eat sugar. I expect that you will eat sugar. You are bombarded with sugary products. Be honest in this assessment. Even if you eat sugar/chips/cookies/cake by the pound, you will not be marked down. This exercise is simply to acquaint you with your sugar intake.

To be clear:
1. make some kind of table with boxes or you can create a chart or graph on your computer to log the daily information on food intake
2. list your breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks each day, with individual sugar totals
3. then, list your total added sugar intake for each day
4. then tally the sugar intake for the week
5. Remember to include ALL the food you eat – like the milk (13g sugar) on your cereal

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