United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Open Pedagogy Fellowship
Mapping Contrasts in the Health Guidance and Food Industry Landscapes
Kimberley B. Naqvi, PhD, Thompson Rivers University (BC, Canada);
Casiana Pascariu, Maricopa Community Colleges (Arizona)
2021-2022
Introduction:
You are a part of a collegewide effort to increase access to education and empower students
through "open pedagogy." Open pedagogy is a "free access" educational practice that places you
- the student - at the center of your own learning process in a more engaging, collaborative
learning environment. The ultimate purpose of this effort is to achieve greater social justice in
our community in which the work can be freely shared with the broader community. This is a
renewable assignment that is designed to enable you to become an agent of change in your
community through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). For this work, you will integrate the disciplines of Geography and Anthropology to
achieve SDG #3: Good Health and Well-Being with a focus on Target 3.4: Reduce by one third
mortality from non-communicable diseases.

Learning Objectives:
Practice basic field research
Measure and illustrate the difference between what foods are promoted by government health
policy and what foods are most available in the consumer food landscape,

Purpose/Rationale:
This field work assignment reinforces the awareness of corporate food control identified in
assignment one, and the importance of the local landscape identified in assignment two. It raises
awareness of how the food industry literally shapes the cultural landscape and human behaviour
with strategically positioned food items within stores. By contrasting the proportion of highly
processed foods visible on shelves with the food types and proportions recommended by health
policy, students can see the difference in social influence between corporate actors and elected
governments and health professionals. Because sustainable development goals seek to lower
impact on the natural environment, and raise the status and well-being of ordinary people, the role
of unregulated profit in promoting the unhealthy food needs to be challenged – first by awareness,

and then by action. This assignment is designed to raise awareness. Assignment 2 has introduced
possible venues for action.

Instructions:
In order to be able to complete this assignment, you will have studied the geography of
agriculture and learned the concepts of globalisation of agriculture and food, food secirity, food
regime, agribusiness, and the basics of popultion geography and development geography,
including health indicators, the epidemiological transition, modernisation theory, dependency
theory and world systems theory, and sustainable development.
Part 1. Identifying the key definitions and actors
Read three background articles and watch one video which introduce 1) the level of corporate
control in the food system in the United States (as one example country), and 2) the corporate
dependency on high profit, low nutrition foods. Both are written from critical perspective and
reject the ability of a dominant or exclusive focus on the profit motive to meet the social and
economic goals of the whole population.
Bittman, M. (27 May 2021) Interview, CBC The Current, available from
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-may-27-2021-1.6041443 (full transcript also
available at this site)
Evans, J. (2021 May 31).Nestlé says majority of its food portfolio is unhealthy, The Irish Times
[origin, The Financial Times], available from https://www.irishtimes.com/business/agribusinessand-food/nestl%C3%A9-says-majority-of-its-food-portfolio-is-unhealthy-1.4579814
Lakhani, N., Uteunova, A. and Chang, A. (2021 July 14) Revealed: the true extent of America’s
food monopolies, and who pays the price, available from
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2021/jul/14/food-monopoly-mealsprofits-data-investigation
Peretti, J. (2012) The Men Who Made Us Fat, episode 2, BBC, available at
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrrffw
a)
The references mention processed and ultra processed foods. What are they? There is a
good Harvard Health Publishing article from 9 January 2020,
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-are-ultra-processed-foods-and-are-they-bad-for-ourhealth-2020010918605
and the Canada Food Guide website also has explanations
https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/limit-highly-processed-foods/
b)
According to the references, what proportion of available supermarket food is
ultraprocessed?

