Geography: Ingredients of Feijoada and their Origin

Globalization Exercise # 1: Geography of Food Instructions
(Deadline: Monday, June 6 –upload to Turnitin Dropbox in the Assignment Dropbox section) you
In this exercise you will compose an essay based on your favorite food (dish). The title of your essay will be: “The Geography of _________” (here you will include the name of your dish of choice). Your essay must first describe the “claimed” area of origin of this dish. We refer to the “claimed area of origin” of your particular dish because there are many countries that may claim to be the place where a dish originated. For example, in Latin America there are many countries that claim to be the country of origin of ceviche (a dish based on marinated raw fish or shellfish) or of arroz con pollo (chicken and rice). When you chose the dish you will be researching, the first thing you must do is to make a reference of the origin (country) where it is believed to originate. This is very important because there are regional variations in terms of the ingredients that may be used to make the dish in question. For example, in many countries that claim to be the place of origin of ceviche, tomatoes are a basic ingredient, while in other countries this is unthinkable (Many people would say, “This is not ceviche!”).
Then you will proceed to enumerate all the ingredients that are included in your recipe. It is required that the recipe that you chose have at-least 10 ingredients. For this portion you must include the basic elements that make up your recipe and not any process food. By this I mean that, for example, if the recipe you are using requires to use oil, you must clearly state the type of oil that you used (i.e., olive, corn, etc.), or sausages (are these made mainly of beef, pork, turkey, etc.?), or, another example, if you need to include tomato paste, just include the name tomato and add the word “paste” in parenthesis (i.e., “tomato (paste)”). Next, you will find the area where each of these elements were domesticated or, if it is harvested locally like a mineral (i.e., salt) or a native plant or animal species that is harvest locally (i.e., seafood, etc.), these will be referred to as “native” or “indigenous” ingredients. Note that most plants and animals that are used in many recipes have been domesticated in faraway regions where these recipes were developed. For example, although arroz con pollo is a local favorite in many Latin American countries, chicken were domesticated in Southeast Asia and introduced to the Americas after the arrival of the European conquerors. This is an example of relocation diffusion, which is a key definition, and must be introduced and explained in your work.
Note: this exercise includes three documents that must review: a) this Instructions (in word), b) the Power Point Presentation file of this Instructions (PPT), and, c) a checklist/rubric (in word).
It is your responsibility to read and understand these instructions. If you turn in an assignment that does not follow instructions, your grade will reflect it.
To find the area of domestication of the most commonly used plant and animal species you must use the map provided at the end of this document and in the attached PowerPoint presentation (Map: “Centers of Plant and Animal Domestication”). If some of the plant ingredients that are included in your recipe are not listed in this map, I would recommend you to use the following website develop by Purdue University: http://www(dot)hort(dot)purdue(dot)edu/newcrop/. Here you can use their search engine to find the specific crops that you are looking for: (go to) CropSearch.
TABLE (25%): The first step you should take is to create a table that includes the names of all the ingredients that make up the recipe of your dish of choice, and the region of domestication of this plant or animal. Remember, all ingredients that are original from the claimed country (or region) of origin should be referred as “Native” or “Indigenous” –you can also include the name of the region of domestication as well but only use one term. Note that in case the country of origin of your dish is located in a region of domestication, then you must use either the terms “Native” or “Indigenous”, or the name of the region of domestication in your table, but not both. Please take a good look at the boundaries of these regions of domestication as delineated in the Map: “Centers of Plant and Animal Domestication.” Your Table should be included in the first section of your work after your title and personal information (name, PID, date, etc). There is no need to include a cover page. Please see sample table provided at the end of this document.
MAP (25%): You will plot this information in the attached blank world map included at the end of this document and in the Instructions PPT file, using different labels to represent the different regions of domestication of the ingredients of your favorite dish. Your map must also delineate the boundaries of each of the regions of domestication included in your table. You can find this information in the Map: “Centers of Plant and Animal Domestication.” Note that there can be several ingredients that have the same source of origin. For example, potatoes, guinea pigs, tomatoes, papaya, lima beans, pumpkin, strawberries, etc., have the same origin: Andean Uplands.
