FROM SOIL TO SOUL: FOOD SYSTEMS CURRICULUM FOR 5TH GRADERS
By
Rosie Slentz
A Thesis Presented to
The Faculty of Humboldt State University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology
Committee Membership
Dr. Llyn Smith, Committee Chair
Dr. Marissa Ramsier, Committee Member
Rebecca Robertson, Committee Member
Dr. Marissa Ramsier, Program Graduate Coordinator
May 2016
ABSTRACT
FROM SOIL TO SOUL: FOOD SYSTEMS CURRICULUM FOR 5TH GRADERS
Rosie Slentz
The state of food systems in the United States significantly impacts our environment, public health, and economy. Addressing issues of sustainability, nutrition-related health concerns, and agricultural policy, often requires broad social awareness and change. The primary education arena provides an opportunity to test the effectiveness of curricula addressing these topics. This thesis examines the delivery and impact of a food systems curriculum. A pre-survey assessed fifth-grade students’ initial values and knowledge of food systems, nutrition, and physical well-being. Curricula was designed and delivered to build the capacity of students to make informed food choices. Parent interviews and surveys provided further data on household values, income, and other variables of interest. Students’ learning outcomes were measured after ten weeks of immersion in the curriculum. Findings indicated a moderate increase in knowledge but a substantial level of interest and engagement in the topic of food systems.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My mom is to thank for the plums and cheese that sustained me when I was too busy to shop and all the other support that kept my life running smoothly during this program of study. I owe my son, my co-workers, and my friends (especially May Patiño) many thanks for all the times they let me vent or gave me a much-needed hug in moments of stress. Chuck Johnson, you came along and made everything feel do-able.
Thank you.
I am of course indebted to the parents and students who allowed me to include them in my research. Their enthusiasm and engagement were my reminder that this work was valuable.
Among the Humboldt State University Applied Anthropology Faculty, Rebecca
Robertson has fueled my passion for food studies and the art of qualitative research. Dr.
Marissa Ramsier has been an unwavering model of professionalism and expertise. My advisor, Dr. Llyn Smith has had an uncanny way of knowing just what I needed throughout the writing process and never failed to provide encouragement, faith in me, and explicit direction. I’ll never forget what she told me the first time I met her…”A good thesis is a finished thesis.”
…And so, to everyone who has supported me in getting this one finished, I thank you.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ...... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... iii
LIST OF TABLES ...... viii
LIST OF FIGURES ...... ix
LIST OF APPENDICES ...... x
PREPARING THE SOIL-INTRODUCTION ...... 1
THE TERRAIN ...... 4
The Deterioration of the Environment and Public Health ...... 4
Food Systems ...... 5
Humboldt County ...... 10
PLANTING THE SEEDS-BACKGROUND ...... 15
Germination of a Plan ...... 15
Literature Review ...... 18
Sustainability, Environment, and Agribusiness ...... 18
Health ...... 19
The Hidden Curriculum ...... 21
The Role of Education ...... 21
USDA Policy and School ...... 26
Anthropology of Food ...... 29
GETTING OUR HANDS DIRTY-WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ...... 33
FROM SOIL TO SOUL-THE PROJECT...... 36 iv
Research Design and Methods ...... 36
Phase I: ...... 41
Phase II: ...... 66
Findings and Discussion ...... 68
Garden ...... 76
Action Projects ...... 77
Cooking ...... 77
Videos ...... 79
Field trips ...... 79
Summary of Findings ...... 80
Concerns and Recommendations ...... 81
THE HARVEST-CONCLUSION ...... 86
INGREDIENTS-BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 88
MISE EN PLASE- RESEARCH PROTOCOL DOCUMENTS APPENDIX A...... 100
A.1 Parent Survey ...... 100
A.2 Parent Interview Protocol ...... 102
A.3 Student Survey (Pre/Post) ...... 104
A.4 Student Pre/Post Survey Data ...... 106
A.5 Text of oral explanation to child participants ...... 116
A.6 Cover letter with parental consent form ...... 117
A.7 Parental consent form for research ...... 118
A.8 Children’s assent form ...... 122
A.9 Parent interview consent form ...... 124
v
THE FEAST- CURRICULUM RESOURCES APPENDIX B ...... 126
B.1 Lesson Sequence ...... 128
B.2 Web resources ...... 148
B.3 Print Resources ...... 149
B.4 Sample Lesson: Food Stamp Challenge ...... 150
B.5 Food System Field Trips ...... 153
B.6 Documentaries ...... 157
A Place at the Table ...... 157
Chef’s Table ...... 157
Dive ...... 158
Farmageddon ...... 158
Fed Up ...... 159
Food Chains ...... 159
Food Fight ...... 160
Food Inc...... 163
Food Matters ...... 163
Food Stamped ...... 163
Forks Over Knives ...... 164
Fresh ...... 165
GMO, OMG ...... 166
Ingredients ...... 166
King Corn ...... 167
More Than Honey ...... 167
vi
Super Size Me ...... 168
Sushi the Global Catch ...... 168
Temple Grandin ...... 169
That Sugar Film ...... 169
The Future of Food ...... 170
The Harvest/La Cosecha ...... 170
MasterChef Junior ...... 170
Washington’s Food Fight: The Debate Over GMO Labels ...... 170
B.7 Ted Talks ...... 172
Birke Baehr: What's Wrong With our Food System ...... 172
Dan Barber: How I Fell in Love With a Fish ...... 172
Mark Bittman: What's Wrong With What we Eat ...... 173
Ann Cooper: What's Wrong With School Lunches ...... 173
Malcolm Gladwell: Choice, Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce ...... 174
Jamie Oliver: Teach Every Child About Food...... 174
Marla Spivak: Why Bees are Disappearing ...... 174
B.8 TedEd Video Lessons ...... 175
Daniel D. Dulek: The Haber Process ...... 175
Robert Lustig: Sugar: Hiding in Plain Sight ...... 175
Vance Kite: Urbanization and the Evolution of Cities Across 10,000 Years ...... 176
Fernanda S. Valdovinos: How Bees Help Plants Have Sex ...... 176
vii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Week 1 Lessons ...... 44
Table 2: Week 2 Lesssons...... 46
Table 3: Week 3 Lessons ...... 49
Table 4: Week 4 Lessons ...... 51
Table 5: Week 5 Lessons ...... 53
Table 6: Week 6 Lessons ...... 55
Table 7: Week 7 Lessons ...... 57
