GGR 2150 – Geography of Food: Geographical Patterns and Environmental Impacts

In-person or video contact hours:

• Office hours are Monday 5:30-7:00PM in DV 3273.
• If this time is not convenient, please e-mail me to schedule an alternative time.
• E-mail is the primary mode of contact outside of office hours. I do not recommend phoning me at my office.

General information and rules about e-mailing me:

• Please read the course syllabus carefully. Answers about course-specific rules, content and procedures (e.g., how to submit documentation regarding a missed assignment, policies about missed quizzes and tests) are already there.
• Always use your University of Toronto e-mail address (@utoronto.ca) for all course-related communications. E-mails from other domains (e.g., hotmail, Rogers, gmail, yahoo, etc.) may be filtered as spam and will at any rate be ignored.
• You can contact me anytime at pierre.desrochers@utoronto.ca. I will do my best to answer you promptly during office hours (Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM).
• Always include the course code (e.g., GGR2150) as part of your subject line, along with your full name and student number in the body of the e-mail.
• I do not open attachments and will not answer during weekends.
• E-mail should NOT be viewed as an alternative to meeting with the TA or professor during office hours. Nor should e-mail be used as a mechanism to receive private tutorials (especially prior to tests) or to explain material that was covered in missed lectures. Not receiving replies to e-mails from the TA or professor, or not receiving them in time, will not be an acceptable excuse for pleas for extensions to assignment or exam deadlines.
• Students are advised to consult http://www.enough.utoronto.ca/ for information on university policy concerning the appropriate use of information and communication technology.

Questions about departmental and program-related policies and procedures:

• Questions and queries about departmental or program-related rules and procedures should be directed at the Academic Counsellor for Geography/Environment, Darcy McKenzie (darcy.mckenzie@utoronto.ca).

This seminar course examines the geographic patterns and environmental impacts of our food production and distribution system. Topics include the sustainability of the current system, as well as alternatives to the norm. The geographic focus is Southern Ontario. Topics such as food miles, urban agriculture, and small scale production systems are also evaluated. This course fulfills one field day.

The course format will alternate between formal classes and open discussions. Students are expected to have read the assigned texts in advance.

The course has five (5) main objectives:

1. Identify global geographical patterns and methods of food production;
2. Explore the environmental impacts of modern and alternative food systems;
3. To improve your ability to critically analyze and write clearly on a number of issues;
4. To familiarize yourself with the basic terminology with which professionals in relevant disciplines communicate their work and their research findings;
5. To apply a wide range of academic skills in writing a critical piece of policy analysis.

As per the University Grading Practices Policy, please note that “after the methods of evaluation have been made known, the instructor may not change them or their relative weight without the consent of at least a simple majority of the students enrolled in the course. Any changes shall be reported to the division or the department.”

How to Query or Challenge a Mark

Please note that you have two weeks from the date an item is discussed in class to ask for the item to be remarked. Contact the Course Instructor for all queries about course marks, or if you wish to challenge a mark. Absolutely no item will be remarked after the two-week period has passed. Material submitted for remarking must be accompanied by a brief written explanation detailing your reasons for dissatisfaction with the original mark (such as an addition error or something you think the marker may have missed). A request for a remark without a written explanation will not be acted upon.

Please note that you are allowed two questions where you and the instructor can agree to disagree (meaning you believe that you are entitled to a higher mark, but your instructor disagrees) without penalty. Beginning with the third question where you and your instructor disagree, one point will be taken off your final mark by question for which a revised mark was requested by you and denied by the instructor.

Discussions of the test/exam and written assignments can be found below.

All readings for this course are freely available to U of T’s students through the course Website.

Most of the suggested readings are freely accessible from anywhere. Some of them, however, may require you to use a UofT terminal or user code.

A set of questions will be given in advance. Students will be asked to answer a number of these during the test along with one or two open-ended questions. PowerPoint slides presented during the lectures WILL NOT be posted online. Note that everything discussed in class can the subject of the open-ended questions. No documentation is allowed during the tests.

