Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What’s Inside?
Module 1 Module 2 Module 3
This first Module looks at the The Health and Access Module In the third Module, the theme
kinds of food found in schools, looks at how the foods we of local food is addressed,
encouraging students to investi- eat affects our bodies and connecting international and
gate their own lunchrooms and the many issues preventing national food systems to local
develop ways to bring healthy access to healthy foods in communities.
and sustainable foods into their communities nationwide.
schools.
ISBN - 978-0-9822869-6-8
The What’s On Your Plate? Curriculum was developed by The What’s On Your Plate? Film and Outreach Cam-
Solar One, NYC’s Green Energy, Arts and Education Center. paign focuses attention and action on improving the
Solar One inspires and enables people of all ages with health of all children and the planet through Developed by:
the vision, knowledge and resources to attain a more sustainable food production and eating habits.
environmentally sound and sustainable future. www.solar1.org
Welcome!
from Chris Collins, the Executive Director of Solar One
and Catherine Gund, the Producer/Director of the Film What’s On Your Plate?
As NYC’s first Green Energy, Arts and Education Center, Solar One inspires New Yorkers to
become environmentally responsible residents through a variety of education, outreach and
arts programs. Solar One’s commitment to engaging all New Yorkers has led to the creation
of an innovative training program and curriculum to accompany What’s On Your Plate?, the
documentary film about kids and food politics.
What’s On Your Plate? Film follows two eleven-year-old African-American city kids over the
course of one year as they explore their place in the food chain. Sadie and Safiyah talk to food
activists, farmers, and storekeepers, as they address questions regarding the origin of the food
they eat, how it’s cultivated, and how many miles it travels from farm to fork. They ask about
what’s in the food they eat and why it’s making so many people sick.
Sadie and Safiyah visit supermarkets, fast food chains, and school lunchrooms. They also
check out innovative sustainable food system practices by going to farms, greenmarkets, and
community supported agriculture (CSA) programs. They discover that these options have a
number of positive effects: they are good for the environment, help struggling farmers survive,
and provide healthy, affordable, locally grown food to communities, especially lower-income
urban families. The film culminates with a delicious meal, with many local ingredients, cooked
by the girls with friends they have made along the way. In the film, Sadie and Safiyah formulate
sophisticated and compassionate opinions about urban sustainability, and by doing so inspire
hope and active engagement in others.
Solar One and the makers of What’s On Your Plate? Film view our partnership as ongoing and
mutually supportive. Much like the subject that is covered, this curriculum and the attendant
outreach to educators countrywide, functions on a systemic level. Together we engage the
food life cycle – from the initial seeds in the ground, to how what we eat gets on our plates and
what happens to the packaging and leftovers at the end of the meal. Together we engage in
a journey to transform how we use the earth’s natural resources. As we learn to de-carbonize
the earth’s atmosphere, we are required to re-think how we use all of our resources because of
the carbon impacts of the products and services we use. Thinking about the food we eat every
day is a great place for individuals, families and whole communities to start exploring the larger
terrain of environmental sustainability. All of the pieces are interconnected, and that’s exactly
how we view our work.
All rights reserved. Except for Activity Worksheets, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or any other information story and retrieval system, without
written permission from Solar One. Reproduction of Activity Worksheets is for educational purposes only.
V1
Solar One inspires and enables people of all ages with the vision, knowledge and
resources to attain a more environmentally sound and sustainable future.
To order another copy visit www.solar1.org for more information!
The What’s On Your Plate? Film and Outreach Campaign focuses attention and
action on improving the health of all children and the planet through sustainable
food production and eating habits. www.whatsonyourplateproject.org
Intro + How to Use
An Introduction
Welcome to a curriculum standing of the complex and hidden problems related to this food crisis.
world of food politics through unique What’s On Your Plate? Curriculum
companion to What’s On narratives, interviews and more. takes the lead on this issue, provid-
Your Plate?, a witty and ing a solutions-oriented approach to
The complete film is 76 minutes long, learning, through investigatory and
provocative documentary but for easiest use in the classroom, creative thinking tools that will spark
produced and directed by the filmmakers have edited three student’s imagination and hopefully
- 20-minute segments, approximately catalyze real change in communities
award-winning filmmaker 20 minutes each, which include most locally and globally.
Catherine Gund about kids scenes from the film. This curriculum
works with those three segments, or Visit www.whatsonyourplateproject.org
and food politics! modules: School Food, Local Food for information about screenings and
and Health and Access. news about emerging food issues
Filmed over the course of one year,
the film follows two eleven-year-old and politics. Here you will be able to
A perfect compliment to any subject share how you’ve brought food issues
African-American city kids as they area or setting, the issue of food
explore their place in the food chain. into your classroom by posting lesson
provides students and teachers alike plans, activity ideas, photographs and
Sadie and Safiyah take a close look at an interdisciplinary interface in which
food systems in New York City and its contribute to a collective recipe book
to contextualize relevant issues of of students all over the country! Also
surrounding areas. With the camera health and the environment affect-
as their companion, the girl guides on the site, students can play games
ing every community in the country. about healthy food options, post their
talk to each other, food activists, Concepts related to sustainability and
farmers, new friends, storekeepers, thoughts and photos about the food
the environment, often tied to com- they eat, and contribute to the ongo-
their families, and the viewer, in their plex and abstract systems, can be
quest to understand what’s on all of ing conversation about being healthy.
very difficult to present and discuss For additional copies of the curricu-
our plates. in a classroom setting. Food provides lum guide please visit
us with creative opportunities to avoid www.solar1.org.
Just as Sadie and Safiyah embark on this abstraction, instead allowing stu-
a journey to discover the origins and dents to participate in hands-on and
impacts of their food, the What’s On sense-based learning opportunities
Your Plate? Curriculum invites you to that are intimately tied to their family
learn alongside them with hands-on life, schools and local community.
activities, readers’ and investigatory
projects to allow your students to Our nation is facing a crisis of expo-
think creatively and critically about nential proportions, a crisis in many
what food means to their bodies their ways rooted in how we grow and
school and their community. Pre- produce food. From explosive obesity
sented as an adaptable resource for rates and rampant cases of diabetes
both teachers and non-formal educa- to environmental challenges near and
tors, the objective is to use systems far, the need to better understand
thinking and project-based learning to where our food comes from, and
spark a dialogue and relationship with the implications for our local com-
your students about the interconnec- munities and individual health, is of
tions of food, local ecology, health, vital importance now more than ever.
and community. The curriculum also Naturally, education on these issues
works together with the What’s On is therefore of immense concern;
Your Plate? Film and provides a education that provides students a
crucial media learning tool for cultivat- balanced perspective on emergent
ing discussion and a deeper under-
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................1
Standards................................................................................................................3
Learning Objectives..................................................................................................4
How to Use...........................................................................................................5-6
Selected Reading......................................................................................................7
Standards
About
These standards are a composite of education guidelines set on the national level by the National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of English, National Geographic Society, National Council on Economic
Education, Center for Civic Education, Consortium of National Arts Education Associations, National Center for History
in the Schools, and National Academies of Science among others! These standards apply for grades 5 – 8. The content,
activities and media learning tools meet these standards throughout each Module.
Objectives
Welcome!
The What’s On Your Plate? Curriculum is a comprehensive guide to understanding the importance of food
systems and the relationship food has to our communities, schools and our own bodies. The objective is to fa-
cilitate an exploration of how food affects our local communities and to empower students to re-imagine where
their food comes from and how it affects our local ecology. Divided into three Modules, this resource facilitates
a dialogue with your students through an exploration of local food, school food and health issues related to the
food we eat.
