Why Undertake Food Studies?

VCE Food Studies examines the background to Australia’s varied and abundant food supply, and explores reasons for our food choices. This study is designed to build the capacities of students to make informed food choices. Students develop their understanding of food while acquiring skills that enable them to take greater ownership of their food decisions and eating patterns.

Structure

The study is made up of four units:

Unit 1: Food origins

Unit 2: Food makers

Unit 3: Food in daily life

Unit 4: Food issues, challenges and futures

Outcomes

Outcomes define what students know and will able to do as a result of undertaking the study.

Unit 1: Food origins

This unit focuses on food from historical and cultural perspectives. Students investigate the origins and roles of food through time and across the world. Students explore how humanity has historically sourced its food, examining the general progression from hunter-gatherer to rural-based agriculture, to today’s urban living global trade in food. Students consider the origins and significance of food through inquiry into particular food-producing regions of the world.

Students also investigate Australian indigenous food prior to European settlement and how food patterns have changed over time. Students investigate cuisines that are part of Australia’s culinary identity today and reflect on the concept of an Australian cuisine. They consider the influence of technology and globalisation on food patterns.

Outcome 1
On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify and explain major factors in the development of a globalised food supply, and demonstrate adaptations of selected food from earlier cuisines through practical activities.

Outcome 2
On completion of this unit the student should be able to describe patterns of change in Australia’s food industries and cultures, and use foods indigenous to Australia and those introduced through migration in the preparation of food products.

Unit 2: Food makers

In this unit students investigate food systems in contemporary Australia, exploring both commercial food production industries and food production in small-scale domestic settings. Students gain insight into the significance of food industries to the Australian economy and investigate the capacity of industry to provide safe, high-quality food that meets the needs of consumers.

Students produce foods and consider a range of evaluation measures to compare their foods to commercial products. They consider the effective provision and preparation of food in the home, and analyse the benefits and challenges of developing and using practical food skills in daily life. Students design new food products and adapt recipes to suit particular needs and circumstances.

Outcome 1
On completion of this unit the student should be able to describe Australia’s major food industries, analyse relationships between food suppliers and consumers, discuss measures in place to ensure a safe food supply and design a brief and a food product that demonstrates the application of commercial principles.

Outcome 2
On completion of this unit the student should be able to compare and evaluate similar foods prepared in different settings, explain the influences on effective food provision and preparation in the home, and design and create a food product that illustrates potential adaptation in a commercial context.

Unit 3: Food in daily life

This unit investigates the many roles and everyday influences of food. Students explore the science of food – they consider the physiology of eating, the microbiology of digestion and appreciating food. They also investigate the functional properties of food and the changes that occur during food preparation and cooking. Students analyse the scientific rationale behind the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and develop their understanding of diverse nutrient requirements.

Students also investigate how communities, families and individuals change their eating patterns over time and how our food values and behaviours develop within social environments. Students inquire into the role of food in shaping and expressing identity and connectedness and the ways in which food information can be filtered and manipulated. They investigate behavioural principles that assist in the establishment of lifelong, healthy dietary patterns. The practical component of this unit enables students to understand food science terminology and to apply specific techniques to the production of everyday food that facilitates the establishment of nutritious and sustainable meal patterns.

Outcome 1
On completion of this unit the student should be able to explain the processes of eating and digesting food and absorption of macronutrients, explain causes and effects of food allergies, food intolerances and food contamination, analyse food selection models, and apply principles of nutrition and food science in the creation of food products.

Outcome 2
On completion of this unit the student should be able to explain and analyse factors affecting food access and choice, analyse the influences that shape an individual’s food values, beliefs and behaviours, and apply practical skills to create a range of healthy meals for children and families.

Unit 4: Food issues, challenges and futures

In this unit students examine debates about global and Australian food systems. Students focus on issues related to the environment, ecology, ethics, farming practices, the development and application of technologies, and the challenges of food security, food safety, food wastage, and the use and management of water and land.

Students also investigate individual responses to food information and misinformation and the development of food knowledge, skills and habits to empower consumers to make discerning food choices. Students consider how to assess information and draw evidence-based conclusions, and apply this methodology to navigate contemporary food fads, trends and diets. Students’ food production repertoire reflects the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.

Outcome 1
On completion of this unit the student should be able to explain a range of food systems issues, respond to a selected debate with analysis of problems and proposals for future solutions, apply questions of sustainability and ethics to the selected food issue and develop and create a food repertoire that reflects personal food values and goals.

Outcome 2
On completion of this unit the student should be able to explain a variety of food information contexts, analyse the formation of food beliefs, evaluate a selected food trend, fad or diet and create food products that meet the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Assessment

Satisfactory completion

The award of satisfactory completion for a unit is based on a decision that the student has demonstrated achievement of the set of outcomes specified for the unit. This decision will be based on the teacher’s assessment of the student’s performance on assessment tasks designated for the unit.

Levels of achievement

Units 1 and 2

Emmaus College students complete graded Assessment Tasks and Semester Examinations as part of the Assessment process for Units 1 and 2.

Units 3 and 4

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority supervises the assessment of all students undertaking Units 3 and 4.

Percentage contributions to the study score in Food Studies are as follows:

Unit 3 School-assessed Coursework	30%
Unit 4 School-assessed Coursework	30%
End-of-year examination	40%