Acknowledgement 

UBC’s Point Grey Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The land it is situated on has always been a place of learning for the Musqueam people, who for millennia have passed on their culture, history, and traditions from one generation to the next on this site. Working and learning in a settler run educational institution, we must seek to be in right relations with our host nation, and to learn from their experiences. 

Course Information 

 Course Structure 

CLASSES:  Two, 80 minute lecture and discussion classes weekly, Mondays and Fridays from 9:30 – 10:50 a.m. (Pacific Time), in BIOL 2200. Your attendance is expected and is necessary for you to fully participate in the discussions, group work and presentations. Please show respect for your classmates and instructor by arriving on time, having read the assigned papers and being prepared to discuss each week’s readings. However, it is important for you to NOT attend if you are feeling unwell. 

Presentation slides will be posted on the Canvas course website. For students who are not able to attend live class because of illness or extenuating circumstances, it may be possible to arrange a note-taking “buddy" to share class notes.

CLASS STRUCTURE: FNH 342 uses a mixed-mode format that includes: readings; in-class and online discussions; presentations; and research poster presentations. 

COURSE WEBSITE:  Access to course materials will be available through the FNH 342 UBC Canvas website. You are responsible for checking this website regularly (e.g., minimum 3-4 times a week) to be aware of any updates or changes to the course content, scheduling, or activities. To access the course website, go to Canvas and log in using your CWL. Assessments are predominantly Canvas-based: Discussions, assignments and posters are submitted online. There are peer assessments of participation and teamwork. The Instructor and Teaching Assistants also contribute to evaluating students' in-class performance.

Learning Outcomes 

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to: 

• Describe current food consumption trends in Canada and the types of data collected to monitor food consumption in Canada. 

• Identify and discuss relationships between food consumption trends and demographic and lifestyle changes. 

• Critically discuss psychological, socio-cultural, ethnic and social media factors that influence people's food choices. 

• Reflect on how your own food consumption patterns and understandings about healthy eating are shaped by the “big picture” issues explored in this course.  

• Practice lifelong learning skills to continue learning about consumer aspects of foods from your own experiences as a food consumer and from broader influences around you. 

Learning Activities 

For the full list of course readings and dates please visit the Course Schedule tab.

Throughout this course you will be expected to contribute to the class through active and meaningful participation, both in and out of class. 

Assessments of Learning 

In-Class Attendance & Meaningful Participation 10% - 15% (Default=15%)

Online Discussion Postings 20%  (Default=20%, non-adjustable)

Online Quiz (starts Oct 21, ends October 23, 10pm) 10% - 15%  (Default=10%)

Group Poster Assignment (Nov 28, Dec 1) 15%  (Default=15%, non-adjustable)

Final Essay (Due Nov 17) 35% - 45%   (Default=40%)

Late assignments are not accepted, except by prior arrangement with the instructor. Late Quizzes will not be marked. Presentations must occur on the scheduled date, to align with learnings in that class. 

Core Group and In-class Participation (10 - 15 %): This mark will be based on self-assessment and peer assessment from other members of your core group, and TA/instructor observations as well as completion of daily 'notecards'. Using a marking rubric, at the middle and the end of term you will be asked to confidentially provide a participation mark for yourself and each member of your core group. The instructor and TAs will use this feedback and their own observations to determine your participation mark.  For full marks, students are also expected to come to class prepared and on-time.  TAs and instructors get to know students well in this course and may also assess participation through small (non-graded) activities at the start of classes. 

Online Discussion Postings (15%): For selected weeks throughout the term, your group will be required to engage in reflective online discussions about each week’s topic. For each discussion, one student per group will be a Lead Discussant (each student is required to be the Lead Discussant once during the term). By noon, on Wednesday after the end of class discussion on a topic, Lead Discussants will post a critical commentary on the week’s topic by addressing key questions. By noon on Friday after the end of class discussion that week, other group members will post a response, indicating what you would add to the Lead Discussant’s comments, what you agree with, where your opinion differs and/or where you see similarities or differences in how the two groups handled the topic. These responses may also comment on other group members postings as well as (or instead of) the Lead Discussant’s post. Each student is required to post a minimum of four responses on different weeks over the course of the term. A course TA or instructor will mark the postings using the rubric provided on the course website. 

