Agriculture
Ancient Grains (pick one or two)
-Quinoa, Amaranth, Spelt, Kamut€¦
-Where, how grown or gathered, prepared, stored
-nutritional properties
-overall benefits and limitations

Or

Origin and early use of _____________ (for example wheat, barley, corn, potato, rice..)

Or

Origin and early use of _______________(for example pigs, cattle, sheep..)

Second Paper Topics (pick one)
*note, this paper should be written in an objective voice (except conclusion). Present both sides of the topic, objectively, citing expert sources to validate pro/con statements. Address this paper to the Non-Western perspective!

Organic Farming
-how would organic farmer work if it were to be used globally by most farmers?
-is organic food healthier or safer to eat
-is organic food better for the environment
-could the world be fed with organically grown food, sufficient yields?
-impact on developing world

Feeding the 9.5+ billion on 2050
-how much more food
-potential solutions
-barriers
-impact on the developing world

Genetically Engineered Food
-the role of GE foods
-how widespread are GE foods
-are genetically engineered foods safe, human/ environmental health
-what are the impacts of GE crops on sustainability
-can GE foods help solve world hunger

Malthus
-who was Thomas Malthus, and why did he see hunger as inevitable
-can we feed a growing population w/o doing irreversible harm to the environment
-is Africa facing an eco-Malthusian crisis
-why do Malthusians seed to reduce population growth

Or

Food Aid
-what is food aid
-which countries get food aid
-do rich countries give food aid to dispose of their surplus production
-is food aid sustainable
-does food aid created dependence or hurt farms in recipient countries
-do governments seek coercive power from food aid and food trade

Or
The Carbon Footprint Associated with Agriculture
-what is the carbon footprint of agriculture compared with other industries
-what aspects of agriculture contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, livestock, crops, transportation, fertilizers€¦.
-does locally produced food have a smaller carbon footprint
-which foods tend to have smaller/larger carbon footprints
-what could food retailers do to provide consumers point of purchase information regarding the carbon footprint of each (or many) products

Or

Agricultural Subsidies
-what are subsidies
-Do all governments give subsidies to farmers?
-what explains the tendency of rich countries to subsidize farmers
-what are the impacts of subsidies on small farmers in Africa
-how do most governments in developing regions treat farmers with regard to subsidies and taxation
-how do subsidies interface with globalization
-impact of subsides on sustainable agriculture

Each report should contain following headings centered on the page and in bold type:

Title: Agricultural Subsidies (bold & centered)

Summary- One paragraph, maybe two. Give the reader an objective overview of the topic area. Tell the reader why this topic is relevant today and its’ implications for the future.

Key Points- This is the body of your report. Give details and object facts, pro & con (where applicable). Use all or most of the talking points listed below each topic. This section should present a reasonably balanced view of the topic. Most of your research references will be used in this section. This will be the largest part of your paper. Use & site references! References cited should represent objective, diverse viewpoints. This section should be as objective as possible.

Conclusion- State your view point on the topic and the main reasons you have taken this position. This section should be written in summary format. This is the only section of your paper that should be purely subjective. Your opinion on the topic is required. This is especially evident in Paper #2.

Sources- List your sources using MLA style or other citation methods. Site at least three sources. See the class portal for citation method. MLA or APA is suitable.

Grading Score Sheet: (45 points)

10 points: Sources & Assignment format
Including spelling, grammar, MLA,APA format or other citation methods, at least three sources, assignment format and clarity.
5 points: Summary
One or two paragraphs. Objective overview of the topic area.
20 points: Key Points
Body of your report. Give details and facts to substantiate the diverse viewpoints. Again this section needs to be balanced, objective.
10 points: Conclusion
What is your viewpoint (opinion) on the topic?
Why have you taken this point of view?

