Craig Hassel | University of Minnesota (original) (raw)

Papers by Craig Hassel

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of a Decision Case Approach to Food Biotechnology Education at the Secondary Level

Journal of Nutrition Education, 1996

This paper describes an evaluation of a decision case approach used with secondary students to ad... more This paper describes an evaluation of a decision case approach used with secondary students to address labeling of genetically engineered foods. The decision case study was implemented in science, horticulture, food science, and biology classes by eight teachers in a total of six public and private urban, suburban, and rural high schools. After the case experience, students were more positive about the use of biotechnology in food production and fewer advocated special labeling for genetically engineered products. Most students rated their level of involvement in the decision case as moderate or high and indicated that the case study was both a positive and a learning experience.

Research paper thumbnail of Reconsidering Nutrition Science: Critical Reflection with a Cultural Lens

Background: European culture gave birth to modern science as a means to investigate and explain t... more Background: European culture gave birth to modern science as a means to investigate and explain the natural world. The biomedical disciplines that have since emerged, including nutrition, presuppose a web of basic presuppositions, background assumptions and implicit cultural values that are often overlooked and escape peer review. These "hidden subjectivities" are widely taken-for-granted while exerting a powerful hold on the scope, direction and patterns of disciplinary thought. Nutrition science currently has no accepted means of collectively attending to hidden subjectivities embedded within its methods and practice. Here I propose that directing inquiry into these dimensions holds potential to advance our discipline. Methods: This critically reflective approach emerged from critical theory and the practice of cross-cultural engagement (CCE). CCE deliberately seeks out and critically engages food and health understandings of non-European cultures. Its protocol includes cognitive frameshifting, a practice of temporarily stepping outside of habitual thought patterns and into a non-biomedical framework of background assumptions. A cultural lens metaphor derives from CCE practice and is forwarded here as a viable means for restoring critically reflective attention to hidden subjectivities while also inviting further CCE practice within the discipline. Results: Critical reflection with a cultural lens allows cognitive attachments to materialism, reductionism, mechanistic thought, naïve realism, control over nature and pervasive subject-object dichotomies between mind and matter, scientist and nature, experience and reality, among many others to become more available for critical consideration. Culturally diverse food and health understandings otherwise dismissed as "unscientific" or held in abeyance gain value as alternative assumptive frameworks and cognitive models that can be temporarily inhabited for further intercultural reflection and insight.

Research paper thumbnail of Buying Organic: For the environmentalist or the health-conscious

Recent years have seen an increase in consumer interest in organic and sustainably raised produce... more Recent years have seen an increase in consumer interest in organic and sustainably raised produce and animal products. Proponents of organic farming initially spoke mostly of its benefits in terms of reducing environmental impact. As awareness and use of organics has increased, belief has developed among some consumers that organic food is nutritionally superior to conventionally raised food. According to , reasons consumer purchase organics include not only reduced danger from pesticide residue but also increased nutritional value. A review of scientific literature on the subject does not give conclusive evidence either way on the nutrient value of organics but does show some trends toward higher nutrient content.

Research paper thumbnail of Relationships between Viscosity of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose and Plasma Cholesterol in Hamsters1'2

Page 1. Nutrient Metabolism Relationships between Viscosity of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose and ... more Page 1. Nutrient Metabolism Relationships between Viscosity of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose and Plasma Cholesterol in Hamsters1'2 DANIEL D. GALLAHER,3 CRAIG A. HASSEL ANDKYÜNG-JAELEE Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Woodlands Wisdom: A Nutrition Program Interfacing Indigenous and Biomedical Epistemologies

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2006

The Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project represents a proactive approach of Tribal Colleges to addr... more The Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project represents a proactive approach of Tribal Colleges to address food and health concerns of indigenous communities. Befitting the unique mission of Tribal Colleges, Woodlands Wisdom has created a food and nutrition curriculum where local tribal culture and knowledge interfaces with nutrition science principles. A conceptual model of this approach is presented and discussed within a cross-cultural context. Although student outcome data are not yet reported, the model offers several considerations for nutrition educators working within crosscultural contexts.