Online quiz (10 - 15%): The quiz will be open-book and completed on-line on Canvas the week of October 21-23 (not there is indeed class this week too).  The quiz will include multiple choice and short answer questions. Students are expected to complete the quiz independently of others. Once you start the quiz, you will need to complete it in one sitting within 90 minutes. There are no in-and-out privileges. 

Poster Presentation Assignment (20%): Groups of students will prepare a poster exploring through a variety of lenses a current food issue, commodity, product, or trend. This exploration may include consideration of nutritional, psychological and/or sociocultural issues, as well as more personal reflections, experiences and perspectives. Poster topics will be student-generated early in the term.  Every group member will be expected to participate in presenting a 10-minute critical analysis of their topic to classmates, the course TAs, and the instructor. 

Final Essay (35 - 45%): The final essay will be a written, referenced paper, offering an evidence-based opinion, on a topic drawn from course readings, lectures, presentations, class discussions, and personal reflections. Essay topic must be approved by the instructor and final essays are expected to be submitted by November 17th. 

Flexible assessment: Note: If desired, you may choose the value that particular learning activities will contribute to your final grade (i.e., participation, quiz, poster, and final essay) from within the ranges provided by filling out the Flexible Assessment reweighting request (by September 20th).  If you want to have your final grade calculated using the 'default' values, no actions are needed to confirm this. The default values will be used for all students who do not specify otherwise.

University Policies 

Policies and Resources to Support Student Success 

UBC provides resources to support student learning and to maintain healthy lifestyles but recognizes that sometimes crises arise and so there are additional resources to access including those for survivors of sexual violence. UBC values respect for the person and ideas of all members of the academic community. Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities and for religious observances. UBC values academic honesty and students are expected to acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold the highest academic standards in all of their actions. 

Details of the policies and how to access support are available on the UBC Senate website. 

FNH 342 approach to AI

Students are permitted to use artificial intelligence tools, including generative AI, to gather information, review concepts or to help produce assignments. However, students are ultimately accountable for the work they submit, and any content generated or supported by an artificial intelligence tool must be cited appropriately.  The American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA) and the Chicago Manual of Style have all provided recommendations in this area. 

Firstly, it is important to note that AI tools are susceptible to errors and may incorporate discriminatory ideas in their output. As a student, it is your responsibility to ensure the quality and appropriateness of the work you submit in this course. 

Secondly, please be mindful of the data you provide to these systems, as your assignments contain private information, not just your own but also that of others.  

Thirdly, there is a risk of inadvertently plagiarizing when using these tools. Many AI chatbots and image generators create content based on existing bodies of work without proper citation. UBC’s plagiarism policy will apply to all assignment submissions, and “AI did it!” will not excuse any plagiarism.  

Lastly, be aware of the dangers of becoming overly dependent on these tools. While they can be incredibly useful, relying on them too much can diminish your own critical thinking and writing skills. 

If you use a generative AI tool to get ideas and/or partial answers for an assignment and/or to generate any text for a draft or final version of any part of an assignment, you must declare that you have used it, with a couple sentences describing the extent to which it was used, and you must save any original input and generated text from this tool in case it is requested. A TA or the instructor may ask you to provide the generated text in order to help with grading decisions. In this case, your (or your group’s) original contributions will be evaluated. 

Copyright 

All materials of this course (course handouts, lecture slides, assessments, course readings, etc.) are the intellectual property of the Course Instructors or licensed to be used in this course by the copyright owner. Redistribution of these materials by any means without permission of the copyright holder(s) constitutes a breach of copyright and may lead to academic discipline. 

Last updated: Summer 2025