From looking at the food industry, meat production and it's impact on the environment, childhood obesity and fast food..
The way that fast food is marketed to children and families etc.
I settled on the sugar industry. That way I can touch on the other aspects that I was looking at, like fast food and its advertising / marketing etc. As well as the important factors like the obesity epidemic, the rise in diabetes in children and other health issues etc. The way in which junk food is marketed in supermarkets and the fact that so many of us aren't educated properly about the effects that these foods have on our bodies.
I think it's something that affects too many people without them even being aware of it. There has always been an issue with the clarity of labelling on food, as well as the absolute unnecessary addition of sugar into so many foods, which has been shown to have increased over time without the majority of the general public really noticing.
It would be a relevant and current topic due to the conversations surrounding the Sugar Tax at the moment. I think this would make it an interesting challenge to illustrate and would be beneficial to me to have to illustrate a current subject.
It's something I've been interested in for a while. And in my own time I've already watched several documentaries like Fed Up, That Sugar Film etc. that I could revisit.
OUIL501 - STUDY TASK 3 - ESTABLISHING A RESEARCH QUESTION
Suggested Research Question.
This can be a topic of theme, but please try to be as precise as possible.
Researching the sugar industry and the need for change. It's a current topic but I don't want to just replicate exactly what's already being said...
I don't have a refined question yet.
How sugar affects our health and contributes greatly to the issue of childhood obesity. The way that added sugars are hidden in our food, and how unnecessary it is.
The way that the media gives us such conflicting messages about health - about the fact that eating too much fatty food and sugar is really bad for us, but at the same time pushing the advertising of junk food and fast food.
Which Of The Module Resources Does This Question Relate To?
You can find these on eStudio - Try to list at least three.
I think I could potentially find quotes that relate to aspects of my argument in:
Adorno, T. and Horkheimer, M. (1967) 'The Culture Industry Reconsidered', New German Critique, No. 6 (Autumn 1975) pp. 12-19.
Storey, J. (2008) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture', 5th ed, London: Pearson. pp. 62-82.
Marx, K. (1867) 'Capital' [internet] Available http://web.stanford.edu/~davies/Symbsys100-Spring0708/Marx-Commodity-Fetishism.pdf
Which Academic Sources Are Available On The Topic?
Include a Harvard Referenced bibliography of at least 5 sources.
Briggs, A D M et al. (2013) Overall and Income Specific Effect on Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity of 20% Sugar Sweetened Drink Tax in UK: Econometric and Comparative Risk Assessment [Online] BMJ. Available from: http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f6189 [Accessed: 24 October 2015]
http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f6189
Livingstone, S (2005) Assessing the Research Base for the Policy Debate Over the Effects of Food Advertising to Children [Online]. London: LSE Research Online. Available from: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/1012/1/FOODADVERT.pdf [Accessed: 28 October 2015]
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/1012/1/FOODADVERT.pdf
Winkler, J T. (2012) Why Soft Drink Taxes Will Not Work, London, British Journal of Nutrition
http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FBJN%2FBJN108_03%2FS0007114511006477a.pdf&code=906ecaa14bbe2ee8799cf8f415584175
Hill, A J. (2002) Developmental Issues in Attitudes to Food and Diet, Leeds, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPNS%2FPNS61_02%2FS0029665102000757a.pdf&code=de258a795a302c513a840b894cced959
Tedstone, A. et al (2015) Sugar Reduction The Evidence for Action, London, Public Health England
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/470179/Sugar_reduction_The_evidence_for_action.pdf
MacGregor, G A et al. (2014) Action on Sugar - Lessons from UK Salt Reduction Programme [Online]. The Lancet, Volume 383, Issue 9921, 929 - 931. Available from: http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(14)60200-2.pdf [Accessed: 24 October 2015]
http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(14)60200-2.pdf
Fed Up (2014) Documentary. Directed by Stephanie Soechtig [DVD] CA, USA: Anchor Bay Entertainment
That Sugar Film (2014) Documentary. Directed by Damon Gameau [DVD] Australia: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Bite Size (2014) Documentary. Directed by Corbin Billings [DVD] USA: Bond/360
Forks Over Knives (2011) Documentary. Directed by Lee Fulkerson [DVD] USA: Virgil Films & Entertainment
Hungry for Change (2012) Documentary. Directed by James Colquhoun and Laurentine Ten Bosch [DVD] USA: New Video
How Could The Research Question Be Investigated Through Practice?
What Illustrations would you make in response to this, and why?
I could look at visual metaphors and draw comparisons between food addiction and drug addiction. I could draw illustrations of statistics, make note of quotes and illustrate these...
Look at the way in which food is marketed to children - I could draw the unhealthy fatty sugary junk food made to look revolting but packaged up to appeal to children.
I could focus on the types of food that unnecessarily contain added sugar.
I want to come up with a mix of literal and metaphorical illustrations that individually address the different aspects that my essay will address.
Peer Feedback - How could this topic be refined / developed?
Show this form to a fellow student. They should record their feedback in the box below.
You’re probably going to do this anyway when you select a definite question but you might want to narrow it down to a more specific topic like sugar in a child’s diet, or marketing aimed at children, misleading labelling, or unnecessary sugar in 'health’ foods, etc. You’ve got loads of good ideas and there’s so much information out there about this which makes me think that you might end up with loads of content that you struggle to cut down to 3000 words.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you’ve already watched documentaries on this topic means you’ll have a good base knowledge and you’ve probably already formed an opinion or argument about the subject in your head which you just need to get into words.
Likening food addiction to drug addiction sounds good, I think shock tactics will be useful with your visuals if you really want them to make an impact and make people think. Maybe think about mocking the consumers for falling for all the lies we are told about our food - do we actually believe what we’re being told or do we know that what we are eating is bad for us and just choose to ignore it.