This dissertation situates concerns of food access and nutrition at the center of United States struggles for racial justice during the long civil rights era. The persistence of widespread hunger amidst agricultural abundance created a need and an organizing opportunity that proponents of black freedom readily seized, recognizing the capacity of food to perpetuate oppression and to promote human equality. These efforts took many forms. Chapter One examines the dietary laws and food economy of Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam. Muhammad's prohibition of pork, processed commodities, and "soul food" aimed to improve the health of black Americans while elevating them morally and spiritually. Muslim food enterprises established to provision the Black Muslim diet encouraged black industry, autonomy, and self-help by mirroring the white capitalist food system. Chapter Two analyzes the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's Food for Freedom campaign of the early 1960s. In response to local efforts to thwart voter registration by withholding federal food aid from Mississippi sharecroppers, SNCC launched a nationwide food drive. SNCC's assessment of food security as a civil right, directly linked to the ability of the rural poor to exercise the franchise, resonated with northern sympathizers, prompting the development of Friends of SNCC chapters to support those starving for freedom. Chapter Three investigates the Black Panther Party's community food initiatives. Beginning with free breakfast programs for schoolchildren and culminating in spectacular food giveaways, these endeavors worked to neutralize the power of hunger to inhibit the physical development, educational advancement, and political engagement of the urban poor. In doing so, the Panthers forged unlikely alliances while sparking police and FBI repression. Programs and campaigns such as these acknowledged and resisted the function of hunger in maintaining structures of white privilege and black oppression, politicizing hunger and malnutrition by construing them as intended outcomes of institutional racism. This study offers revealing historical precursors to twenty-first century debates about hunger, food security, food deserts, childhood nutrition, obesity, agricultural subsidies, and federal food aid, investigating the civil rights era through the lens of food politics while adding historical context to scholarship of food justice.

The purpose of this study was to determine the needs and relationships of high-risk community members in Cocke County Tennessee to food sources. Cocke County was chosen as the representative county in this pilot study due its high percentage of residents living at or below the poverty level, which can lead to hunger and food insecurities. A community food assessment was conducted among residents participating in a commodities disbursement program in Cocke County. Two hundred seven individuals participated in this survey. The results of the surveys were posted and analyzed using an online statistical analysis software program. With the needs of the Cocke County community identified, steps will be taken to implement a plan of action and the results from this study will also be used as a model to identify needs in both Greene and Hancock counties as well as other counties in the Northeast Tennessee region.

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By employing the critical studies of adolescence from Nancy Lesko, Roberta Trites, and Maria Nikolajeva and the study of positive and negative symbols of rebellion examined by Robert Lindner through Leerom Medovoi, I will interrogate the popular notion that female protagonists in dystopian Young Adult Literature (YAL) are strong, self-aware rebels who are positive role models to YA readers. Using the didactic nature of dystopian literature, I will examine how adult authors consciously (or unconsciously) set ideological standards for their YA readers through the female protagonists and how these standards are not as empowering as they initially seem. To address this disparity between what is promoted as rebellion and what is actually enacted by female protagonists, I will analyze Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy and Ally Condie's Matched trilogy. The analysis will conclude that the female protagonists are problematic, subscribing to specific, conservative ideologies presented in the novels which prohibits them from seeing through the rebellion they are involved in and that their choices are determined by male characters instead of their own self-awareness.

Many families that experience hunger in the United States rely on Food Assistance Programs to meet their daily nutrition needs. However, these programs do not always meet the needs of these individuals, as has been the case for individuals living under higher than expected levels of poverty in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Using policy feedback theory (PFT), the purpose of this case study was to explore the experiences of individuals from a county in the Great Lakes region of the United States, who depend on the federal Food Assistance Program, with particular attention given to evaluate the effectiveness of distribution mechanisms in helping these individuals meet their food needs. Data were collected through interviews with 11 program clients, 3 program administrators, as well as publicly available agency data. These data were inductively coded and then analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis procedure. Key findings revealed that clients perceived the Food Assistance Program as ineffective in preventing food insecurity without additional programs and resources. The findings also revealed that distribution mechanisms negatively impacted food recipients with limited income, resulting in increased food shortages, requiring recipients to seek additional food programs and resources. These findings also exposed barriers to employment opportunities for recipients, adding to the stress and anxiety experienced from food shortages. Positive social change implications from the findings include providing information to program administrators that can be used to improve the Food Assistance Program, which may in turn improve the lives of those who rely on food assistance programs.