How to Use
Format and Delivery
This resource guide is adaptable so that it can be integrated into any
Recommended Grade Levels: 5 - 8 number of lesson plans across disciplines for grades 5 - 8. The best use
Time: 1-2 Weeks for Each Module of this Curriculum Guide will combine the use of the What’s On Your
Each Session: 45 minutes - 1 hour Plate? Film, hands-on activities, critical discussions and projects that
bring students outside into the community. The Curriculum is divided
Subject Area: Interdisciplinary into three major sections or themes that can be used interchangeably
according to your preference including School Food, Health and Access
and Local Food. Within each of these sections, the module is broken
down into a format that allows students to first be introduced to a major topic, then encouraged to investigate this issue
and finally re-think and develop solutions in relationship to their bodies, school or community.
Module 1
School Food
This first Module looks at the kinds of food found in
Inside each Module:
schools, encouraging students to investigate their What’s the Story?: An introductory section providing
own lunchrooms and develop ways to bring healthy background information and context on each thematic
and sustainable foods into their schools. Many being explored from local food to health and access.
students across the country rely on school food as
their major source of nutrition, eating three meals a Let’s Take a Closer Look!: This is a hands-on
day at their local school. In this section we will look at section empowering students to investigate their own
challenges that schools are facing across the country schools, homes and communities in relationship to food
in relationship to the food they provide to our youth and its ecological and social impacts.
and the affects it has on their bodies and communities,
and possible solutions. Let’s Rethink!: Let’s Re-Think! provides an
opportunity for students to re-imagine the way we buy,
eat and discuss food issues drawing from case studies
and examples of sustainable agriculture and food
Module 2
Health+Access systems from around the country
As a class, let’s brainstorm other ways we can reduce What Food? What Food?
Local Food
From Where? From Where?
Module 3
How Far did How Far did
it travel? (miles) it travel? (miles)
What Food?
NO. 4
What Food?
In this last Module, the theme of local food is 1. Investigation Students How Far did
it travel? (miles)
How Far did
it travel? (miles)
addressed, connecting international and national will investigate a problem in their NO. 5 NO.
food systems to local communities. Local food school or neighborhood. Activities What Food? What Food?
movements are on the rise, but how does that fit into How Far did
it travel? (miles)
How Far did
it travel? (miles)
some background information on the importance of Students will think about solutions
Total
local food socially and ecologically, while allowing to the problems they have identi-
© 2009 Solar One
for a critical discussion on possible solutions and fied and think of ways to “re-de- See Page 52 to see the full Long
applications for your school or community. Distance Mapping Activity
sign” their relationship to food in Worksheet
school, at home and community.
How to Use
Media Learning! Film Adapted Just for
your classroom!
This Curriculum is intended to be Inquiry-Based
used alongside the Film What’s Discussions:
On Your Plate?, which will provide School Food Segment
a unique media experience and Inquiry-based discussions are en-
reference for students and teachers couraged at the end of each movie
alike. clip viewed. To help spark discussion, Health+Access Segment
each module provides a series of
Movie Clips: thematic questions. Local Food Segment
Each Module is tied to a particular
movie clip that provides a relevant The Curriculum provides suggested
narrative for students to get a bet- stopping points for you to ask ques- Choose from three thematic seg-
ter understanding of each concept tions and begin a discussion. The ments adapted from the What’s on
being discussed. Teachers are best learning happens organically, Your Plate? Film especially for your
encouraged to use the movie in however, so we encourage you to classroom. Each segment has
conjunction with this curriculum to stop where you need to stop, ask three chapters which align with the
provide a robust learning experi- questions where you feel questions three sections found in each mod-
ence for their students. Instructions are needed and to use this as a visual ule: What’s the Story, Let’s Take a
found at the beginning of each tool to explain the ways food affects Closer Look and Let’s Re-Think!
Module! us every day.
8
Module One
School Food
Overview:
In this section we will explore issues related to food, how it gets to your school and the
environmental impacts of this process. Students will be encouraged to investigate the source of
their food and consider alternative ways of creating a more sustainable and local food system
for their school.
Introduction
Film Connection School Food Segment on the DVD
Objectives: Standards
l Students will better understand the historical Science
Technology
context of school food in the United States and NS.1 Science as Inquiry a, b
T.1 Social, Ethical, and
the contemporary framework in which it is now NS.3 Life Science a, b, c
Human Issues a
organized. NS.6 Science in Personal and Social Per-
spectives c, d, e, f
Language Arts
l Students will better understand where their school Economics
LA.1 Reading for Perspective a
food comes from and the hidden impacts this food LA.2 Evaluation Strategies a
EC.1 Productive Resources a
may have on their personal health, local commu- LA.3 Communication Strategies a
EC.2 Allocating Goods and Services a
nity and environment. LA.4 Evaluating Data a
EC.8 Role of Price in a Market System a
LA.5 Developing Research Skills a
LA.7 Participating in Society a
l Students will think critically about ways to investi- Geography
gate where their school food comes from. G.3 Human Systems a, c, d
G.4 Environment and Society a, b, c
l Students will be empowered to develop strategies
to improve the nutritional content of their school’s
food and ways in which their school receives food.
Activity Investigation
Class Cookbook School Lunches
As a class, students will design a community cookbook by through the Ages
collecting recipes from their families or other community Students will analyze school lunch
members. The recipes can reflect region, culture, or menus from various eras, comparing
community. The idea is for the cookbook to form a them to their own school’s menu.
composite of the students – identity through food history.
Students may bear healthy recipes in mind, or they may (See Worksheet on page 14)
alter recipes if they appear to be unhealthy (i.e. substitute
olive oil for bacon fat). (See Worksheet on page 15)
Tuesday (1) Vegetable soup and Spaghetti with meat Beef and Brown Gravy Baked macaroni with Vegetable beef
roll balls Whipped Potatoes tomato and hamburger Peanut butter or ham salad
(2) Cocoa or milk; crack- Butter sandwich English Peas Corn sandwich
ers or ice cream. Carrot stick Hot Rolls Ripe olives Biscuit and butter
Bread pudding Butter and Honey Bread with jelly Cole slaw
Vanilla sauce Milk Whipped orange jello Milk
Milk with topping Ice cream
Wednesday 1) Creamed beef on toast Escalloped potatoes Hamburger on a Bun Potato chips Pizza
and roll, Harvard beets Potato Chips Frankfurts Green beans and butter
(2) Cocoa or milk; crack- Jelly sandwich Lettuce Leaf Cut green beans Tossed salad (spinach,
ers or ice cream. Sauce Tomato Slice Bread and butter lettuce and tomato with oil
Dates Milk Prune Cake Apricot halves dressing)
Milk Applesauce
Brownie
Milk
Thursday (1) Macaroni with tomato Mashed potatoes Chicken a la King Chicken and gravy on Hot roast beef sandwich
sauce and roll Beef gravy Buttered Rice Cup baking powder biscuit with gravy
(2) Cocoa or milk; crack- Carrot stick Carrot strips Cranberry sauce Whipped potatoes
ers or ice cream. Butter sandwich Pineapple, Grated Cheese Celery sticks Buttered cabbage
Jam sandwich Apple Salad Bread with peanut butter Milk
Milk Peanut Butter Mixed fruit Cherry cobbler
Graham Crackers
Half and Half Bread
Milk
Friday (1) Creamed salmon and Escalloped corn Salmon Salad on Bun Blended juice Grilled cheese sandwich
roll. Peanut butter sandwich Lettuce and Tomato Salad Mashed potato Buttered corn
(2) Cocoa or milk; crack- Pea salad Ice Cream Cup Fish sticks with tartar Lettuce with cream dressing
ers or ice cream Cookie Milk sauce Milk
Milk Beet relish Peanut butter cookie
Bread and butter Jello cubes
Apple pie
Questions
1. Are there any similarities between your school’s menu and other years? Circle some of the things that are the same.
2. What year seems to be the most similar to your school?Which year seems most different? Why?
3. Which meals seem the healthiest? Why? Which seem the least healthy?
4. What would you change about these menus and why?
worksheet
Class Cookbook
Let’s make a cookbook! But first we need some recipes!
