Junior/Senior Colloquia 
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Food Safety: Fads, Facts and Politics (11:400:422)

Brief Description of this Colloquium

This colloquium examines the scientific, regulatory, agribusiness and consumer interests that interact to determine the safety of the food we eat. Our society grapples with innumerable controversies concerning the safety of foods. These include "mad cow disease", the use of chemical pesticides, the use of "natural" bio-insecticides and their genetic engineering into insect-resistant plants, health foods with nutritional claims and "genomic foods", food irradiation, and kids killed by the E. coli in hamburgers. The laws, regulations, and codes which are ultimately developed in response to these issues are not based on the scientific facts alone. They also consider economic, political cultural, demographic, religious, and philosophical facets of the problem. Thus, the area of food safety is ideal for a colloquium course where students with different backgrounds, academic majors, and talents can devise novel interdisciplinary approaches to this problem which impacts several of the college mission areas. Students initially use lectures, videos, and case studies to obtain an orientation to the web of federal agencies, federal, state and local laws, regulations, and "action levels" which govern different aspects of the food supply. As the semester progresses, students explore through role playing and participatory exercises a variety of multifaceted food safety issues. Finally, students working in multidisciplinary groups "take action" on some current issue in food safety and present what they have learned to the class. This is a required attendance course. Participation and group work comprise a major portion of the grade.

Registration Information

  • Semester: Spring 2005
  • Index Number: 54855
  • Class Meeting: T,Th 5
View past Syllabus (if available from Professor)

Junior/Senior Colloquia involve various types of student projects. Below is a list of some of the projects that have been undertaken in recent semesters in this colloquium. In some cases there may be a link to an abstract of the project.

  • No information on projects is currently available for this colloquium

    • Instructor Information

    NOTE: The above information is being provided to give potential students a general idea about the course. Specific details may change from semester to semester, and will be provided by the instructor in the course syllabus.

    Last Updated on November 10, 2005