Assignment: Food Biography to Understand the Columbia Exchange. I CHOSE COCONUT AS MY FOOD OPTION

Assignment: Food Biography to Understand the Columbia Exchange

You are going to do a short biography in your own words of a food item (a plant or plant part).  This is not a dish.  It would be a single plant item that would be found in a food.  I have a list of options below that will be chosen on the first come first picked basis.  If you have a different item in mind to explore, you can put a request in to me and I will get back to you with a yes or no.  MY FOOD CHOICE IS COCONUT!

This is research.  Wikipedia will only get you so far.  This means you want to find out information and write this in your own words.  You need to include citations.  This means you need to reference where all the information comes from.  I do not care which format for citations you use (you can do it with footnotes, end notes, or references).

 

Format:

1. Question Number (do not rewrite question, Simcheck/Honorlock software flags as plagiarism)
2. Answer
3. Citation(s) FYI: Question 1 does not need a citation (as well as your Conclusions).

Content

1. Why are you interested in this food item to begin with.  Why did you chose it? 
2. Word origins of food item for English (why is it called that what it is in English).  I recommend you use an etymology source rather than a dictionary, as dictionaries are quite minimal of word histories. Additionally, as you learn the history of the word, you are getting information about how the plant was circulated into English speaking communities and possible information about trade and movement. 
3. Where does it originate? Did you originally think “Old World” or “New World”?  Were you correct? (This is the point where you want to think about the Columbia exchange).
4. Are there more edible varieties of the plant (cultivars) than what pops into your mind when you think of the plant? If so, why do you think you are unfamiliar with the other varieties?
5. Include a photo of what you envision when you think of the plant called by that name.  Include a photo of a variety that is different from the one that is sold most dominantly (a couple plants don’t have that option, so use an image of it in a form not likely to be seen cooked or in a store).
6. A moderate overview on the history and circulation of the food item around the world into use in food (occasionally as medicine like nutmeg) in various cultures.  Be sure this is in your own words.  You probably want to use at least two resources for this section. (see Potato reading for a superlative professional version).  This is the most important portion of the biography. Do not waste time on a nutritional analysis.  This is the story of the plant.  Think of the Potato Bio as the ideal version.  This is the most important section.
7. Where are the current greatest exporters of it come from. (You want at least the top 3)
8. Knowing about the history of this food item, what do you now think about it?  What does this tell you about culture change and globalization? 
9. Give a cuisine that uses this ingredient that is from another part of the world from its origin? What does this tell you about food and cultural identity in the era of globalization
10. Include a picture of the item being used in a cuisine on its continent of origin and one in a region that is different from its continent point of origin. (Basically, you want an example of each side of the Columbia Exchange
11. Give final words and thoughts on the food item, it’s significance and it’s role in globalization. Your thoughts? 

Directions

Your Participation Submission is due by Saturday the last night of Unit 8 at 11:59PM****

1. This is on online text entry or file submission. 
2. Go to the right upper hand corner and press submit.
3. You will be taken to the online submission box.
4. You will submit your paper
5. Doing the least is what would give you, at best, a passing score (C value), but as I assume you would like to have a grade that shows you are excelling, you would want your submission to have higher quality  than the minimum.
6. I can’t see how this could be less that 1500 words to adequately do a biography of these fascinating plants. 
7. You are allowed multiple attempts with your submission.  If there is a problem, you can repeat the process.