Research paper thumbnail of Relationships between Viscosity of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose and Plasma Cholesterol in

Dietary high viscosity hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) lowered plasma and liver cholesterol ... more Dietary high viscosity hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) lowered plasma and liver cholesterol concentrations in cholesterol-fed hamsters.

Research paper thumbnail of Engaging and Transforming the Academy: Woodlands Wisdom

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of ... more I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, with an Extension and research appointment. Although I was trained in the area of lipid and cholesterol metabolism, my career path changed as I became involved in a ...

Research paper thumbnail of New Moccasins: Articulating Research Approaches through Interviews with Faculty and Staff at Native and Non-Native Academic Institutions

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2005

The goals of this study were to explore the perceptions of professionals concerning research, its... more The goals of this study were to explore the perceptions of professionals concerning research, its different approaches, and appropriate future directions with Native American communities, particularly in relation to nutrition issues.

Research paper thumbnail of Woodlands Wisdom: Traditional Knowledge Guiding Contemporary Health

The long-term goal of the Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project is to create a regional community co... more The long-term goal of the Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project is to create a regional community consciousness within and between Native American communities around how food and nutrition impact community health and well-being. The figure shown below was created by the ...

Research paper thumbnail of Practicing the Craft of Cross Cultural Engagement

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of a Decision Case Approach to Food Biotechnology Education at the Secondary Level

Journal of Nutrition Education, 1996

This paper describes an evaluation of a decision case approach used with secondary students to ad... more This paper describes an evaluation of a decision case approach used with secondary students to address labeling of genetically engineered foods. The decision case study was implemented in science, horticulture, food science, and biology classes by eight teachers in a total of six public and private urban, suburban, and rural high schools. After the case experience, students were more positive about the use of biotechnology in food production and fewer advocated special labeling for genetically engineered products. Most students rated their level of involvement in the decision case as moderate or high and indicated that the case study was both a positive and a learning experience.

Research paper thumbnail of Binding of low density and very low density lipoproteins to liver plasma membranes of copper-deficient rats

Nutrition Research, 1990

ABSTRACT The binding of rat LDL and rabbit β-VLDL to liver plasma membranes of copper-deficient r... more ABSTRACT The binding of rat LDL and rabbit β-VLDL to liver plasma membranes of copper-deficient rats was examined. Characterization experiments demonstrated binding of both lipoprotein fractions to be relatively insensitive to treatment with pronase, EDTA, excess CaCl2, or heparin. Competitive displacement experiments demonstrated that the binding reaction is not dependent on specific apolipoprotein ligands and imply a nonspecific binding site. These results indicate binding independent of the LDL or chylomicron remnant receptor. Copper deficiency had no effect on the total binding of either LDL or β-VLDL over a wide range of label concentration. The data indicate that hepatic membranes from copper-deficient rats do not exhibit altered binding capacity for LDL or β-VLDL and provide evidence that an impairment in receptor-mediated binding of lipoproteins does not contribute to the hypercholesterolemia observed in copper-deficient rats.

Research paper thumbnail of Woodlands Wisdom: A Nutrition Program Interfacing Indigenous and Biomedical Epistemologies INTRODUCTION

The Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project represents a proactive approach of Tribal Colleges to addr... more The Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project represents a proactive approach of Tribal Colleges to address food and health concerns of indigenous communities. Befitting the unique mission of Tribal Colleges, Woodlands Wisdom has created a food and nutrition curriculum where local tribal culture and knowledge interfaces with nutrition science principles. A conceptual model of this approach is presented and discussed within a cross-cultural context. Although student outcome data are not yet reported, the model offers several considerations for nutrition educators working within crosscultural contexts.