Directions: Talk with one family member or friend and ask them to share some recipes that reflect your
family’s history or culture. Ask them to help you write down a recipe in the “Family Recipe” box below and then
add your own spin to it in the “Your Recipe” section!
Ingredients
Your School
Ingredients
Module One: School Food
the school cafeteria Health Issues Obesity and type II diabetes are two major health prob-
makes a lot of trash. lems facing children and teens today. We will examine this in-depth in
Module Two.
Packaging waste: Many cafeterias
serve meals on plastic or Styrofoam
disposable trays with plastic forks What about your school?
and spoons, and many food items are
packages in their own wrappers. Not So now you understand some of the impacts the food at your school may
only does this produce a large amount have on the environment and your health, but what about your school?
of garbage that cannot be recycled, Your school may be purchasing food from industrial farming operations and
it took a lot of fossil fuel and water to creating a lot of waste. Begin to think about how this specifically relates to
make the trays and utensils. your community and your health. Well there are number of environmental
impacts that we should look at:
Food Waste: All students are given the
same kind of food- whether they want
Land/Water/Air – How does the lution from the use of gasoline for
food you purchase affect local land, instance. How does poor air quality
it or not. In order to receive money
water and air quality? Landfills can affect your body?
from the government, many schools
harm local habitats where animals
also have a milk requirement (although
and plants live. Dangerous chemi- Carbon Footprint – How many
this can vary), in which students in
cals and gases collecting from the greenhouse gases are produced in
younger grades must accept a con-
waste can contaminate the water the production and transportation of
tainer of milk as part of their lunch. For
near a landfill. What other impacts your food? (ie. CO2, carbon diox-
many reasons, students don’t always
can you think of that may relate to ide) These greenhouse gases can
eat or drink everything that is served,
your community’s local water, air or contribute to a phenomena known
and as a result, a lot of food ends up in
land resources? as climate change, affecting global
the garbage can, producing even more
waste. temperatures because the green-
Resource Use – What kinds and house gases create a think blanket
Both packaging and food waste can how many resources are being around the earth, trapping too much
also apply to lunch brought from home, used to produce and transport your heat around the earth’s surface.
and certainly apply to food purchased food? We need to transport food to How does climate change, or global
from fast food restaurants. Individual the factory for packaging, then to warming affect your community?
bags of chips, food wrappers, and the school for reheating and eating,
drink boxes produce extra garbage. and then that waste is transported
Cool Idea! - Watch a cool
to landfills sometimes hundreds of
movie - The Story of Stuff for free
miles away, which causes air pol-
online: www.storyofstuff.com
Investigation
Cafeteria Snoops (See Worksheet on page 18)
Now it’s time to investigate your school lunchroom. Work with your local school lunchroom staff and figure out just
where your food comes from and how they choose what they choose. Conduct interviews with your lunchroom staff.
Ask them about their purchasing process and how they prepare their foods, where they are stored and if they know
where the food is processed and transported from. Make sure to be polite and thankful for your lunchroom staff!
Remember that they also want what’s best for you but often have many obstacles in the way of serving better food.
Some sample questions include:
Add your questions here:
1. How many meals are prepared each day?
2. What are the common items ordered?
3. How are the meals prepared?
4. How do you decide how much food and
what foods to purchase?
5. Where does the food come from?
Next, with classmates create an archive of the products found in your schools freezer and pantry. Look closely at
the labels and write down ingredients for common food items, noting where they were distributed from, information
usually found below the nutritional facts. Observe, ask questions and write down everything you find!
Interview Observations
Step One: First, you need to develop a list of interview Step Four: Next find out if you can “tour” the lunchroom.
questions, so you can get the information you want. Some Keep good notes on what you observe.
sample questions could include:
What kind of kitchen equipment does the lunch
1. How many meals are prepared each day? room have? Microwaves? Stoves? Ovens?
2. What are the common items ordered? What are some common foods in the cafeteria freezer?
3. How are the meals prepared? Make note of the ingredients, nutritional facts, and the com-
4. How do you decide how much food and what pany that sent the food.
foods to purchase?
5. Where does the food come from? Observe, ask questions and write down everything you find!
Questions:
worksheet
Map it Out! Name
Directions: Create a map of your neighborhood and the inside of your school.
Identify things like where the fast food restaurants are located
Mark where the vending machines are
Identify other things that influence what kind of food you eat
Your Neighborhood N
Key
Your School
Your School N
Key
worksheet
Let’s Weigh it Out
Let’s find out how much waste your lunch creates each month!
Directions: Follow the steps below to calculate the amount of waste created by your lunch each month.
plastic
organic Now lets figure out how much waste we’re talking about
here! Take the answer from the above calculation and use it
to find out which kind of material creates the most waste!
styrofoam
6. Total Material Waste
other
Total Waste x (% of material)
ie. 500 grams/student/lunch x 0.12 = 60 grams/paper
Now let’s figure out what percentage of each material is in
Unit
your waste:
paper g
3. Percentages Material Weight
= % metal
Total Weight
plastic
paper %
organic
metal
styrofoam
plastic
other
organic
Let’s Re-Think
We’re Just Getting Started!
Wow, we’ve learned a lot so far. We found out about the history of school food,
what kinds of foods are in your lunchroom and where they come from. Now its
time to think about solutions to some of the problems we’ve found. It’s time to
start thinking about your school and some amazing things we can do together as
a community to address some of these problems. So it looks like we have a lot of
problems with our how some of our food is produced. But wait, there’s good news!
People are changing the way think about their food and the ways that they get it.
Whether you live in the country or the city, there are many, many alternatives to
industrially produced food.
Step One: Planning 2. What and When – what you decide to grow depends
1. Make sure that starting a garden is even allowed in on where you live. Use the National Gardening Associa-
your school. tion’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map to help you determine
2. If you are facing opposition host a meeting with your when and what to plant: http://www.garden.org/zipzone/
teachers, parents, and other students.
Step Four: Start Your Garden!
Step Two: Choose a Site 1. Prepare the soil – once you have your site selected
1. Choose a site that will be good for a garden. Consider you will need to till the soil and add in compost. Depend-
your regional characteristics. ing on the kind of soil you have you may have to add
2. Consider important parameters like sun, soil and rain. some other elements like sand or clay to balance the soil.
Some areas of the country have lots of sun and rain and 2. Irrigation – Consider a simple irrigation system that will
others have very little. help keep you garden watered.
3. Garden Type – there are many ways to grow your 3. Fencing – If your garden is near a forest or wildlife
garden: raised bed (using boxes that are 2-3 feet off the habitat, put up some fencing to keep out animals that
ground) or simply in the soil near your school. may eat your plants!
4. Planting: Once you have decided what you want to
Step Three: Choose What to Grow grow, how do you plant it? Some seeds must be started
1. Choose what will be easy to grow and maintain. Some indoors during the winter, while others can be planted
suggestions for a simple and easy garden include: directly in the soil during spring or summer.
5. Harvesting: Harvest time is when your hard work pays
The Three Sisters – a traditional Native American tech- off, and in a big way. Be sure your class has a plan for
nique of growing beans, squash and corn together. your harvest.
Step Five: Maintenance
Hot Head, Cold Feet – Plant cucumbers and peppers Develop a maintenance and care plan. Remember gar-
together. Good companion planting is an excellent dens need lots of care, water and sun. Depending on the
way to control pests. plants you grow, you may need to weed, mulch, fertil-
ize, or prune. Develop a plan to make sure someone is
Pizza Garden – Plant basil, tomatoes and peppers always taking care of the garden; create a class chart in
together. which students rotate garden duties and find someone to
take care of it in the summer months.