You will be asked 6-8 questions from the following list (more questions will be added each week). Your answers should rely on both the mandatory readings and your class notes. You are strongly encouraged to use bullet point form. The questions will be weighted differently (in other words, some questions require very brief answers, while others will require more detailed treatments). Please write legibly and leave enough space between each answer in your exam booklet (in other words, try to make the life of your TA easier…)

QUESTIONS TO COME…

SECTION AWAITING FINAL FORMAT APPROVAL

What is the point of these assignments?

• To acquire more in-depth learning about a topic discussed in this course and its relevance to broader policy discussions
• To develop your writing skills
• To learn to think critically
• To learn the basics of scholarly and policy work

Useful links to help you write your assignments
The University of Toronto Library staff has compiled several links on researching and writing term papers and other types of work. Please look them up, along with the various university resources available to you:

• Writing (University of Toronto Mississauga Library)
• Writing at the University of Toronto
• Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre
• University of Toronto Library Research Guides: Geography
• University of Toronto Mississauga Library liaison librarian Andrew Nicholson

Citation styles
Please look up the University of Toronto Library webpage devoted to citing sources and creating your bibliography.

For written assignments 1 and 2 your are free to follow any of the Standard Documentation Formats, but I insist you use endnotes in assignment #2 (try to mimick the Ottawa documents as closely as possible).

For assignment 3 you will use embedded hyperlinks instead of traditional citations. Here is how to create or edit a hyperlink. Please note that a hyperlink is only a link to the original document. You are not expected to provide a page or any further information.

Turnitin
Students unfamiliar with Turnitin are directed to the Turnitin guide from the University of Toronto’s Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation.

Normally, students will be required to submit written assignments to Turnitin.com for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their assignments to be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University’s use of the Turnitin.com service are described on the Turnitin.com web site (www.Turnitin.com). If you have an objection to the use of Turnitin for the submission of your work, please make an appointment to speak personally with the Course Instructor to discuss alternative arrangements.

Please note that submitting your paper through Turnitin.com or making alternative arrangements with your professor before the relevant deadlines is not optional. Failure to do so will result in a grade of 0 for your assignment. The late penalties describe in this syllabus will apply.

Turnitin.com course ID: XXXXX.
The Turnitin key (password) will be given in class and through Quercus.

DETAILS OF THE WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

Written assignment #1 (10% of your final mark)
Please choose your topic for this assignment carefully as it will apply to all your written assignments this semester. [Hint: I strongly encourage you to look at the relevant required readings for each potential subject so that you select the one that is of greatest interest to you.]

Write a 2-3 page reflection on ONE of the following questions. The choice is yours. Please use the relevant required readings of the lectures listed in parenthesis as a basis for your reflection. Cite these relevant readings in your paper. You may cite additional sources if you want to, but this is not required for this assignment.

Questions:

• Can the lack of economic development in most parts of the tropical world today be attributed to some unique environmental characteristics (e.g., soils, diseases) of tropical regions? (Lectures 1 and 12)
• Was agriculture humanity’s worst mistake and would we and the planet have been better off if our ancestors had remained hunter-gatherers? (Lectures 4-5)
• Can the fact that some tropical forested regions such as the Amazon basin are not as pristine as was once thought justify their large-scale economic development? (Lectures 7-8)
• What is environmental colonialism and can we use this concept to justify greater human activities / encroachments in wildlife preserves in Africa and other parts of the world where employment opportunities are limited? (Lectures 7-8)

In short, what your professor wants to know is 1) what is the topic about (i.e., define the concept and summarize the relevant controversy if applicable)? 2) What do you think of the debate/controversy on this topic based on your preliminary readings?

Specifications:

• Text should be written in full sentences and paragraphs organized in a clear and coherent fashion.
• The reflection should be written from a first-person perspective (i.e., you can use “I”, “me”, and “my” in this assignment).
• Text should be 11-12 point font and 1.5-2.0 line spacing on all pages. If applicable, block quotes and bibliography should use 1.0 line spacing.
• Pages should have regular 1 inch (2.54 cm) margins.

Due: Monday, September 30th @ 23:59 (week 4) via Turnitin

Written assignment #2 (20% of your final mark)
The goal of this assignment is to write a document similar to the “In Brief” notes produced by the Library of Parliament’s Information and Research Service (Ottawa).