Sustainable Agriculture
Gold (2009) revealed that sustainable agriculture as a procedure that attempts to provide the basic needs of present residents while protecting natural resources for the future generations. Gold said United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) committed to working toward environmental ,economic, and social sustainability of different foods, agriculture, forest, fiber, and range system. Gold considered that USDA would make attempts to balance goals of enhanced production and profitability, supervision of the natural resource base and ecological procedure, and improvement of the vitality of rural societies. According to Gold USDA would combine these goals into its policies and plans, specifically through partnership, association, teaching, and research.
Okeafor (2002) indicated that shifting system from monoculture to sustainable agriculture may have some barriers. Baker (2002) revealed that the sustainable agriculture working group (SAWG) is a group of people that deem they have an interest in sustainable agriculture. According to Baker this work group, originally comprised of University Outreach and Extension field staff, who have been together for years, and utilized a list of forums and information sharing tool. Recently, Baker explained that these groups have opened discussions to a wider public by extending an invitation to join their list-serve as educators, famers, or consumers. The writer believed that the goal is to expand the audience, enhance learning, and further sustainable agricultural initiatives.
Okeafor (2002) mentioned that Americans nationwide are considering environmental and social issues such as surface and ground water , food safety and quality, pollution , biotechnology and monitoring natural resource. He added that soil erosion, boosted international competition, and altering consumer preferences requires sustainable American agricultural system.
Generally, policy makers prefer one kind of production system so it has negative results. Tegtmeier & Duffy (2004) reported that when a research area is considered other areas will be neglected and this neglecting has effect on our existence. They claimed that we cannot decrease of a specific species, since it has effect on our life.
Keeney (1991) concurred that people want to alter the nation’s land ethic since lots of challenges such as water pollution, soil erosion, decrease of wetlands, and biological diversity. Keeney (1991) discussed about some approaches that can protect natural resources and provide national or global food security and farm revenue. A report from the Leopold Center (1994) explained that generally farmers utilize three learning techniques including action change, and these involve informational learning through showing and collecting of information, observational learning through exploration of on-site farm practices, and experiential learning through implementation, correcting mistakes, and additional action.
Sustainable Agriculture: Definition and Concepts
The Committee for Ecological Agriculture Project (2001) defined sustainable agriculture as a philosophy with some values that has both ecological and social facts. This committee said sustainable agriculture involves design and management process that work with natural processes to preserve all resources, minimize environmental damage, while maintaining or enhancing farm profitability. (Pretty, & Hine، 2001).
Keeney (1990) deemed that the disruption of agricultural sustainability supports cooperative growth through long-term minimization of environmental effects and weak social/economic impacts of some of today’s agricultural actions. He tried to clarify the concepts of sustainable agriculture in an attempt to facilitate communication, but pointed out that finding a definition of sustainability is a time consuming process and during time researches and more accurate information can facilitate the meaning of this concept.
Tegtmeier & Duffy (2004) stated that the basis of most U.S. agricultural research is about increasing production and improving efficiency, where efficiency has been measured in terms of output per worker. With reference to conventional agricultural system.
Role of sustainable agriculture on agricultural education
Usually the traditional high school agricultural plans focus on the farm as a business model (Borsari, 2001; Borsari , 2005) so the process of teaching in this area is vocational (Conroy, 2000; Hillison, 1996). The content of curriculum has been investigated from the first day of building agricultural high schools (Okeafor, 2002).
Hillison (1996) showed that agricultural teachers should consider the application of scientific and research foundations so agricultural teachers should improve some information about agriscience area. The National Research Council in 1988 emerged that “Reinventing Agricultural Education for the Year 2020” by the National Council for Agricultural Education. It was suggested that agricultural education required to point out all the details of all agricultural topics that involving natural resources and consumption, production, processing. Policy documents indicated the requirement for agricultural education to develop high school students for “… successful careers and a lifetime of informed choices in the global agriculture, food, fiber and natural resources …” (p. 2). The National Council for Science and Environment mentioned the necessity of formal and non-formal education in assessing to meet solutions to the “… challenges of environmental, social and economic sustainability …” ( 2003, p. 5). Other studies also pointed out that the role of curriculum related to sustainable agriculture and it can alleviate solutions to the current challenges in agriculture, including rural economic development, improve scientific teaching of agriculture, and enrich work skills for high school graduates (Williams & Dolliso, 1998).
Further the local movement, and a global movement has displayed for “sustainability education” in the 1990 s (Culen & Volk, 2000; UN, 2002, 2005). This movement has began because of the effect of agriculture on the environment after increasing the human population and the consumption for food. The final goal of sustainable agriculture education is create responsible residents towards the environment (Muma, 2006).
The agricultural education curriculum has prepared based on sustainable agriculture topics. Infusion of agricultural education with sustainable agriculture helps students to achieve decision making skills and holistic and integrative management (Williams & Dolliso, 1998), it assists students to conceptualize different elements of the agricultural systems (Santone, 2003/2004) and can determine an appropriate base for learning agricultural education. In