Let’s Re-Think
Idea # 2 Farm to School www.farmtoschool.org
A garden may not be enough to bring local and sustainable food into your school. Consider a “Farm to School”
program sponsored by the USDA. Farm-to-school is an initiative that encourages small farmers to sell fresh fruits and
vegetables to schools and schools to buy this wholesome produce from small farmers. If one isn’t available in your
community, think about starting your own version of the program with local community members, farmers and your
school community. To develop your own farm to school program start with some of the following steps:
Needs Assessment Organize a Planning Meeting
Determine where school food is currently being sourced. Organize a planning meeting at your school, invite repre-
How far is food being shipped? What foods could locally sentatives from the State Department of Agriculture and
grown crops could replace? State Department of Education.
Let’s Re-Think
Idea # 4 Compost!
Composting is a great way to reduce school food
waste, and can be great for your garden too! Compost
is a mixture of decaying food scraps and other organic
materials like leaves used to provide plants with
nutrients. Here are some tips on starting a compost
operation at your school!
Let’s Re-Think
Idea # 6 Vermi-Compost
There is another method of composting called vermi-
coposting. This is a type of decomposition in which
earthworms do all the work. You just need plastic bins
with lids and air holes (the worms need to breathe). Put
in the same kind of food waste (no animal products) as
in other compost piles and let the worms chew away.
Worms love apple cores, vegetable scraps, and egg-
shells! Remember, a balanced diet is as important for
them as it is for you.
Step One: Brainstorm Brainstorm some answers to the questions above. Think of 2 ideas and
describe each idea with 2 sentences below:
Idea 1:
Idea 2:
Step Two: Sketch Draw some diagrams or sketch out some of your ideas below:
Title:
Description:
worksheet
Reduce Your Waste
Let’s monitor how much waste your class produces in just 1 month!
Directions: Collect data on how much waste you and your classmates produce in one month. Set a goal each week
to reduce your waste and finally make some recommendations on how to reduce waste in your school or classroom.
Weigh it Measure the waste created by you and your classmates each week:
# 1:
# 2:
Module Two
Health + Access
Overview:
In this module we will explore the impacts of food on health and our bodies. Students will
investigate conventional packaged foods and will learn how to decipher nutrition labels. Students
will explore availability of healthy food in their community and examine their own eating
patterns.
Introduction
Film Connection Health + Acess Segment on the DVD
Objectives: Standards
l Students will understand the connections between their
Science Technology
health and the foods they eat.
NS.1 Science as Inquiry a, b T.1 Social, Ethical, and Human
NS.6 Science in Personal and Issues
l Students will think critically about the foods they eat in
Social Perspectives c, d, e, f
school, at home and on the go, their nutritional content, Language Arts
and environmental impacts. Economics LA.1 Reading for Perspective a
EC.1 Productive Resources LA.2 Evaluation Strategies a
l Students will understand processed foods, how they are EC.2 Allocating Goods and Ser- LA.4 Evaluating Data a
made and their impacts on health and diet. vices LA.5 Developing Research Skills a
EC.8 Role of Price in a Market LA.7 Participating in Society a
l Students will develop ways to improve their health and lo- System
cal environment by changing their diet and eating habits.
Instructions:
Divide the class into 4 groups. Give three groups a drink-
ing cup and a bowl. Give the fourth group measuring
cups. Ask the first three groups to pour the amount of
cereal in the bowl that they would normally pour for them-
selves, and then do the same with the “soda”. The fourth
group should be instructed to read the serving sizes on
the cereal box and soda bottle and pour exactly that
amount using the measuring cups. Afterwards, the groups
will compare their serving sizes. Using the nutrition facts
labels, the class will calculate the actual calories of each
serving. (see worksheet on page 34)
1. Ingredients:
White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, seasoning (autolyzed yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natu-
ral flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid, rosemary), sodium phosphates, seasoning (canola
oil, mono- and diglycerides, extractives of rosemary). Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached
wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, food starch-modified, salt,
leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium
lactate), spices, wheat starch, whey, corn starch. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola
oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethyl-
polysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent).
What is it?
2. Ingredients:
Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Monoitrate, Riboflavin, and Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil
(Contains one or more of the following: corn, soybean, or sunflower oil), Whey, Salt, Cheddar Cheese, (Cultured Milk,
Salt, Enzymes). Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Maltodextrin, Disodium Phosphate, Sour Cream (Cultured Cream,
Nonfat Milk), Artificial Flavor, Monosodium Glutmate, Lactic Acid, Artificial Colors (Including Yellow 6), and Citric Acid.
Contains Milk
What is it?
3. Ingredients:
Sauce: Soybean oil, pickle relish [diced pickles, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, vinegar, corn syrup, salt, calcium chloride, xanthan
gum, potassium sorbate (preservative), spice extractives, polysorbate 80], distilled vinegar, water, egg yolks, high fructose corn
syrup, onion powder, mustard seed, salt, spices, propylene glycol alginate, sodium benzoate (preservative), mustard bran, sugar,
garlic powder, vegetable protein (hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat), caramel color, extractives of paprika, soy lecithin, turmeric (color),
calcium disodium EDTA (protect flavor).
Bun: Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid,
enzymes), water, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated soybean oil, contains 2% or less of
the following: salt, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, wheat gluten, ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, dough conditioners
(sodium stearoyl lactylate, datem, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, ethoxylated monoglycerides, monocal-
cium phosphate, enzymes, guar gum, calcium peroxide, soy flour), calcium propionate and sodium propionate (preservatives), soy
lecithin, sesame seed.
Patties: 100% Angus beef. Prepared with Grill Seasoning (salt, black pepper) and Angus Burger Seasoning: Salt, sugar, dextrose,
onion powder, maltodextrin, natural butter flavor (dairy source), autolyzed yeast extract, spices, garlic powder, vegetable protein
(hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat), natural (animal, plant and botanical source) and artificial flavors, dried beef broth, sunflower oil,
caramel color, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oil, gum arabic, soy sauce solids (wheat, soybean, salt, maltodextrin,
caramel color), palm oil, worcestershire sauce powder [distilled vinegar, molasses, corn syrup, salt, caramel color, garlic powder,
sugar, spices, tamarind, natural flavor (fruit source)], beef fat, annatto and turmeric (color), calcium silicate and soybean oil (prevent
caking).
Pasteurized Process American Cheese: Milk, water, milkfat, cheese culture, sodium citrate, salt, citric acid, sorbic acid (preservative),
sodium phosphate, artificial color, lactic acid, acetic acid, enzymes, soy lecithin (added for slice separation).
Lettuce, Pickle Slices, Onions
What is it?
Part 2 worksheet
Looking at Labels
Name
Circle all of the ingredients that appear on your snack label and answer the
questions below.
Questions
1. What do you think these ingredients have in common?
b. How many people had only one of these ingredients on their labels?
c. How many people had five or more of these ingredients on their labels?
In this activity let’s figure out just how much a serving size actually is!
Follow the directions and answer the questions below:
Questions
1. Was your group’s portion size larger or smaller than the portion size on the Calories per gram of:
label?
Water = 0kJ (0 Cal)
Protein = 17kJ (4 Cal)
2. What did you find most surprising about the class results? Dietary fiber = 13kJ (3 Cal)
Fat = 37kJ (9 Cal)
Alcohol = 29kJ (7 Cal)
3. Do you think it is important to read ingredient and nutrition labels on food? Carbohydrates = 16kJ (4 Cal)
Why or why not?
(kJ stands for kilojoules a measure of energy)
Module Two: Health + Access
Obesity
Childhood obesity has become a very serious
issue. Today, in the United States, 17.3% of Type II Diabetes
children ages 6-19 are obese. Doesn’t sound
Type II diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. It is a
like a high number? Compare it to 1980,
disease in which the body either does not produce enough
when only a little more than 6% of U.S. chil-
insulin or the cells ignore the insulin.
dren were considered obese. That’s a pretty
big jump.
What is insulin?
