Foodways Lab

Assignment: 

“What’s in your fridge?” It’s a simple question, but the approach you use to analyze the contents of your refrigerator may produce entirely different answers than your classmates. Choose one of the following options and write a 1-2 page response (see Grading Rubric) to this question. If you do not keep food at home or usually eat out, you may base this question on the food you do eat.

Option #1 (Nutritional anthropologist): How much energy is in your fridge? 

A calorie is a scientific measurement of the energy contained in food. Make an itemized list of all contents in your refigerator and record the calories, fat, carbohydrates, and protein in each. If you have items without nutritional labels, you may find the website

https://www.calorieking.com (Links to an external site.)

helpful. Once this is complete, tally up the four columns to see the total energy contained within your refrigerator. Next, classify the contents into different groups. There are many ways you can categorize the contents of your fridge (e.g., food groups, food colors, natural or processed, region of origin, cooked or non-cooked, organic or non-organic, etc.) How you group the food is entirely up to you, but you must offer a detailed explanation for your taxonomy.

Paper formatting: 1” margins all around, Times New Roman font (12-point), double-spaced with no extra spacing before or after paragraphs, page numbers in footer, 1-2 pages in length.

Grading Rubric: Points will be awarded based on creativity, event choice, thoroughness of your writing, and adherence to formatting guidelines. You can earn additional points for excellent writing, detailed explanations, clear communication, and evidence of a well-developed, reflective response. Points will be deducted for incorrect grammar, spelling mistakes, or incorrect formatting, so proofread your assignment before submitting.