Part 2

Field Work to Estimate the Proportion of Ultra Processed Food to Recommended Foods

The Canada Food Guide (https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/) defines and lays out recommended
foods and proportions. Click on each category on the plate graphic for more detail on each food
and acceptable variations, preparations, and modifications. These may not be exactly your views,
but the guide sets a useful baseline for comparing ideals and practice within one political entity.
For this section, students will map (roughly) the food layout in one local grocery store of their
choice, and compare the prevalence of available foods to recommended foods. Identify food in
four broad categories, with additional details on
whether foods are minimally processed or processed (at a pre-industrial level);
whether protein is meat/fish versus non-meat/fish;
and whether carbohydrates are whole grain versus refined or prepared (bread, pasta).
These latter distinctions reflect the range of processing considered acceptable within a healthy
diet, but stop short of ultraprocessing. The food guide recommends lower processing, whole
grains, and less meat, but does not give proportions.
i)

fruit and vegetables, minimally processed (whole or cut and packaged, uncooked) ,
Processed (canned or frozen, no or low sodium, sugar)

ii)

carbohydrates

ingredients, pasta).

Minimally processed (whole or rolled grains, seeds)
Processed (flours, whole grain bread with few additional
Check that bread is truly whole grain and not blended or coloured.

iii)
fish;

Protein

Minimally processed (fresh, unseasoned/breaded meat and
eggs; nuts; lentils and beans)

Processed (low sodium canned; dry roasted and unsalted;
frozen; low sodium and low fat cheeses; unsweetened yogurt and milk without other additives
like starch or carrageenan)
iv)
Ultraprocessed food
Added salt, sugar, oils, preservatives, colours, flavours,
texturisers; precooked, highly preserved, often highly flavoured; boxed cereals, ice cream,
flavoured yogurt, prepared drinks (not pure juice), and prepared, preserved meals are all
ultraprocessed foods.
To prepare, create a base map with a layout of aisles and freezers to help with recording data. This
may require a preliminary trip. You may want several copies, in case you run out of room, but
your recorded notes are part of your submission. Walk up and down the aisles and estimate the
proportion of shelf space, including refrigerated shelves and freezers, occupied by types of food.

Compare them to the proportions of the Canada Food Guide (2:1:1 or 50%, 25%, 25%). Rough
estimates are adequate for this type of exploratory study.
Notes on behaviour in the store. Usually it is not a problem to make observations in a large
grocery store, especially if you combine it with a little normal grocery shopping. This also allows
you to check labels naturally if you want to confirm the level of processing. However, if you are
too conspicuous about taking photographs and detailed notes, you may draw unwanted attention,
so be aware of how you are being perceived.
Prepare three tables (or lists). The first should compare the proportion of recommended foods
only; that is, leave out the processed foods, and check how fruit and vegetables, carbohydrates
and proteins match the recommended plate. The second should add the ultraprocessed food as one
category and adjust the proportions of the recommended food accordingly. If the ultraprocessed
foods make up 60% of the groceries, adjust the previous proportions to total 40% (you can use
fractions if you hate percentages). Finally, prepare a third table or list which sorts the
ultraprocessed foods into carbohydrates, proteins, prepared meals and snacks (savoury and
desserts). This illustrates which food categories generate the most profit through value-added
(though nutrient-subtracted) ultraprocessed foods.

Format Requirements:
Part I

Answer questions a and b 20-75 words.

Part 2
a)

Field notes

b)
Two to three tables or well-labelled lists, based on the field notes, comparing food
availability by categories
c)

A simple infographic which contrasts the Canada Food Guide plate with two other plates:
i)

a plate with four portions:
•
•
•
•

ii)

fruit and vegetables,
carbohydrates,
proteins,
ultraprocessed foods

a plate with eight portions:
•
•
•
•
•

Low/processed fruits and vegetables vs ultraprocessed
Low/processed carbohydrates vs ultraprocessed
Low/processed proteins vs ultraprocessed
Desserts and savoury snacks
Prepared and preserved meals

d)
Comment briefly on the contradiction between conceptions of development and the post
industrial economy which favour value-added and knowledge intensive manufacturing and
design, and one which encourages simple foods. Using the reference articles and video, identify
jobs associated with ultraprocessed foods, and where they fit into the hierarchy of economic
sectors identified in economic geography. How does this affect incentives to move society away
from ultraprocessed foods?

Mapping Contrasts in the Health Guidance and Food Industry Landscapes is licensed by
Kimberley B. Naqvi, PhD, Thompson Rivers University (BC, Canada) and Casiana Pascariu,
Maricopa Community Colleges (Arizona) under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International (CC BY-NC-SA)