What is obesity When the body digests food, it breaks the food down into
and why is it serious? glucose (sugar). Glucose is the basic form of energy for your
cells. Insulin, made in the pancreas, is a hormone that takes the
Good question. Obesity is a medical
glucose to the cells. If a body does not produce enough insulin
condition in which there is excess body or the cells ignore the insulin, glucose builds up in the blood
fat which has a negative effect on a stream. This can cause two major problems:
person’s health. There are specific for- 1. Your cells will be immediately starved for energy.
mulas used to determine obesity using 2. Over a longer period of time, high glucose levels in the
BMI (Body Mass Index), height, and blood can cause damage to eyes, kidneys, blood vessels,
weight, but, generally, a person is con- nerves, and heart. Also, high blood sugar increases the
sidered obese if he or she has a BMI of chances of getting infections or diseases.
30 or higher. This can vary somewhat for
children because people grow at different Why is this important for kids?
rates. Obesity is associated with a num- For several reasons:
ber of serious diseases including heart 1. Type II diabetes was once called “adult onset diabetes”
disease, Type II diabetes, certain types of because it was rarely found in children. In the early 90s,
cancer, and breathing difficulties during most pediatric doctors reported only 2% to 4% of their
sleep. Now do you see why this is impor- diabetic patients had type II. Today, the reported cases of
children with type II have increased tenfold.
tant? No one wants to be sick!
2. The longer a person has diabetes, the greater the
chance she has of developing serious complications due to
the disease.
3. Obesity may not always cause diabetes but is the most
Scary stuff right? significant risk factor.
Carbohydrates body can make many of them itself, contributes to other heart problems.
but there are 8 “essential” amino Saturated fat is found mostly in
Carbohydrates provide the body with acids the body cannot produce on its foods from animals and some plants.
a source of fuel and energy required own, and must get from food. Foods from animals include beef,
to carry out daily activities and exer- beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poul-
cise. Any extra energy is stored in the Complete Protein is a food source that try fat, butter, cream, milk, cheeses
body until it is needed. provides all eight essential amino and other dairy products made from
All carbohydrates are broken down acids. Animal-based foods like meat, whole and 2 percent milk.
into glucose (sugar) for the body’s poultry, fish, milk, eggs, and cheese
energy. are complete protein sources. Trans fat is a type of saturated fat,
found mostly in processed foods. It
Simple Carbohydrates are quickly Incomplete Proteins are sources that was created by scientists to extend
broken down into glucose to be used are missing one or more of the es- the shelf life of foods, and is found in
as energy. Simple carbohydrates sential amino acids, such as beans, fast foods, many snack foods, and
are found naturally in foods such peas, seeds, nuts, grains, and some fried foods. If you see the word “hy-
as fruits, milk, and milk products. vegetables. Incomplete proteins drogenated” on the ingredient label,
They are also found in processed can be combined to form complete then the food contains trans fats.
and refined sugars such as candy, proteins. Examples include corn and Trans fats increase the risk of heart
table sugar, syrups, white bread, and beans, rice and beans, or peanut disease and other problems. They
soda, which provide energy, but lack butter and whole wheat bread. are not necessary to any bodily func-
vitamins, minerals, and fiber. If the tion and should be avoided. Many
glucose is not used, it gets stored as Fats school districts have outlawed trans
fat. fats in school lunches, and some
Fats are important for brain develop- places, like New York City, have
Complex Carbohydrates take much ment and storing the body’s extra banned them from restaurants.
longer to break down and supply the calories. During heavy exercise, the
body with a steady source of en- body uses most of its carbohydrates Vitamins and Minerals
ergy. Examples of complex carbo- within 20 minutes, and then it begins
hydrates are whole grains, oatmeal, burning the stored fat. Another way Unlike protein, carbohydrates and
and brown rice. More than half of to simplify things is that the main fats, vitamins and minerals do not
your diet should be carbohydrates function of carbohydrates is to sup- provide energy, but are needed to
and most of that should be complex ply energy, while the primary jobs of make the body function properly. For
carbohydrates. fats and proteins pertain to structure example, Vitamin D helps the body
and building.
absorb enough calcium to make
Proteins strong teeth and bones. If someone
Unsaturated Fats are the fats that
The most important function of are good for brain development and has a vitamin D deficiency, they can
protein is to build, maintain, and good for your heart. Sources include develop a disease called rickets,
replace the tissues in your body. Your fish, nuts, seeds, vegetable oils (olive, which is a softening of the bones.
muscles and organs, including your corn, sunflower, etc.), avocados and Even though we only need small
heart, are made up mostly of protein. olives. amounts of vitamins and minerals,
All proteins are made of little build- they are essential to good health.
ing blocks called amino acids. There Saturated fat is the main dietary
are 20 kinds of amino acids and your cause of high cholesterol and also
Now that we’ve narrowed down where your food is coming from, let’s look
What and Where?
Can you guess where these foods
at an example – potato chips! What could possibly be wrong with a potato come from and what they are typically
chip? As you now know, many processed foods contain only empty calo- made into?
ries, but what does that mean exactly? Let’s look at comparison:
So how do we know which one is healthier and why? Let’s talk about it:
1. First off… Pringles have more calories in a smaller amount of food. 18
grams of Pringles versus 61 grams of carrots. What
2. You would have to eat 4 carrots to get 100 calories - the same
Where
amount as in the can of Pringles.
3. If you ate 61 grams of Pringles, however (which people are likely to
do, as they tend to eat a lot of potato chips at one time), you would be
eating 337 calories!
Think about what else you get with these snacks. With the carrot, not only
do you get carbohydrates, you also get big amounts of beta carotene
(which your body converts to vitamin A), plus smaller amounts of potas- What
sium, vitamin C, vitamin K, and vitamin B6. Pringles give you carbohydrates Where
too, plus saturated fat, sodium, and all of those chemical additives we just
talked about.
Let’s think about one more factor influencing our health, diet and food
choices. We often think that processed foods are cheaper than whole
foods, but the problem is we aren’t looking at the right scales to really
understand just how much money we are spending. Eating processed
foods like Pringles over a longer period of time can cost more than their
ninety-nine cents price tag. If we eat enough processed foods, our health
can begin to decline and we may suffer from some of the illnesses we
discussed earlier. Being sick from eating unhealthy foods means spending What
more money on doctor visits and medicine. Eating carrots and other healthy
food gives you good health and you can’t put a price on that. Where
Discussion Questions
1. Did you find a lot of bad foods in the store?
What about healthy foods? What were they? A Profile: Watauga County,
2. Did you notice any price differences be-
tween foods that were not so healthy vs.
North Carolina
ones that were? This county, nestled deep in the Appalachian
3. How did the store display the foods that Mountains of western North Carolina, just
were unhealthy? completed its first year of a countywide child-
hood obesity prevention program. Appalachian
State University provided training to prepare
students in K-12 for fitness tests. In addition,
schools across the county began farm-to-
school programs and school gardening projects.
After-school programs offered healthy cook-
ing classes and outdoor activities. The town of
Boone, North Carolina, has initiated an expan-
sion of walking and biking trail systems to con-
nect neighborhoods and encourage people to
increase their physical activity.
Let’s check out the supermarket and see out what kinds of foods you can find!
Directions: 1. Pick out one food item that you might eat at each meal plus one snack food. (For example, for a
breakfast food you might pick out a type of cereal.)
2. Write down the food below.
3. Read the ingredients and label, then answer the questions. What are the good things about this
food? What are the bad things? You can choose any foods you like, but it will probably be more help-
ful to use foods you actually eat.
Your Selections:
Serving Calories What do you think What do you Can you find a
Size are the bad things think are the good food to
about this food? good things replace the bad
about this food? ones you found?
Breakfast food
item:
Lunch food
item:
Dinner food
item:
Snack food
item:
Module Two: Health + Access
Let’s Re-Think
Let’s Get Healthy!
There’s a lot involved with eating these days. It isn’t just about fish sticks being bad for you or broccoli being
good for you. It is about learning to think about our food and how we eat. Is it good for us? Is it good for our families,
schools, and communities? Is it good for the environment? So where do I start to improve my diet, the foods I eat
and how I consider the environment and community all in the same equation? It’s all about thinking big and starting
small …let’s look at some ideas below:
Some Ideas...