Here are links to a few “In Brief” notes:

• Barnes, Andre. 2010. In Brief: Youth Voter Turnout in Canada: 1. Trends and Issues. Publication No. 2010-19-E. Parliamentary Information and Research Service. Ottawa: Library of Parliament.
• Heminthavong, Khamla. 2015. In Brief: Canada’s Supply Management System (PDF). Publication No. 2015-138-E. Parliamentary Information and Research Service. Ottawa: Library of Parliament.
• McGlashan, Lindsay. 2015. In Brief: Public-Private Partnerships: Are Canadians Getting the Full Picture? (PDF) Publication No. 2015-50-E. Parliamentary Information and Research Service. Ottawa: Library of Parliament.

As specified on the Library of Parliament’s website, their publications aim to “provide analysis to parliamentarians, parliamentary committees and parliamentary associations on current and emerging key issues, legislation and major public policy topics. The publications provide non-partisan, reliable and timely information on subjects that are relevant to parliamentary and constituency work (my emphasis).”

Your goal is to follow the spirit of these “In Brief” notes and produce a short document for busy people that presents all aspects of a particular problem in a non-partisan way. You must present and define the issue or problem, provide some background or context, explain why it is important and list all arguments for and against the problem or issue discussed. You can use bullet points, graphs or maps, but each claim or piece of evidence must be supported through an endnote.

Specifications

• Cover page. Must include subject title, first and last name, student number, course number, year and the exact wording of the question you are answering in your assignment;
• Table of contents, including page number for each section;
• Between 6 and 9 pages of text, excluding cover page, table of contents and endnotes;
• Text should be 11-12 point font; 1.0 line spacing on all pages, including cover page, block quotes, and endnotes;
• Pages should have regular 1.0 inch margins and be numbered;
• Reference/Citation style: ENDNOTES. Format of your choice, but you must be consistent.

Due: Monday, December 2nd @ 23:59 via Turnitin

Written assignment #3 (15% of your final mark)
An op-ed (originally short for “opposite the editorial page”) is a written prose piece which presents a specific opinion as opposed to a balanced perspective.

Your task in assignment #3 is to your write your own commentary on the question you have researched in assignments 1 and 2. Present and support your one-sided position with ideas and facts learned while researching your previous assignments and in other lectures and readings during the semester. In the old days of printed newspapers citations and references were not expected in an op-ed. Nowadays, editors typically ask for hyperlinks. Please use them to provide links to the original documents your are quoting or using numbers from. Limit your use of hyperlink to one word or number. For instance, use the link for an author’s name rather than a full quote.

Your op-ed should be between 650-750 words, excluding your name, course number and student number. This assignment does not require a cover page, but it requires you to write the word count of your piece at the end of your assignments (e.g., word count: 673 words.)

Keep in mind that your audience is the general reading public, meaning people who are likely not familiar with your topic and who may not have had a post-secondary education. You must therefore draw their interest by using a catchy title and, ideally, a “hook” at the beginning of your story (e.g., “poachers have killed government officials in a nature preserve”; “ruins of a gigantic city have been discovered in the Amazon”). Explain your position using simple language, do your best to persuade and do not simply make assertions (e.g., “every expert agrees with me”).

Keep in mind that your word count is low and that you might have to use only your BEST arguments, not all the arguments that support your position.

The University of Toronto offers the following guidelines to write an effective op-ed piece:

• Focus on one main idea or a single theme in your op-ed.
• Have a clear editorial viewpoint. State that point in your first paragraph, and then proceed to back up your opinion or prove your thesis.
• Look for opportunities to wed your specific area of expertise or interest with news developments.
• If you can, be controversial in your opinion.
• Always write for the lay reader. Be clear and straightforward. Use simple words, short declarative sentences. Even the brainiest of readers will lose interest if your submission is replete with long, complex sentences and paragraphs.
• Make your submission as argumentative as possible. It should not appear driven by anger and it should follow methodological reasoning.
• Express a strong call to action. Write with passion and “fire in your gut.”
• Take pains to educate the reader with your insight, but don’t condescend or preach.

