ltello's blog

I’m still struggling with deciding on a topic for my final research paper.  I’m currently throwing around three different ideas that I find really interesting, and I’m hoping that as I continue through the writing and researching process that I will be able to happily settle on one topic.  The three main ideas that I’m considering exploring right now are organic foods, ethnic foods and fair trade.  I will go through the 6 steps to identifying an issue from our text book for each of the topics I’m considering, to better explain my potential plan for a paper on each topic. 

6 steps to identifying and issue:

1. Draw on your personal experience
2. Identify what is open to dispute
3. Resist binary thinking
4.  Build on and extend ideas of others
5. Read to discover a writer’s frame
6. Consider the constraints of the situation

Organic Food

I find the topic of organic foods enticing because I know very little about what exactly “organic” means and as it seems like there are so many different varieties and items on the market that are considered organic, I feel as if I should do some research to learn more about this term.  Some questions I would consider addressing in a paper about organic foods would be what is the definition of organic, what regulations, if any, are in place to standardize this term, and what are the benefits of consuming organic products? 

1. I’m curious about what this term means and if there are any benefits to consuming organic products. 
2.  I’m a little weary of buying into this term, because it may just be a popular label companies seek to stamp on their product to entice consumers to purchase the food, like “low-fat” or “light”, terms often used by companies to target consumers to purchase goods that will help them “lose-weight”.  I guess my main concern regarding organic foods is that I want to see if there is any merit to the term or if it’s just a bogus claim.
3. I think it’s important to look at this idea from both the consumer’s and the producer’s point of view.  What values are driving either the consumer or the producer to buy into this term?  My main struggle in resisting binary thinking for this argument would be to consider the producer’s point of view, since I feel pretty cynical towards large food companies.
4. I haven’t gotten to begin much of my research regarding this topic yet, but I imagine that my research will likely influence my opinions and attitudes towards this topic.  For example, if I find nothing negative about organic foods, I may be persuaded to change my paper and instead write an argument supporting the consumption of organic foods.
5. I assume that as I research the topic I will come across theories and ideas regarding organic foods, and I’ll have to consider how these theories either back up or refute my thesis or ideas on the issue.
6. The situation that gave rise to organic foods, to my understanding, is that consumers are unhappy about buying so many mass-produced, unhealthy foods that are filled with preservatives and chemicals.  So, it would likely upset my audience if I took a completely negative stance and said that all organic foods are fake and that buying organic, as opposed to buying local, perpetuates the system of mass-produced food.  I have to consider that my audience likely agrees with me but may have few alternatives to buying organic.

Ethnic Food

I once considered majoring in anthropology, and different cultures have always fascinated me.  One question I’ve always wondered about is what led different cultures to create unique ethnic foods?  I’d like to study some different ethnic foods and try to explain where these foods came from, or why a certain flavor or taste is often prevalent in certain cultures.

1.   I’m curious about ethnic foods and cultures, and why there are so many varieties of and disparities between ethnic foods.
2.  I’m struggling with identifying what is up to dispute about this particular topic.  Maybe one concept would be that ethnic foods are constantly changing and are influenced by other cultures, especially in the modern day due to globalization.
3. For this topic I have to consider both my opinion and the opinions of the cultures that created the ethnic foods I’m studying.  What does the culture define as authentic?  Are there ideas or concepts surrounding certain foods in different cultures?
4.  Again, I think that as I conduct research on this topic I will be more able to indentify and build on the ideas of others.  For now I am mainly unfamiliar with theories surrounding ethnic foods and the origins of these foods.
5. Right now one theory I’m considering is that the environment of the area in which the culture originated likely influenced the food of that culture.  This theory would frame my argument because I would try to explain the theory and then provide examples as to why I believe in the theory.
6. I would need to consider how food and recipes change over time.  For example, the Columbian exchange introduced many new foods to different parts of the world, like the tomato to Europe.  Therefore, many dishes that we see as Italian must have been very different before the Columbian exchange, because all Italian cuisine lacked tomatoes before this time.

Fair Trade

Finally, I’m considering writing a paper on fair trade.  I would seek to define fair trade and to provide examples of how and where to buy fair trade products.  If I do choose this topic I want to interview a local coffee shop owner who sells fair trade goods to learn why they participate in this movement.

1.  I’m curious to learn more about this topic because I know it’s a movement that’s gaining speed and I’ve bought a few fair trade items before.  I would like to analyze whether or not buying fair trade has benefits, and what these benefits may be.
2. I would like to see what products are currently available to being purchased through fair trade, and whether or not all fair trade is equal (that is, having equal benefits).
3.  I need to consider the store owner’s perspective, my own perspective, the company who provides the goods’ perspective, and the fair trade farmer’s perspective.
4. Again, I can see this happening after conducting some research, but right now I’m not familiar with any theories or ideas on this topic because I don’t know very much about fair trade yet.
5.  I will try to focus on the theories and ideas that shape the focus of the articles I use when citing in my paper, after conducting research.
6. I understand that fair trade is fairly a new concept and that it may be difficult to provide farmers or artisans the appropriate means for their products, especially when we live in such an industrialized, global community.  Since fair trade attempts to alleviate this problem I ought to consider how difficult a task this is and consider how well the system is working despite these conditions.