Even small changes in the way you meal. Ask them for their favorite reci-
eat can have big effects. Changing pes, and find recipes for your favorite
the way you eat may seem like a big dishes.
task but it’s easier than it looks. Take
the first step and after a while, you’ll If you can,
wonder how you ever lived without grow some food!
food adventures. Here are some tips
to get you started: After putting a lot of care into a plant
or garden, you will be more willing to
Eat a wide eat fresh fruits and veggies that you
grew yourself. Plus it’s a fun way to
variety of foods learn about food.
Don’t be afraid to try something new.
Get moving
In fact you can make a game of it and
try one new food each week. If you
There are lots and lots of ways to fit
don’t like it at least you will have tried
it, and you may even discover a new physical activity into your day. Ride a
favorite food! bike or walk instead of taking buses or
cars. Take stairs instead of elevators.
Eat lots of whole grains,
fruits, vegetables, and legumes Bring your own snacks
If possible, try to get food that is fresh When you go to school or go places
and local. It’s high in complex carbo- with friends, plan ahead and bring
hydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, healthy snacks. Fruits, vegetables,
low in fat, and cholesterol free. nuts, dried fruit, peanut butter, or gra-
nola are just a few possibilities.
If you don’t already
know how, learn to cook
Add your idea here:
Cooking at home is half the battle to
healthy eating for you and the planet.
You know exactly what is going into
your food, plus it’s fun. Once you
know the basics, you can get creative
in the kitchen. Help your parents, fam-
ily members, or friends to prepare a
Let’s Re-Think
Even more ideas
Even small changes in the way you eat can drink water instead.
have big effects. Changing the way you eat
may seem like a big task but it’s easier than Get fit with
it looks. Take the first step and after a while, friends and family
you’ll wonder how you ever lived without
food adventures. Here are some tips to get It’s a lot more fun to be active with friends
you started: or family. Plan a group activity once a
week. Dancing, swimming, running, hiking,
Listen to your body basketball, and biking are just a few pos-
sibilities.
Often, we will keep eating if there is food
in front of us, even if we are not hungry. If Join in physical
your body is telling you it is full, try to listen activities at school
and stop eating. If you are eating out, don’t
order a large size of anything and if the por- If your school offers sports, sign up. Other-
tions are big, split a dish with someone. wise, you could try to start a club yourself.
Or join the empowerME2B network of kids
Pay attention to your food being healthy, staying active and creating
solutions to the obesity epidemic to get lots
When we do other things while we are eat- of ideas and motivation: www.empower-
ing, we don’t pay attention to what we are me2b.org
putting into our bodies. Try not to eat while
watching television, sitting at a computer,
or when you are on the go. Make time
Balance
for your food. Try to eat your meals sit-
This means a couple of things:
ting down at a table. If possible, try to eat
Don’t eat too much of one thing. One of
with family or friends. Eating a meal is a
the best ways to make sure your body is
great way to enjoy your food as well as the
getting everything it needs is to eat a wide
people in your family and community.
variety of foods.
And Finally...
One step at a time – Changing your eating habits and lifestyle is a lot to do. It is easier to make new habits long last-
ing if you keep it simple and work on one thing at a time. You could start off by choosing one unhealthy food in your
diet and replace it with a healthier option. Then work your way up from there. Remember – eating should be enjoy-
able!
For more fun activities, games, and information on health and good eating, check out the Kids! Learn More! page on
the What’s on Your Plate? website: http://www.whatsonyourplateproject.org/links
Let’s Re-Think
Activity Analysis
Food Diary Re-Design!
Students will keep a food diary for several days to Help students apply some of the ideas and concepts
a week, depending on what works best for the age learned in this section through a quick excersize called
group. As a class, students will develop a simple chart “Re-Design”. In this activity, pose some of the ques-
of Stoplight Foods. tions covered in this module. Prompt students to think
critically about a reponse to some of these questions
1. Red Foods – foods the class thinks it would be
or explore ideas on how one could design some solu-
best to avoid.
tions to these problems. (see worksheet on page 44)
2. Yellow Foods – foods the class thinks are OK to
eat occasionally or in small quantities.
3. Green Foods – foods the class thinks are healthy
and should be eaten daily.
Activity
Games and More Ideas!
For games about healthy foods vs. unhealthy foods,
check out the Games page on the What’s On Your
Plate? website at:
www.whatsonyourplateproject.org/games
Photo: Matt Carpenter
Keep a diary of the foods you eat! Rate how healthy each food is below
Directions: 1. Keep a diary of the foods you eat throughout the day.
2. Use the rating system below and decide whether you think something is health and should be eaten
everyday or the food is bad for you and shouldn’t be eaten often.
Green Foods The food is healthy and can be eaten every day!
Yellow Foods This food is OK and can be eaten occasionally.
Red Foods This food is bad and shouldn’t be eaten very often.
Your Diary:
Red Foods Yellow Foods Green Foods
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Health+Access worksheet
Re-Design! Name
Let’s think about how you can make healthier food choices!
How can your community or school get involved with healthier food choices?
What are some ideas on getting you and your friends more active, playing
outside and eating right?
What are some healthy alternatives to the food you eat at home and school?
Step One: Brainstorm Brainstorm some answers to the questions above. Think of 2 ideas and
describe each idea with 2 sentences below:
Idea 1:
Idea 2:
Step Two: Sketch Draw some diagrams or sketch out some of your ideas below:
Title:
Description:
Module Three
Local Food
Overview:
In this module, students are introduced to industrial farming and the human health and environ-
mental impacts of global food production. Students will explore various farming techniques and
make connections between the food they eat and where it’s grown. Students will analyze the
current food system in their community and will be encouraged to find positive solutions to the
ecological and social challenges of the modern food system.
Introduction
Film Connection Local Food Segment on the DVD
Objectives: Standards
l Students will understand the connections between Science G.2 Physical Systems a
NS.1 Science as Inquiry a, b G.3 Human Systems b, c, d, e
location, food consumption and production.
NS.2 Physical Science a G.4 Environment and Society a, b, c
NS.3 Life Science b, c, d
l Students will gain a better understanding of the envi- NS.4 Earth and Space Science a Technology
ronmental and social impacts of conventional farming NS.5 Science and Technology b T.1 Social, Ethical, and Human Issues a
techniques. NS.6 Science in Personal and Social T.2 Technology Research Tools a
Perspectives c, d, e, f
l Students will better understand the historical context Economics Language Arts
EC.1 Productive Resources a LA.1 Reading for Perspective a
and emergence of industrial farming.
EC.2 Allocating Goods and Services a LA.2 Evaluation Strategies a
EC.8 Role of Price in a Market System a LA.4 Evaluating Data a
l Students will think critically about potential solutions LA.5 Developing Research Skills a
and applications to address environmental and social Geography LA.6 Multicultural Understanding a
issues related to local food in their community. G.1 Places and Regions a, b, c LA.7 Participating in Society a
Use of man-made fertilizer • Cheaper and more convenient. • Soil, water, and air pollution. The Mis-
and chemical pesticides and • Can grow large monocultures (only one sissippi River often floods, spreading
herbicides (weed killer) on kind of crop) intensively. runoff to nearby communities.
• Produces large yields = more profit • Soil erosion and depletion.
crops • Elimination of beneficial microorgan-
isms in soil. Loss of wildlife on farm.
• Insects and bacteria develop resis-
tance to pesticides, creating “super
pests”.
Use of hormones, antibiotics • The use of antibiotics and vaccines prevent • Soil, air, and water contamination
and vaccines on livestock diseases caused by crowding animals to- from concentrated animal waste and
gether, so that many animals may be raised dead animals.
indoors or in a small area. • Harmful bacteria, resistant to anti-
• Hormones are used to increase size of biotics, spread disease quickly, and
animal and the speed of growth. possibly affect humans.
