J.R. Jamison

WHERE AM I EATING? AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE GLOBAL FOOD ECONOMY CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Developed by J.R. Jamison on behalf of Kelsey Timmerman

Part V Apple Juice: Product of China

Chapter 14:  No Apples

  1. Food imports from China have quintupled since 2003.  What has caused this shift?
  2. Though the imports have risen 400% in a decade, inspectors have only increased 33%.  How has this impacted the safety of human and animals around the world?
  3. Two-thirds of U.S. apple juice comes from China, though China uses pesticides that have been banned in the U.S. for nearly three decades.  Apple crops in the U.S. are declining.  What role does the consumer play in demanding stricter regulations?
  4. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was established in 2011, the first major reform in over 70 years.  What does this allow the FDA to do?
  5. The farmers from Indiana Summer indicate that climate change has been part of this shift because it’s impacted the crop in the U.S.  What are alternative options for apple farmers in Michigan?

 

Chapter 15:  Mr. Feng’s Apple Empire

  1. Fifteen years ago, apple production began in China.  How has apples helped change the face of China?
  2.  In 10 years farming has gone from a poor man’s job to providing a decent living in China.  How has the government changed profit sharing to provide better lives for farmers?
  3. How is this profit sharing different from China in the past?
  4. Kelsey describes the inside of the Feng home, the home of an apple farmer.  How are the amenities similar to your home?  How are they different?
  5. In China and in the U.S., children of farmers are having better lives and heading off for the cities.  Who will feed us in the future?  How will farming sustain?

 

Chapter 16:  As American as Apple Juice Concentrate from China

  1. Apple juice concentrate has been an economic boom for China over the past decade.  Chinese farmers indicate that some of their crops are beginning to be affected by climate.  What could China learn from other farmers in the world to save their crop?
  2. China’s current middle-class and our middle-class are similar.  How are our lives the same?  How are our lives different?
  3. The children of Chinese farmers are headed to the city to universities.  It’s the dream and a ticket to a prosperous future.  The future is not farming.  Is China’s future our current future?
  4. If China’s future is our current future, what steps should we be taking as a global economy to ensure the future of sustainable, ethical farming?
  5. “The farther afield our food moves, the harder it is to know what we’re swallowing.”  Fred’s perceptions of Chinese farmers were different than Kelsey’s experiences with Chinese farmers.  Could it be that we truly don’t know what we’re eating?

 Part V Apple Juice: Product of China – Section Reflection   

Write a 500 word free write on your reflections from Part V of WHERE AM I EATING? using the following statements as prompts.

  1. Chinese boom in agriculture.
  2. Climate change and the impact on U.S. apples.
  3. The future of farming in the U.S.
  4. Inspection of imports; pesticides.
  5. If you can’t beat them, join them.