Obesity is a growing problem in the United States. Research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of obesity is vital. One past study examined four eating behaviors in relation to obesity: eating beyond satiety, snacking, night eating, and feeling hungry within three hours of eating. Only eating beyond satiety was associated with obesity. The present study examined these same eating behaviors while correcting some of the flaws of the previous study. Using a cross-sectional design, university undergraduates reported on the frequency of the above-named eating behaviors. Current weight and height were collected. Multiple regression analyses determined that eating beyond satiety and hunger predicted body mass index (BMI). Race/ethnicity moderated the relationship between hunger and BMI. These findings have important implications for obesity treatment as well as suggesting important avenues for future research.

Since 1999, there has been a significant increase in the number of food insecure individuals in the United States. The Great Recession (2007-2009) and slow economic recovery has led to additional increases in rates of food insecurity and the usage of emergency food assistance programs. Thirty qualitative interviews with individuals seeking emergency food assistance at a Tampa Bay food pantry were conducted. Interviews focused on collecting the life experiences of participants, the barriers they face in having food security, their strategies to cope with limited food budgets, and how food insecurity impacts their household's overall health and wellbeing. Recommendations for fulfilling the immediate need for food as well as addressing the larger issues that lead to and perpetuate food insecurity and hunger are presented in this paper. In collaboration with the food pantry, a booklet presenting personal experiences of hunger alongside broad institutional forces affecting food insecurity was disseminated in the community in hopes of increasing awareness of and support for combating this important social issue.

<p>High oil prices and bad harvests have led to dramatic increases in food prices and are now</p><p>threatening millions of people in densely populated cities all over the world. To ensure that</p><p>these people will have enough food without compromising the needs of future generations</p><p>will be a demanding task for politicians and decision makers. is paper has shown that</p><p>Havanas urban gardens have increased urban food security since the hunger crisis that</p><p>occurred aer the fall of the Sovjet Union in 1989, and that they support the thesis of Amartya Sen and the Ryerson University. Urban gardens can be a good example for cities how to avoid hunger and famine if they are properly managed. But wrongly handled, they might create a disaster for thousands of poor people.</p>