Research paper thumbnail of Agriculture and Human Values Manuscript Draft

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by U.S. consumers has grown in recent yea... more The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by U.S. consumers has grown in recent years. CAM therapies often utilize medicinal herbs as part of the treatment process; however, research on U.S. practitioner preferences for medicinal herbs is limited, despite growing concern surrounding the sustainability of wild-harvested medicinal herbs. In order to better understand consumer preferences for this emerging market, a mail survey of U.S. practitioners (licensed acupuncturists in this study) was conducted to examine the importance of five herb attributes in practitioners' herb selection decisions: 1) country of origin, 2) freshness, 3) production method (organic versus conventional), 4) price, and 5) traceability. The significance of these five traits is investigated using discrete choice analysis, and the implications for U.S. medicinal herb growers are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Using Chinese medicine to understand medicinal herb quality: An alternative to biomedical approaches

Agriculture and Human Values, 2002

Chinese medicine (CM) is one ofseveral ancient systems of medical care basedupon a different worl... more Chinese medicine (CM) is one ofseveral ancient systems of medical care basedupon a different worldview than the prevailingbiomedical model; it employs its own language,systems of logic, and criteria forunderstanding health and diagnosing illness.Medicinal herbs play a central role in the CMsystem of practice and knowledgeable CMpractitioners have extensive clinicalexperience using them. However, the establishedscientific and regulatory organizations thatrely upon biomedical understandings ofpathology do not accept the definitions formedicinal herb quality used by CMpractitioners. Furthermore, local medicinalherb growers within the upper Midwest are in aposition to grow many herbs, but are unclearabout the demand for and desired qualities ofthe medicinal herbs they produce. Given thissituation, the Medicinal Herb Network wasfounded as a partnership effort of small-scalemedicinal herb growers and practitioners of CMto develop more appropriate standards ofmedicinal herb quality and to encourage locallygrown, high quality medicinal herbs consistentwith these standards. An overview of CM servesas grounding from which to articulate thedilemmas experienced by CM practitioners ofperceiving medicinal herb quality andintegrating knowledge across divergent medicalsystems. A Network initiative designed toovercome these dilemmas illustrates thepossibility of developing a lexicon of qualitydescriptors for medicinal herbs using Chinesemedical theory, while drawing from descriptivesensory analysis procedures currently practicedby a sub-group of food scientists.

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of a Decision Case Approach to Food Biotechnology Education at the Secondary Level

Journal of Nutrition Education, 1996

This paper describes an evaluation of a decision case approach used with secondary students to ad... more This paper describes an evaluation of a decision case approach used with secondary students to address labeling of genetically engineered foods. The decision case study was implemented in science, horticulture, food science, and biology classes by eight teachers in a total of six public and private urban, suburban, and rural high schools. After the case experience, students were more positive about the use of biotechnology in food production and fewer advocated special labeling for genetically engineered products. Most students rated their level of involvement in the decision case as moderate or high and indicated that the case study was both a positive and a learning experience.

Research paper thumbnail of Reconsidering Nutrition Science: Critical Reflection with a Cultural Lens

Background: European culture gave birth to modern science as a means to investigate and explain t... more Background: European culture gave birth to modern science as a means to investigate and explain the natural world. The biomedical disciplines that have since emerged, including nutrition, presuppose a web of basic presuppositions, background assumptions and implicit cultural values that are often overlooked and escape peer review. These "hidden subjectivities" are widely taken-for-granted while exerting a powerful hold on the scope, direction and patterns of disciplinary thought. Nutrition science currently has no accepted means of collectively attending to hidden subjectivities embedded within its methods and practice. Here I propose that directing inquiry into these dimensions holds potential to advance our discipline. Methods: This critically reflective approach emerged from critical theory and the practice of cross-cultural engagement (CCE). CCE deliberately seeks out and critically engages food and health understandings of non-European cultures. Its protocol includes cognitive frameshifting, a practice of temporarily stepping outside of habitual thought patterns and into a non-biomedical framework of background assumptions. A cultural lens metaphor derives from CCE practice and is forwarded here as a viable means for restoring critically reflective attention to hidden subjectivities while also inviting further CCE practice within the discipline. Results: Critical reflection with a cultural lens allows cognitive attachments to materialism, reductionism, mechanistic thought, naïve realism, control over nature and pervasive subject-object dichotomies between mind and matter, scientist and nature, experience and reality, among many others to become more available for critical consideration. Culturally diverse food and health understandings otherwise dismissed as "unscientific" or held in abeyance gain value as alternative assumptive frameworks and cognitive models that can be temporarily inhabited for further intercultural reflection and insight.

