FDST 2010
Food Issues and Choices
Fall 2004
Dr. Rob Shewfelt
Food Issues and Choices is designed as an introduction to the field of food science for nonmajors. The course will be taught in an issues and choices format, where each lecture will cover one issue stated in the form of a question followed by a series of choices which may be true, false or conditional. Lectures will be delivered from 12:30 to 1:45 PM and 2:00-3:15 PM Tuesdays and Thursdays. Discussion sessions will be held with most lectures to place the lectures in context.
Office and Hours for Dr. Shewfelt:
Room 118, Food Science Building
Designated office hours: 1:30 - 3:00 PM Monday,
3:30-5:00PM Thursday.
Phone: 2-5136
FAX: 2-1050
email: shewfelt@uga.edu
Textbook: Eating Well on Campus plus selected chapters from Dr. Shewfelt's Introducing Food Science (a work in progress) will be made available via WebCT. Lecture notes are available via WebCT.
Attendance: Attendance at the lecture is not required, but all testing will be based on class lectures. Graded discussions and morsels of extra credit are available on random days to students who attend class as described above under Grades.
Class Assignments will accompany discussion sessions and must be submitted by the posted date. All completed assignments should be sent via WebCT. These assignments will be read, graded, with comments returned to you. It is your responsibility to get the assignments and turn them in. You can earn up to 2 additional points on your final average by completing an additional 20 points of assignments.
Make-up tests: Make-up tests will be given for students who present an acceptable excuse accompanied with written documentation. The make-up test will differ from the regularly scheduled test but will be in the same format.
Academic Honesty: Students at the University of Georgia are responsible for being aware of the policies regarding academic honesty as detailed in the booklet A Culture of Honesty.
There will be two tests and a final exam. There will be a lecture given after each of the first two tests. Test one will cover the material presented in Lectures 1-12, test two will cover material presented in Lectures 13-24, while the final exam will include lectures 25-30 plus a comprehensive test of the entire course. Practice tests will be prepared for you to familiarize you with the test format and the degree of difficulty of the questions. You will have a choice of class assignments based on assigned points. There will be at least 8 graded discussions in regular lecture periods. You must be present to obtain credit. Morsels of extra credit during the course will be available to those who attend class when the opportunity is announced. You must be present to accumulate credit. It is possible to add up to 5 points on the final numerical grade for the course through these opportunities. The final grade will be determined using following basis:
Test One - 20%
Test Two - 20%
Final Exam - 35%
Assignments - 15%
Graded Discussions - 10%
Total - 100%
Scale: 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, below 60 = F
Anyone with an average of 95 or higher on the two tests (and has completed all the assignments) will be given the option of participating in a group oral exam the last week of classes. Successful performance on the oral exam will result in exemption from taking the written final exam.
Food Product: Every student must register a food product with the instructor via WebCT. Product registration will start at the first discussion session. Subsequent discussion sessions will focus on how the topic relates to individual products. At least one question on each test will relate to that specific product.
Students Choice: The last three lectures will be based on issues and choices submitted and voted on by students. Issues nominations are due by WebCT by Wednesday, October 6. Ballots must be returned by Thursday, October 14. Lectures 24-26 will be selected from a list provided with this syllabus.
Study Tips: The course is designed to help you learn a little each day. By the end of the semester you should have an appreciation of the importance of food in society, ways to ensure safety and quality of foods with particular emphasis on commercial food products, the nutritional and chemical properties of foods and how commercial food products are processed or manufactured. Some of you may even want to consider a major or minor in food science when the course is over.
To do well in the course I recommend that you spend 5-10 minutes prior to every lecture reading over the lecture notes provided to get a general picture of what will be covered and see if you can fill in the blanks in the notes. Note any words that are unfamiliar to you and any questions that come to mind. Attend class regularly, but instead of taking lots of notes, try to listen to carefully to the deeper meaning behind the notes. It is particularly important that you understand the full meaning of the four bold statements in the PERSPECTIVE section as those are the main take-home lessons for that lecture. Also listen for messages I give between main topic areas that provide connections between the take-home lessons for that day and with take-home lessons on previous days. Make sure that you understand the meanings of all unfamiliar words and concepts at the end of the lecture. If you do not, either ask me then, send me an email, ask me at the beginning of the next class period, or stop by during my office hours. Take 5-10 minutes at the end of each class period to jot down critical concepts presented in class that are not explicitly stated in the notes. If you attend class and study a little each day, preparation for each test should not require massive amounts of cramming. Many students wait until the night before each test to study and find that there is too much material to master in a single cramming session! If you wait to the last minute to study, tough luck, as you will find there is too much to learn.
FOOD SCIENCE 2010 Course Outline -- Fall 2004
| Lecture | Date |
| What is the real reason students gain the ÒFreshman 15Ó? | 8-19 |
| Why does food spoil so quickly? | 8-24 |
| How does food make us sick? | 8-26 |
| Is it better to eat several small meals throughout the day than three big ones? | 8-31 |
| Is it possible to order a healthy meal from a fast-food restaurant? | 9-2 |
| Is eating after 11:00 p.m. unhealthy? | 9-7 |
| Are Americans eating too much food while the rest of the world gets too little? | 9-9 |
| Should we be concerned about bio-terrorism? | 9-14 |
| Are canned foods nutritious? | 9-16 |
| What is the proper way to freeze and defrost foods? | 9-21 |
| Why do foods contain so many preservatives? | 9-23 |
| What happens to foods that have passed their expiration dates? | 9-28 |
| TEST #1 & Is eating breakfast essential for a healthy diet? | 9-30 |
| Is it better to be a vegetarian or a meat eater? | 10-5 |
| Is yogurt better for us than ice cream? | 10-7 |
| Are protein supplements and high-protein diets safe? | 10-12 |
| Are we eating too much sugar? | 10-14 |
| Is chocolate addictive? | 10-19 |
| Why do junk foods taste so good? | 10-21 |
| What do the brown spots on a banana mean? | 10-26 |
| FALL BREAK -- NO CLASS | 10-28 |
| Are fat-free and low-fat foods healthy? | 11-2 |
| How much food packaging is really necessary? | 11-4 |
| Is it possible for humans to survive on pet food? | 11-9 |
| Choose from list | 11-11 |
| TEST #2 & Choose from list | 11-16 |
| Choose from list | 11-18 |
| Is your Thanksgiving stuffing safe? | 11-23 |
| THANKSGIVING -- NO CLASS | 11-25 |
| Students Choice #3 | 11-30 |
| Students Choice #2 | 12-2 |
| FRIDAY SCHEDULE Ð NO CLASS | 12-7 |
| Students Choice #1 | 12-9 |