You should also include in your map flow lines that connect the region of origin of the ingredients to the “claimed” area of origin of your dish. The width of these flow lines should be adjusted to represent the number of ingredients originating in the different centers of domestication. For example, if the contribution of the Meso-American region to your dish is three ingredients (or 30% of the total) and the contribution of the Andean Upland region is one ingredient (10%), then the flow line that connects Meso-America with the “claimed” country of origin of this dish should be 3-times wider than the one flowing from the Andean region to the country of origin of this dish.
Since using the flow lines to represent the Native/Indigenous ingredients is not an option, you should use a different symbol (i.e., a circle, a triangle, etc.) to represents the number of these ingredients. This symbol must be placed inside the “claimed” country of origin of your favorite dish, and must be included in your legend as well. Your map must also include a label with the name of the country of origin of your dish. If necessary, include an arrow that originates in this label pointing to the specific location of the country of origin of your dish.
Every map must include the following information: title (i.e., “Map of _______”), and arrow and an “N” (north) sign on top [of the arrow] pointing to the geographic north (place it on the upper right- hand side of the map), a legend indicating the values of your flow lines that connect the source area of domestication with the “claimed” country of origin of your favorite dish, the icon used for the native ingredients, and any other information included in your map (see map sample included in the PPT: “The Geography of Ceviche”).
THE ESSAY - DATA ANALYSIS – (45%) AND BIBLIOGRAPY (5%): In this section you must analyze the elements (ingredients) that are included in your dish highlighting the area of origin of the ingredients, and the claimed area of origin of the dish. This is an integral part of your work and must be as detailed as possible. Remember that this is a geography exercise and spatial distribution should be highlighted in your analysis. Your essay must also include comments of the number of ingredients that can be considered native (originated in the domestication region where the “claimed” country of origin if this is the case) and exotic (non-native/introduced species). In this section you will be evaluated in terms of the detail and thoroughness of the information you provide. This means that your analysis should be as descriptive and detailed as possible. For example, you can start by making a basic statistical analysis commenting the contribution of each region of domestication using percentages (see PPT sample), and the number of native ingredients.
This essay should be at-least 800 words in length. You must also demonstrate knowledge of the topic introducing key definitions related to this topic and include at-least one additional reference (textbook or a popular news forum) included in the essay portion that relates to your favorite dish; this can include a reputable website that describes the recipe you are using. You must also include this reference in a separate page (Bibliography/Reference), making a full citation of this source. Some of
key definitions that must be included are: globalization, cultural diffusion and its two forms: expansion diffusion and relocation diffusion, among others.
Any geographically-based essay must answer three broad questions: Where? Why? (and how?), and, So what? (or, in other words, why is this important?) For example, where is the center of domestication of these plants and animals? Why (and how) were these ingredients introduced to the region where your recipe was developed? In answering to the “So what?” question you must use the information you have included in the first two sections (Where? and Why?); this is an overview of the principles elements of your recipe and must include a conclusion’s paragraph of your analysis.
Technical Aspects: Your paper must conform to the following formatting: 12-point font (Arial, Times New Roman, Garamond, or Book Antiqua), one-inch margins all around, double-spaced, and number the pages. Please note that any exercise that does not follow this format will receive a 10-point in the final grade for this assignment, even if they miss to include one item.
Final Details (VERY IMPORTANT): You have until Monday, June 6 to upload your work, including your table, map, essay, and bibliography in one word document file only, to the Turnitin.com link provided in the Assignment Dropbox section of our course webpage for full credit. If you experience any difficulties to upload your work, you must send me your complete work using the course messaging system in a word document before the deadline. Late work will be accepted but it will receive a 10-point discount for each day this is late.
Your answer must be your own, original thoughts. If you plagiarize your thoughts from a website, journal, or any other source, not only you will be sad because you cannot write the small number of words of your own, but you will earn a failing grade in our class. See Course Overview (PPT) for more details regarding plagiarism issues.
Centers of Plant and Animal Domestication
Source: Getis, A., Getis, J. and J. Fellmann. 2008. Introduction to geography. New York: McGraw Hill.
Sample Table
Sample Map