Research paper thumbnail of Buying Organic: For the environmentalist or the health-conscious

Recent years have seen an increase in consumer interest in organic and sustainably raised produce... more Recent years have seen an increase in consumer interest in organic and sustainably raised produce and animal products. Proponents of organic farming initially spoke mostly of its benefits in terms of reducing environmental impact. As awareness and use of organics has increased, belief has developed among some consumers that organic food is nutritionally superior to conventionally raised food. According to , reasons consumer purchase organics include not only reduced danger from pesticide residue but also increased nutritional value. A review of scientific literature on the subject does not give conclusive evidence either way on the nutrient value of organics but does show some trends toward higher nutrient content.

Research paper thumbnail of Relationships between Viscosity of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose and Plasma Cholesterol in Hamsters1'2

Page 1. Nutrient Metabolism Relationships between Viscosity of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose and ... more Page 1. Nutrient Metabolism Relationships between Viscosity of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose and Plasma Cholesterol in Hamsters1'2 DANIEL D. GALLAHER,3 CRAIG A. HASSEL ANDKYÜNG-JAELEE Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Woodlands Wisdom: A Nutrition Program Interfacing Indigenous and Biomedical Epistemologies

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2006

The Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project represents a proactive approach of Tribal Colleges to addr... more The Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project represents a proactive approach of Tribal Colleges to address food and health concerns of indigenous communities. Befitting the unique mission of Tribal Colleges, Woodlands Wisdom has created a food and nutrition curriculum where local tribal culture and knowledge interfaces with nutrition science principles. A conceptual model of this approach is presented and discussed within a cross-cultural context. Although student outcome data are not yet reported, the model offers several considerations for nutrition educators working within crosscultural contexts.

Research paper thumbnail of Relationships between Viscosity of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose and Plasma Cholesterol in

Dietary high viscosity hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) lowered plasma and liver cholesterol ... more Dietary high viscosity hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) lowered plasma and liver cholesterol concentrations in cholesterol-fed hamsters.

Research paper thumbnail of Engaging and Transforming the Academy: Woodlands Wisdom

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of ... more I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, with an Extension and research appointment. Although I was trained in the area of lipid and cholesterol metabolism, my career path changed as I became involved in a ...

Research paper thumbnail of New Moccasins: Articulating Research Approaches through Interviews with Faculty and Staff at Native and Non-Native Academic Institutions

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2005

The goals of this study were to explore the perceptions of professionals concerning research, its... more The goals of this study were to explore the perceptions of professionals concerning research, its different approaches, and appropriate future directions with Native American communities, particularly in relation to nutrition issues.

Research paper thumbnail of Woodlands Wisdom: Traditional Knowledge Guiding Contemporary Health

The long-term goal of the Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project is to create a regional community co... more The long-term goal of the Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project is to create a regional community consciousness within and between Native American communities around how food and nutrition impact community health and well-being. The figure shown below was created by the ...

Research paper thumbnail of Practicing the Craft of Cross Cultural Engagement

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of a Decision Case Approach to Food Biotechnology Education at the Secondary Level

Journal of Nutrition Education, 1996

This paper describes an evaluation of a decision case approach used with secondary students to ad... more This paper describes an evaluation of a decision case approach used with secondary students to address labeling of genetically engineered foods. The decision case study was implemented in science, horticulture, food science, and biology classes by eight teachers in a total of six public and private urban, suburban, and rural high schools. After the case experience, students were more positive about the use of biotechnology in food production and fewer advocated special labeling for genetically engineered products. Most students rated their level of involvement in the decision case as moderate or high and indicated that the case study was both a positive and a learning experience.

