Assignment: Research Paper, Pt. I

How have American women's roles in the kitchen evolved over time?

Here are the prompts for your research paper this summer. Choose one of the following:

School Lunches:
In recent years, a spotlight has been turned on the nation’s school lunches. Many have pointed to lax dietary standards, budgetary issues, and the prevalence of processed foods, as indications that kids’ school lunches are routinely nutritionally shortchanged. Indeed, standards for student meals haven’t been updated since the Carter Administration. What is the state of the American school lunch and what is now being done to ensure the nutritional needs of our school children are being met?

Endangered Foods:
A byproduct of the climate change debate has been the emergence of so-called “endangered foods.” Due to everything from overharvesting and depleted environments to drought and disease, foods as diverse as cocoa beans, salmon, and bananas, may be threatened in the coming decades. For example, in North America, sugar maples (a major source of maple syrup) are now considered one of many threatened native species. What would be the impact of losing some of these foods? Profile three threatened foods (plant or animal), examining both the cause for their decline, as well as efforts to save them.

Food Customs and Rituals:
For many, it’s unthinkable to mark a birthday without a cake or to propose a toast without champagne. In fact, many of our country’s customs and rituals are entrenched in food. For example, what would Halloween be without candy, or tailgating without BBQ? Examine three food-based American customs or traditions, and explore how they evolved to have eating as a key component.

Food and Social Class:
French gastrome Brillat-Savarin once said, "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are." Was he right? Specifically, can the foods you eat say anything about your social standing? Can a correlation be made between the types of foods you eat and your income level, access to health care, even your education? Likewise, is it a foregone conclusion that rich people eat better than poor people? Why or why not? Illustrate the links between social class and food in America, including the effects on the society as whole.

Contemporary Food Movements:
Eating has likely never been as complicated as it is today. Today, what we eat is not only a reflection of our personal tastes, but of our philosophical and political beliefs. These days, what and how we eat makes a statement. Still, it can be difficult to follow everyone’s particular food perspectives. Therefore, it is helpful Investigate the varying points of view. Examine, in depth, three of the following current food movements:
Localism
Pescetarianism
Flexitarianism
Raw Food 
Pollotarianism
Foodies
Hydroponics
Macrobiotics
Veganism
Molecular Gastronomy
Slow Food
Urban Foraging
Freeganism

Women In (and Out) of the Kitchen:
In most cultures around the world, women have traditionally been the primary cooks in households. America is no exception. However, at around the mid-20th century, females' roles began to change. While American women today are still the primary cooks, their roles (and the expectations placed upon them) have changed dramatically. It is now substantially more acceptable for a contemporary American woman to not know the most basic of homemaking skills: how to cook. Fifty years ago, the idea of a wife or mother who did not cook for her family would’ve likely been met with scorn. Today, it's much more the norm. How did we reach this point? What cultural, technological, and economic forces have impacted the role of women as cooks?