See also the op-ed guidelines of Carleton College.

Op-ed links: New York Times op-ed page

Due: Monday, December 2nd @ 23:59 via Turnitin

Use of ChatGPT / Generative AI

Student Technology Requirements and Connection Tools

Privacy and Use of Course Materials Notifications

Communications Policy

1. Always use your University of Toronto email address (…@mail.utoronto.ca) for all course-related communications.
2. Include the course code as part of your subject line, and include your full name and student number in the body of the email
3. Check the course Quercus site before emailing a question, to make sure that it has not already been answered

Snow days

Missed Term Work

1. Accommodations due to late registration into the course will NOT be approved.
2. In courses with final exams, there will be no re-writes or make-ups for term tests/quizzes missed for University-accepted, verifiable reasons. Instead, the final exam will be re-weighted by the value of the term test/quiz.
3. For in-class or online quiz/test, students CANNOT petition to re-write a quiz/test once it has begun. If you are feeling ill, please do not start the online or in-class test and seek medical attention immediately.
4. Extension requests are not permitted for open-book, take home tests. Extensions are built into the time provided for the test.
5. Assignments cannot be re-weighted to the final exam.
6. For extension requests, maximum extension (where/when possible) is ONE week.
7. Extension requests must be made IN ADVANCE of the assignment due date.
8. Assignments handed in AFTER the work has been returned to the class cannot be marked for credit.
9. Students are responsible in ensuring strong reliable internet connection. Special consideration requests due to poor internet connection (ie. unable to complete online quiz / unable to submit assignment before deadline) will not be accepted.
10. Students are expected to back up their work at all times. As such, extension requests due to computer issues (stolen, crashed, damaged etc.) will not be considered.
11. Extension requests will NOT be approved for Group Assignments
12. It is every student’s responsibility to ensure that their online submission is submitted successfully by the due date. Accommodations will not be made for unsuccessful submissions due to, but not limited to: i) the system timing out ii) submitting the incorrect document(s) iii) poor internet connection / no internet connection etc.
13. Holidays and pre-purchased plane tickets, family plans, your friend’s wedding, lack of preparation, or too many other tests/assignments are not acceptable excuses for missing a quiz, a test, an item of term work, or requesting an extension of time. Such requests will be denied.
14. For extensions of time beyond the examination period you must submit a petition through the Office of the Registrar. https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/registrar/forms

1. You must submit an online Special Consideration Request using the following link: https://utmapp.utm.utoronto.ca/SpecialRequest within 24 hours. Note: The system only supports Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox for the time being.
2. Students registered with Accessibility Services are also required to submit an online Special Consideration Request using the following link: https://utmapp.utm.utoronto.ca/SpecialRequest
3. Email your course instructor.
4. ACORN Absence Declaration Tool: Use of this new online declaration does not require supporting documentation and should be used in addition to the missed term work policy outlined in the course syllabus. Students can use this absence declaration tool only once per term. When using this tool, students should expect to receive reasonable academic consideration from their instructor without the need to present additional supporting documentation. In addition, Instructors may exclude one test or quiz from the one-time absence declaration, in which case the student would be required to provide supporting documentation. To submit a request: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/registrar/utm-absence

Equity Statement and Academic Rights

• address the complexity of our disciplines’ histories, and
• hold ourselves and others to account in order to challenge how we, as individuals and as part of larger institutions, continue to perpetuate inequity and injustice as we seek to create a more equitable and inclusive future.

