Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:

You may choose any country in the world, from San Marino to South Korea, but I would be thoughtful in your choice. It will be easier to track down information on Brazil than it will be to find information on Brunei. If you have some other type of political unit in mind that you would like to research, maybe a supranational organization like the European Union or subnational political unit like Scotland, please talk to me first. I am open to modifying what type of political unit you research, but any modifications are subject to approval on a case-by-case basis.

You may choose any aspect of food policy to research for your chosen country. You may choose from the types of issues covered in this class, for instance, the Green Revolution/technological changes or land policy, or issues that we do not cover in particular detail, such as food labeling standards or agricultural input subsidies. You may choose to write about a single aspect of food policy or combine multiple, but I suspect it will be easier for you to limit your scope to either a single issue or a couple of closely related issues.

Good project will be able to summarize the country's current policy, describe the process leading to the creation of current policies, analyze the relative winners and losers of the policy, assess the consequences of alternative policy options, and offer an informed prediction of what future policies your chosen country might pursue. You may draw from course materials to analyze how different political institutions, such as organized interest groups or electoral systems, help us understand why your chosen country has selected this policy and not some alternative. You could analyze the relative winners and losers of the current status quo, and what efforts these groups have made to either maintain or change the status quo. 

You are responsible for two deliverables associated with this project.

First, you must upload a short (3-5 minute) presentation to Canvas about your project. You likely will not be able to cover all of your research, so part of the challenge will be figuring out what material you need to present and what material can be left out. The presentation is due on Thursday, July 30th.
Second, you will write-up your research into a 5-7 page (double spaced) report. You should cite your sources and include a works cited/references page (which will not count towards your page total, neither will a cover page). You will be graded on both content and quality of your research, and your ability to write a polished report. Reports should summarize and synthesize the relevant information relevant to your chosen country and food policies, describe how and why these policies were created,  analyze the relative winners and losers of the chosen policies (and what they are doing to keep/change this policy), and discuss alternative policies and the likelihood your country will change policy. I encourage you to be analytical in writing your report and to draw from course material as necessary.