Ghrelin is a unique hunger-inducing stomach-borne hormone. It activates orexigenic circuits in the central nervous system (CNS) when acylated with a fatty acid residue by the Ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT). Soon after the discovery of ghrelin a theoretical model emerged which suggests that the gastric peptide ghrelin is the first “meal initiation molecule”. Ghrelin is also termed “hunger hormone” with a potentially important role as an endogenous regulator of energy balance. However, genetic deletion of ghrelin or its receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), has only limited effects on appetite and obesity. Here we introduce novel mouse models of altered ghrelin, GHSR and GOAT function to reevaluate the role of the ghrelin system in regulating energy homeostasis. Simultaneous loss of ghrelin and GHSR function leads to decreased body weight and body fat, likely caused by increased energy expenditure and locomotor activity. Similarly, GOAT deficient mice are lighter and leaner than the wild-type controls. Mice overexpressing ghrelin and GOAT have increased body weight and fat mass along with decreased energy expenditure. Wild-type mouse studies show that fasting induces downregulation of the GOAT gene Mboat4 and decreases acyl ghrelin concentration in blood. We therefore hypothesized that GOAT rather depends on dietary than endogenous derived lipids for ghrelin acylation. Feeding studies show that GOAT uses the unnatural fatty acid heptanoate (C7) to acylate ghrelin, which clearly supports our theory. Further, acylation of overproduced ghrelin in our transgenic mouse model requires dietary supplementation of medium-chain-triglycerides, the preferred GOAT substrate. Our genetic models suggest that the ghrelin system plays an important physiological role in the control of energy metabolism. Thus, GOAT offers a novel peripheral drug target for the treatment of metabolic diseases. Moreover, our results suggest that ghrelin signaling may not be a result of absent nutrient intake, but indicate the availability of dietary lipids. We therefore propose that the ghrelin system functions as a novel lipid sensor, linking specific dietary lipids with the central-nervous control of energy metabolism. / Ghrelin ist ein einzigartiges im Magen produziertes Hormon, da es von dem Enzym Ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT) mit einer mittelkettigen Fettsäure acyliert werden muss, um biologische Aktivität zu erlangen. Kurz nach seiner Entdeckung entstand die Hypothese, dass Ghrelin das „Hungerhormon“ sei und eine wichtige Rolle in der Regulation des Energiehaushalts spiele. Die genetische Manipulation von Ghrelin und seinem Rezeptor, dem GHSR, hat jedoch nur geringe Auswirkung auf Appetit und Körpergewicht. In der hier vorliegenden Studie stellen wir neuartige Mausmodelle mit abgewandelter Ghrelin-, GHSR- und GOATfunktion vor, um den Einfluss des Ghrelinsystems auf die Regulation der Energiehomöostase zu reevaluieren. Weiterhin wird die endogene Regulation von GOAT erstmalig beschrieben. Double-knockout Mäuse, die gleichzeitig defizitär für Ghrelin und GHSR sind, haben ein geringeres Körpergewicht, weniger Fettmasse und einen niedrigeren Energieverbrauch als Kontrolltiere. Knockout Mäuse für das GOAT Gen Mboat4 sind leichter und schlanker als Kontrolltiere. Dementsprechend haben transgene Mäuse, die Ghrelin und GOAT überproduzieren, eine erhöhte Fettmasse und einen verminderten Energieverbrauch. Weiterhin können wir zeigen, dass GOAT, anders als auf Grund der allgemein bekannten Ghrelinfunktion angenommen, nicht durch Hungern aktiviert wird. Bei Mäusen, die gefastet haben, ist die Genexpression von Mboat4 deutlich herunterreguliert, woraus ein geringer Blutspiegel von Acyl-Ghrelin resultiert. Daraus haben wir geschlossen, dass GOAT eventuell Nahrungsfette und nicht die durch Hungern freigesetzten endogen Fettsäuren zur Ghrelinacylierung benutzt. Fütterungsversuche bestätigen diese Hypothese, da GOAT die unnatürliche Fettsäure Heptan Säure (C7), die der Tiernahrung beigefügt wurde, zur Ghrelinacylierung verwendet. Ein weiteres Indiz für die Notwendigkeit von Nahrungsfetten für die Ghrelinacylierung ist, dass die transgenen Ghrelin/GOAT Mäuse nur massiv Acyl-Ghrelin produzieren, wenn sie mit einer Diät gefüttert werden, die mit mittelkettigen Fettsäuren angereichert ist. Zusammenfassend zeigt die Studie, dass das Ghrelinsystem maßgeblich an der Regulation der Energiehomöostase beteiligt ist und dass die Ghrelinaktivierung direkt von Nahrungsfetten beeinflusst wird. Daraus könnte geschlossen werden, dass Ghrelin wohlmöglich nicht das Hungerhormon ist, wie bisher generell angenommen wurde. Ghrelin könnte vielmehr ein potentieller “Fettsensor” sein, der dem Gehirn die Verfügbarkeit von fettreicher Nahrung signalisiert und somit den Metabolismus zur optimalen Verwertung und Speicherung der aufgenommenen Energie beeinflusst.

High oil prices and bad harvests have led to dramatic increases in food prices and are now threatening millions of people in densely populated cities all over the world. To ensure that these people will have enough food without compromising the needs of future generations will be a demanding task for politicians and decision makers. is paper has shown that Havanas urban gardens have increased urban food security since the hunger crisis that occurred aer the fall of the Sovjet Union in 1989, and that they support the thesis of Amartya Sen and the Ryerson University. Urban gardens can be a good example for cities how to avoid hunger and famine if they are properly managed. But wrongly handled, they might create a disaster for thousands of poor people.