FOD1030- Snacks & Appetizers Major Assignment: /46

In Defense of Food

For this assignment we will watch Michael Pollen’s documentary “In Defense of Food”. This
documentary explores the answer to the question: “What should we be eating and why?”.
This documentary is long (2 hrs!) so we will watch it in 2 classes. You will then have 2 classes
to complete your assignment. Please note, there are questions you should answer during
the documentary and then there is a personal reflection component that you will complete
after the documentary. Once you are finished, submit your completed assignment to the
corresponding drop box by the assignment deadline: ___________________

Answer the following questions DURING the documentary:

1) What is Michael Pollen’s 7 word motto for how we should all be eating? (1)
2) When Pollen says “eat food”, what does he consider to be food (as opposed to “edible
food-like substances”)? (2)
3) What is “nutritionism”, and how does it affect how we eat? (2)
4) Why does our food system in North America make it hard for us to get whole foods? (2)

Answer the following questions AFTER the documentary:

5) Go on the following website to take a look at Canada’s new food guide: https://food-
guide.canada.ca/en/. How does Canada’s food guide compare to Pollen’s advice on
what and how we should be eating? (2)
6) Think about what you have eaten in the past week. Make a list of the foods you ate for
each meal using the following template: (28)

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursda Friday Saturday Sunday

y
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snacks

7) How does what you eat in a typical week compare to the advice Michael Pollen gives?
(2)
8) How does what you eat in a typical week compare to the advice Canada’s food guide
gives? (2)
9) What changes can you make to your diet so that it better reflects the advice you learned
about healthy eating in both the documentary and on the Canadas Food Guide website?
(1)
10) What can you do to make these changes in your diet? How do you plan to get your
family on board/to support your changes? (2)
11) Having just seen this documentary, you have decided to make a social media post about
it. What would you say in your social media post if you wanted to summarize what you
felt was the film’s most important message? What type of photo/video clip would you
include with your post to support your message? (2)