Research paper thumbnail of Binding of low density and very low density lipoproteins to liver plasma membranes of copper-deficient rats

Nutrition Research, 1990

ABSTRACT The binding of rat LDL and rabbit β-VLDL to liver plasma membranes of copper-deficient r... more ABSTRACT The binding of rat LDL and rabbit β-VLDL to liver plasma membranes of copper-deficient rats was examined. Characterization experiments demonstrated binding of both lipoprotein fractions to be relatively insensitive to treatment with pronase, EDTA, excess CaCl2, or heparin. Competitive displacement experiments demonstrated that the binding reaction is not dependent on specific apolipoprotein ligands and imply a nonspecific binding site. These results indicate binding independent of the LDL or chylomicron remnant receptor. Copper deficiency had no effect on the total binding of either LDL or β-VLDL over a wide range of label concentration. The data indicate that hepatic membranes from copper-deficient rats do not exhibit altered binding capacity for LDL or β-VLDL and provide evidence that an impairment in receptor-mediated binding of lipoproteins does not contribute to the hypercholesterolemia observed in copper-deficient rats.

Research paper thumbnail of Woodlands Wisdom: A Nutrition Program Interfacing Indigenous and Biomedical Epistemologies INTRODUCTION

The Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project represents a proactive approach of Tribal Colleges to addr... more The Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project represents a proactive approach of Tribal Colleges to address food and health concerns of indigenous communities. Befitting the unique mission of Tribal Colleges, Woodlands Wisdom has created a food and nutrition curriculum where local tribal culture and knowledge interfaces with nutrition science principles. A conceptual model of this approach is presented and discussed within a cross-cultural context. Although student outcome data are not yet reported, the model offers several considerations for nutrition educators working within crosscultural contexts.

Research paper thumbnail of Agriculture and Human Values Manuscript Draft

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by U.S. consumers has grown in recent yea... more The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by U.S. consumers has grown in recent years. CAM therapies often utilize medicinal herbs as part of the treatment process; however, research on U.S. practitioner preferences for medicinal herbs is limited, despite growing concern surrounding the sustainability of wild-harvested medicinal herbs. In order to better understand consumer preferences for this emerging market, a mail survey of U.S. practitioners (licensed acupuncturists in this study) was conducted to examine the importance of five herb attributes in practitioners' herb selection decisions: 1) country of origin, 2) freshness, 3) production method (organic versus conventional), 4) price, and 5) traceability. The significance of these five traits is investigated using discrete choice analysis, and the implications for U.S. medicinal herb growers are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Using Chinese medicine to understand medicinal herb quality: An alternative to biomedical approaches

Agriculture and Human Values, 2002

Chinese medicine (CM) is one ofseveral ancient systems of medical care basedupon a different worl... more Chinese medicine (CM) is one ofseveral ancient systems of medical care basedupon a different worldview than the prevailingbiomedical model; it employs its own language,systems of logic, and criteria forunderstanding health and diagnosing illness.Medicinal herbs play a central role in the CMsystem of practice and knowledgeable CMpractitioners have extensive clinicalexperience using them. However, the establishedscientific and regulatory organizations thatrely upon biomedical understandings ofpathology do not accept the definitions formedicinal herb quality used by CMpractitioners. Furthermore, local medicinalherb growers within the upper Midwest are in aposition to grow many herbs, but are unclearabout the demand for and desired qualities ofthe medicinal herbs they produce. Given thissituation, the Medicinal Herb Network wasfounded as a partnership effort of small-scalemedicinal herb growers and practitioners of CMto develop more appropriate standards ofmedicinal herb quality and to encourage locallygrown, high quality medicinal herbs consistentwith these standards. An overview of CM servesas grounding from which to articulate thedilemmas experienced by CM practitioners ofperceiving medicinal herb quality andintegrating knowledge across divergent medicalsystems. A Network initiative designed toovercome these dilemmas illustrates thepossibility of developing a lexicon of qualitydescriptors for medicinal herbs using Chinesemedical theory, while drawing from descriptivesensory analysis procedures currently practicedby a sub-group of food scientists.