Academic Rights

• Receive a syllabus by the first day of class.
• Rely upon a syllabus once a course is started. An instructor may only change marks’ assignments by following the University Assessment and Grading Practices Policy provision 1.3.
• Refuse to use plagiarism detection tool (you must be offered an alternative form of submission).
• Have access to your instructor for consultation during a course or follow up with the department chair if the instructor is unavailable.
• Ask the person who marked your term work for a re-evaluation if you feel it was not fairly graded. You have up to one month from the date of return of the item to inquire about the mark. If you are not satisfied with a re-evaluation, you may appeal to the instructor in charge of the course if the instructor did not mark the work. If your work is remarked, you must accept the resulting mark. You may only appeal a mark beyond the instructor if the term work was worth at least 20% of the course mark.
• Receive at least one significant mark (15% for H courses, 25% for Y courses) before the last day you can drop a course for H courses, and the last day of classes in the first week of January for Y courses taught in the Fall/Winter terms.
• Submit handwritten essays so long as they are neatly written.
• Have no assignment worth 100% of your final grade.
• Not have a term test worth 25% or more in the last two weeks of class.
• Retain intellectual property rights to your research.
• Receive all your assignments once graded.
• View your final exams. To see a final exam, you must submit an online Exam Reproduction Request within 6 months of the exam. There is a small non-refundable fee.
• Privacy of your final grades.
• Arrange for representation from Downtown Legal Services (DLS), a representative from the UTM Students’ Union (UTMSU), and/or other forms of support if you are charged with an academic offence.

Academic Integrity/Honesty or Academic Offenses

• The Code of Student Conduct is available from the U of T Mississauga website (Registrar > Academic Calendar > Codes and Policies) or in your print version of the Academic Calendar.
• The Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters is available from the U of T Mississauga website (Registrar > Academic Calendar > Codes and Policies) or in your print version of the Academic Calendar.

• Accessing unauthorized resources (search engines, chat rooms, Reddit, etc.) for assessments.
• Using technological aids (e.g. software) beyond what is listed as permitted in an assessment.
• Posting test, essay, or exam questions to message boards or social media.
• Creating, accessing, and sharing assessment questions and answers in virtual “course groups.”
• Working collaboratively, in-person or online, with others on assessments that are expected to be completed individually.

University Plagiarism Detection Tool Conditions of Use Statement

How to Query or Challenge a Mark

Accessibility

Policy on Religious Observances

• “It is the policy of the University of Toronto to arrange reasonable accommodation of the needs of students who observe religious holy days other than those already accommodated by ordinary scheduling and statutory holidays.
• Students have a responsibility to alert members of the teaching staff in a timely fashion to upcoming religious observances and anticipated absences. Instructors will make every reasonable effort to avoid scheduling tests, examinations or other compulsory activities at these times. If compulsory activities are unavoidable, every reasonable opportunity should be given to these students to make up work that they miss, particularly in courses involving laboratory work. When the scheduling of tests or examinations cannot be avoided, students should be informed of the procedure to be followed to arrange to write at an alternate time.
• It is most important that no student be seriously disadvantaged because of her or his religious observances. However, in the scheduling of academic and other activities, it is also important to ensure that the accommodation of one group does not seriously disadvantage other groups within the University community.”
• With respect to minimum advance notice, the Policy provides that “Students have a responsibility to alert members of the teaching staff in a timely fashion to upcoming religious observances and anticipated absences.” Since students would normally be aware of upcoming religious observances as well as examination schedules in advance, a minimum of three weeks advance notice will be considered sufficient.
• More information and some dates of potential relevance for the U of T community are available at viceprovoststudents.utoronto.ca/publicationsandpolicies/guidelines/religiousobservances.htm.
• As with any academic accommodation request, students must submit an on-line Special Consideration Request @ https://utmapp.utm.utoronto.ca/SpecialRequest

RGASC Statement

UTM Library’s Statement

• Reference and Research Help via in-person drop-in and the Ask a Librarian virtual chat service
• Research guides developed by subject expert liaison librarians, plus individual consultations on request
• Workshops on navigating databases, finding relevant articles, using software, citing correctly, and more

Some of the topics covered in this seminar are discussed in either more breath or depth in some of my other courses. You might want to check them out.

• GGR 287 – Food and Globalization (A broad overview of the subject. I have arranged thematically a great deal of reference and source materials)

• GGR 329 – Environment and the Roots of Globalization (Contains more in-depth coverage of the origins of agriculture)

• GGR 489 – Special Topics in Human Geography: The (Re)Localization of Food Production: Debates and Controversies (Probably the most detailed on-line resource on locavorism anywhere.)

• GGR 489 – Special Topics in Human Geography: Cities, Industry and the Environment (Week 5 contains more in-depth coverage on the history of deforestation)