• Produce milk, eggs, and meat at lowest • Mistreatment of animals.
cost possible. • Negative health effects on humans
from consumption of hormones, antibi-
otics, etc, in animal products.
CAFOs (Concentrated • Large amounts of animals (cows, pigs, • A lot of animal manure is created and
Animal Feeding Operations) poultry) are raised in very small areas. placed into “lagoons”, which contami-
also known as factory • Cheaper – less land is used, they are fed nate soil, air, and water with methane,
corn, which is not their natural diet, but is nitrogen, and nitrous oxide.
farming very cheap. • Quick spread of disease
• Animals are given antibiotics to prevent ill- • Mistreatment of animals.
ness from spreading in crowded environment • Animals are fed cheap diets their
• Animals are given growth hormoes to bodies cannot digest
speed up growth process, so they may be • Discomfort, stress, injuries, and lack
slaughtered sooner (the bigger and faster of exercise for animals housed in close
you can raise and kill an animal, the more confinement
money you can make) • Restriction of daylight and natural
behaviors by crowded living conditions
• Monoculture. The species that grows
the biggest and fastest is raised, so
other breeds, with different traits,
become rare or die out. Also, loss of
nutrients in food.
Monocultures: growing one • Uniform growing requirements, • Loss of plant and animal diversity. Diversity
single crop over a large increasing efficiency and mechani- is protection from pests and disease. If one
area. zation. It is easier to grow just corn species gets sick, there are many others around
than it is to grow seven crops with that are resistant. In 1904, over 7,000 variet-
different needs. ies of apple were grown on the U.S. Today 15
• Large yields varieties account for 90% of apple production.
• Large yields create surplus, or ex- • Disease and crop failure.
tra, crops. This promotes the cheap • The Irish Potato famine happened in many
production of processed foods. ways because most people in Ireland grew
only one type of potato. That potato became
susceptible to a type of mold, which destroyed
the entire country’s food supply.
• Increased dependence on pesticides.
• Depletion of soil nutrients.
Processing and packaging of • Companies can sell processed • Processed foods have less nutrition and more
many foods and packaged foods for more chemicals than whole foods, so people have
money than whole foods like fruits more food-related health problems from the
and vegetables. consumption of processed food.
• Excess packaging creates waste (plastic, etc.)
Instructions:
Divide the class into small groups of 4 or 5 students.
Each group receives a world map, a US map, a ruler,
one set of food cards, and one score sheet per stu-
dent. Students cut up cards, fold them, and put them
in a bowl or hat. Students take turns drawing cards
out of the hat. Using a ruler and the map legend,
they must locate the food’s origin and calculate the
mileage the food on their card traveled to reach their
town, writing the result on their score sheet. Stu-
dents continue to take turns in such a fashion for 5
or 6 rounds. Each student will add up her mileage to
A Profile: Monsanto
receive a final score. You probably haven’t thought about where
the seeds and herbicides for these industrial
Follow up questions: farms come from, but they have a story of their
own. Many seeds used by farmers worldwide,
1. Who in your group had the highest number of especially soybean, corn, and cottonseeds, are
miles? Who had the lowest? made by Monsanto, an international agricultural
2. What are some ways you could change your corporation that specializes in biotechnology.
meal to lower the miles it traveled. Biotechnology is the practice of using technol-
3. What does it mean when food has traveled ogy to change a living organism. Monsanto
long distances? What effects can this have on uses biotechnology, or genetic engineering, to
food or the environment? produce seeds, herbicides and growth hor-
(see worksheets on pages 51-52) mones for cattle. Huh? OK for example, Mon-
santo changed the DNA of a type of corn so
that the corn is resistant to pesticides. A farmer
can buy Monsanto’s genetically modified corn
seed and Monsanto’s herbicide, or weed killer.
Because the corn is programmed to resist the
herbicide, a farmer can spray the chemical
and kill every other plant except for the corn.
Sounds like science fiction, but if you have ever
eaten fast food, a bag of chips, or some other
packaged food, chances are you have eaten
this stuff. Over 70% of processed food in the
supermarket contains ingredients produced
from a Monsanto seed.
NO. 1 NO. 2
NO. 3 NO. 4
NO. 5 NO. 6
Mileage:
Grand
Total
Module Three: Local Food
Environmental Impacts
Species Displacement:
To make a large-scale farm, trees must be cut down, animals
removed, grass pulled up, etc. Industrial farming is the leading Let’s Talk Soil...
cause of habitat destruction for terrestrial ecosystems like the
North American Prairie and the rainforest in Amazonia. All of the When you say soil nutrients, just what do you
plants and animals that lived there are displaced and are forced mean? Plants need three major nutrients to
to find new habitats as well as new sources of food and water. grow:
Often, they cannot.
Nitrogen (N)
Pollinators: Phosphorous (P)
Potassium or Potash (K)
Birds, insects and bats are a few of the animals that are critical
to food and seed production. Pollinators are disappearing at a Or NPK, for short. They are known as macro-
fast rate due to habitat loss, pesticide poisoning, and disease. nutrients, and without them, plants will grow
Pollinators are also necessary to the healthy functioning of poorly or not at all. In the soil, NPK are pro-
life on the planet. They help many plants to reproduce. Those duced through decaying plant matter. In the
plants, in turn, provide oxygen, habitats, and food for many case of nitrogen, the recycling of nitrogen from
other organisms. dead to living plants is often the only source of
nitrogen in the soil. NPK are produced in every
kind of synthetic fertilizer.
Soil erosion and depletion:
You may not know it, but huge ecosystems lie just under the So what is the difference?
ground’s surface. Millions of small creatures ranging from In the soil, there are many secondary and mi-
earthworms to microscopic bacteria call the soil their home, cronutrients (nutrients required in much smaller
and spend their lives turning dead plant and animal matter into amounts) necessary to good plant health,
nutrient-rich topsoil. Others aid in soil aeration and plant growth. which are often not supplied by chemical fertil-
Although they are small, these animals are an essential part of izers. Additionally, the relationships between
life on earth. Pesticides applied to crops, kill off huge numbers plants and beneficial microbes and bacteria
of these important creatures while the application of fertilizer are also necessary to good plant growth, and
destroys the rich topsoil. this is something that cannot be reproduced
chemically. Using organic fertilizers, like com-
post or manure, adds these valuable nutrients
and organisms to soil, improving soil conditions
and plant growth, while chemical fertilizers
have the opposite effect by depleting the soil of
many necessary nutrients and organisms.
Irrigation
Industrial farms use huge amounts of water, which is often taken from
large reservoirs. Large monocultures use water faster than it can be
replenished. After irrigating industrial crops, water contaminated by
chemicals, returns to rivers, aquifers, and other waterways, where it
adds to growing levels of water pollution.
Fossil Fuels
Large-scale agriculture uses fossil fuels at many points: to harvest
and run huge farm equipment, to produce and transport pesticides
and fertilizers, and to refrigerate and transport food around the
country and the world. The use of fossil fuels contributes to ozone
pollution and global warming, which increases violent weather events,
droughts and floods, and rising oceans.
Human Impacts
Water: The runoff from chemical Antibiotics and Growth Hor- made from corn: high fructose corn
inputs and manure spills can con- mones: Antibiotics are given to syrup, citric acid, and even caramel
taminate water supplies. Addition- livestock so that many animals may color! A cheeseburger at McDonald’s
ally, because industrial agriculture be raised in a confined area without is made of approximately 56% corn!
cultivates such large crops, massive spreading disease. The antibiotics
amounts of water are used to irrigate leave a residue in both meat and What’s the problem with that?
them. Over two-thirds of the fresh dairy products. As farmers continue There are quite a few problems. This
water used by humans is used for to give their animals antibiotics, and type of food, called processed food,
crop irrigation. In California, over humans continue to eat them, over is very cheap to make (To make that
80% of the state’s water is used for time, both humans and animals bottle of Coca Cola? bottle + liquid
agriculture. Homes, institutions, and develop a resistance to the strong = 18 cents), and relatively cheap
businesses use only 20% of Califor- antibiotic drugs. to buy, but is extremely unhealthy
nia’s water. Growth hormones, given to livestock for several reasons. Firstly, the best
to increase their size (ex. Turkeys) or ways to be sure your body is get-
Residue on food: When food is their productivity (ex. Cows for milk). ting everything it needs is to eat a
grown and produced on such a large These hormones are linked to cancer lot of different things. If processed
scale, it is difficult to contain a patho- in humans. Organic dairy does not food is made primarily from corn and
gen or bacteria once it enters the contain bovine growth hormones soybeans, you can be certain you
farm system. Researches estimated (rBGH). aren’t getting everything you need.
that the number of food-related Secondly, to make processed food
illnesses per year have increased Cheap Food: The two main crops taste good, it usually contains a lot of
ten times since 1970. Recent food grown in the United States are corn salt, sugar or fat – three things that
scares, which resulted in several and soybeans. While about 80% of can cause health problems if eaten
deaths, include E. coli on spinach these two crops are used to feed in large quantities. Because people
and Salmonella-infected peanuts. livestock, there is still a lot of corn consume so many processed foods
Additionally, many of the pesti- and soybeans left for humans, but today, obesity and food-related ill-
cides used on crops are classified who wants to eat so much corn nesses like diabetes, heart disease
as cancer-causing agents. These and soybeans? You may not know and colon cancer have skyrocketed
pesticides often leave a residue on it, but you probably eat lots of corn in the past twenty years. In fact, the
food, increasing the occurrences of and soybeans every day. Because rise in the rates obesity and diabetes
cancer. If it can kill an insect, what industrial farms produce such large parallels the rise in the use of high
effect will it have on a human? For quantities of corn, it is very cheap. fructose corn syrup.
people who live or work near areas In order to make a larger profit from
where the pesticides are used, the corn, agricultural companies found Taste: If tomatoes are being geneti-
rate of cancer occurrences are much hundreds of ways to process corn so cally modified so that they can travel
higher than average. that it is worth more to the consum- across the country, and lettuce is
er. For example, most of the ingre- sprayed with lots of chemicals, the
dients in a bottle of Coca Cola are food just doesn’t taste as good.
Analysis
Food Systems:
Your Food, Your Community
What issues does the food in my commu-
nity present?
Discussion Questions:
1. What are some other ways we can
visualize a food system?
2. How do we get the local community
involved in making things more local?
3. How would your food systems map
change if you lived in Canada, Europe,
Africa or another part of the world?
(see worksheets on pages 57-58)
Food Item:
Wow, wish everyone were like you! Congratulations, you have great food habits
8-15 Points that help the world to be more sustainable. 2-10 acres are used to support your
Score:
food habits.
Not too bad. Seems like you have some good habits and aspire to have even better ones. 10-24 acres are used to support
16-26 Points your food habits. Unfortunately we would still need at least one more planet to sustain your life style.
Yikes big foot! It seems some of your habits are damaging to the environment. 24-40 acres are used to support your food
27-44 Points habits. We would need 3-4 more planets to sustain your life style.
Module Three: Local Food
Let’s Re-Think
Let’s Talk Local! Idea #1 Farmer’s Markets
So it looks like we have a lot of problems with our how
our food is produced. But wait, there’s good news! Peo- Farmers markets are becoming more and more
ple are changing the way they think about their food and popular. The markets, usually held in an outdoor
the ways that they get it. Whether you live in the country space such as a park or a parking lot, are where
or the city, there are many, many alternatives to industri- small farmers sell their produce directly to the public.
ally produced food. Let’s consider some ideas below. These farmers are not industrial agriculture types.
Many of the small farmers who sell at markets use
sustainable and organic growing practices. Because
First, let’s talk local! The closer your food is of industrial agriculture, their numbers have shrunk
grown to your home, the easier it is to know how it was significantly over the past twenty years. Between
grown. Plus, your food takes less time to reach you, so it 2002 and 2007, almost 75% of U.S. agriculture was
is fresher and uses less fossil fuel. Depending on where produced by less than 5% of farms. The farmers
you live, “local” can have different meanings. It can mean market is a great way to find out how your food
next door, your county, or your state. Remember: on is grown and meet the people who grow it. The
average, our food travels 1,500 miles to reach us, so if produce is fresh and generally grown close to the
“local” means your food only travels 250 miles, that’s a market, so it uses little fossil fuel to reach shoppers.
big reduction! The more food we buy from farmers market, the
more we support small farmers.
Let’s Re-Think
Idea #4 Community Supported Agriculture
CSAs are another way of being involved in the productions of your food. A
CSA is a relationship between a farm and a community. Here’s how it works:
A farmer offers “shares” of her farm to a group of people in a neighborhood
or community. Each person pays a membership fee to the farm in the begin-
ning of the season, usually in the spring. Now the farmer has money to buy
seeds, machinery, and other things she needs for the farm. In return each
member receives a box or bag of vegetables every week. Depending on the
farm and what it produces, members can also receive eggs, fruit, meat, etc.
Once again, you have the opportunity to get to know who’s growing your
food, and often times, members get to actually visit or even work on the
farm. Also, because you only receive what is in season (for example, egg-
plants and tomatoes are only available in late summer, while peas and as-
paragus comes out in early spring), you get to try new fruits and vegetables
and new ways of cooking.
Other Options...
And what if none of these options are available to me?
Then you become a detective. There are many things you can look for in the grocery store to help identify the
origins of your food and what is in it.
1. When shopping for fruits and vegetables, check to see where they were grown. Usually a sticker on
the food item will tell you, and some grocery stores do buy from local farmers and will advertise it. This
can also apply to dairy products, eggs, and baked goods (bread, etc.).
2. Labels can be tough to figure out, but there are a few things you can look for that will help you in
figuring out how your food was grown:
Label Issues...
• If a label says “organic“, it means most synthetic • On meat products, look for “pastured“. On beef
(and petroleum derived) pesticides and fertilizers were products, look for “grass finished” or “grass fed“ as
prohibited in the growth of the product, and that no well as the “no hormones” labels.
genetically modified seeds were used to grow it. It
does not mean, however, that it was grown nearby.
• If the label says “natural“ or “all natural“ the
Fair Trade!
There are some things that would be very, very hard
product must not contain artificial ingredients or
to live without, (like chocolate, vanilla, tea, and sugar)
added colors, but there are no other requirements for
which cannot grow in the United States because of
this label. In order for a company to claim on the label
climate conditions, soil, etc. So what do you do?
that the food is organic, it must meet strict legal re-
When you buy things like coffee, tea, or chocolate,
quirements, but it does not have to meet any require-
look for a label on the package that says “Fair Trade.”
ments to claim “natural”.
This label means that the producer was paid well for
• On milk product labels, look for “no hormones, no her crop and that the food was produced in a way
antibiotics“.” that is not harmful to the environment.
Let’s Re-Think
Analysis
Re-Design!
Help students apply some of the ideas and concepts
learned in this section through a quick excersize called
“Re-Design”. In this activity, pose some of the ques-
tions covered in this module. Prompt students to think
critically about a reponse to some of these questions
or explore ideas on how one could design some solu-
tions to these problems. (see worksheet on page 63)
Let’s think about how you can make your food choices local!
How can you encourage your community or school to eat local?
What can you change in your neighborhood?
What foods are grown in your region? How do they get here?
How can you develop a relationship with a local farmer?
Step One: Brainstorm Brainstorm some answers to the questions above. Think of 2 ideas and
describe each idea with 2 sentences below:
Idea 1:
Idea 2:
Step Two: Sketch Draw some diagrams or sketch out some of your ideas below:
Title:
Description:
Ideas + Notes:
64