Table 8: Week 8 Lessons ...... 59
Table 9: Week 9 Lessons ...... 60
Table 10: Week 10 Lessons ...... 61
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Elements of a food system...... 7
Figure 2 Lesson slide from John Hopkins Teaching the Food System...... 8
Figure 3 Nourish Food System Map ...... 9
Figure 4: Produce stand at Bayside Farm, Arcata, CA ...... 36
Figure 5: Students visit Alexandre EcoDairy ...... 66
Figure 6: Annual income, Parent Survey ...... 68
Figure 7: Percentage of annual income spent on food, Parent Survey ...... 68
Figure 8: Frequency of eating out, Parent Survey ...... 69
Figure 9: Factors that influence food choice, Parent Survey ...... 70
Figure 10: Top factors that influence food choice, Parent Survey ...... 70
Figure 11: Factors that influence food choice, Student Survey ...... 71
Figure 12: Indicators of healthy food, Student Survey ...... 74
Figure 13: Factors that affect nutritional value, Student Survey ...... 75
Figure 14: Students cooking in class ...... 78
Figure 15: Field trip to Deep Seeded CSA farm ...... 80
ix
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX A MISE EN PLASE- RESEARCH PROTOCOL DOCUMENTS 100
APPENDIX B THE FEAST- CURRICULUM RESOURCES 126
x
1
PREPARING THE SOIL-INTRODUCTION
The state of the food systems in the United States significantly impacts our country’s environment, public health, and economy. In order to address the issues of sustainability, nutrition related health concerns, and agricultural policy, there has to be broad social awareness and change. Much like a grass roots cause, the solutions will need to come from the general public, who change their lifestyles, influence Agribusiness with their dollars, and show policy makers what matters to them.
Elementary school education provides an opportunity to reach our next generation and to test the efficacy of curriculum based interventions that address food system issues with the goal of raising student consciousness and inspiring young people to make critical choices concerning food. This thesis project explores the impact of a food systems curriculum on 5th grade students’ values1 and knowledge of food systems, nutrition, and physical well-being at the rural K-8 school where I teach. After a pre-survey assessing initial perceptions and understanding of food systems, I administered a curriculum designed to help students make informed decisions about the food they choose. This consisted of lessons delivered over the course of ten weeks to two groups of 5th graders during two consecutive years. Lessons focused on the path that food takes from field to
1 The term “values” in the context of this study refers to the various ideals, criteria, and concerns that individuals may consider when they are in a position to make choices about food (such as quality, price, environmental impact, or animal rights). As part of this focus on food systems through this curriculum we broaden and deepen our understanding of the holistic context of the production of our food, its impact on the environment, the government policies which shape and shift the production, and the power of our food choices.
2 fork and the implications of each stage in this path. Students watched documentaries,
read Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma (Chevat and Pollan, 2009), and
participated in activities designing menus and analyzing food labels and ads. They also visited farms, ranches and dairies. Lessons incorporated hands-on cooking and class feasts as well as gardening, and individual driven projects. At the end of curriculum delivery, students were surveyed again to measure learning outcomes in terms of knowledge of food systems, nutrition, and physical well-being. Parents were interviewed and surveyed as well, to ascertain what their food values were and how they prioritized these ideals when making food choices for the family. At the end of the first year of study, I revised the curriculum based on data from students and parents. The second year of research (with a new group of 5th graders) followed the same design, but the lessons were altered to reflect the interests of the current children, to incorporate new resources, and to more effectively teach some of the topics.
In the following chapter I review the lay of the land or the background to
the issues, examining them in the context of my thesis. This includes a glimpse into the
effects of food choice on our environment and health. I provide examples of how the
subject of food is increasingly a topic of interest in our modern culture, and thus an
appropriate gateway to capture the attention of children. Next I examine the current and
potential role of education in response to our environmental and health concerns and how
policy influences what we eat. I conclude the literary review with a brief history of the
anthropology of food.
3 This background leads into a discussion of possible action. I suggest what may be
done to mitigate the issues I have presented and explain the scope of my project. The
project section details my research design and methodology including an outline of the curriculum I presented. The findings from my observations with the students and data collected from surveys and interviews are discussed, as are thoughts regarding limitations of this study and recommendations for future research.
Elementary educators especially, will find the heart of this thesis in the appendices. It is here where the lesson resources are presented, along with research protocol documents such as copies of consent forms and surveys.
4 THE TERRAIN
The Deterioration of the Environment and Public Health
THERE WAS ONCE a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings. The town lay in the midst of a checkerboard of prosperous farms, with fields of grain and hillsides of orchards where, in spring, white clouds of bloom drifted above the green fields. In autumn, oak and maple and birch set up a blaze of color that flamed and flickered across a backdrop of pines. Then foxes barked in the hills and deer silently crossed the fields, half hidden in the mists of the fall mornings. Along the roads, laurel, viburnum and alder, great ferns and wildflowers de- lighted the traveler’s eye through much of the year. Even in winter the road- sides were places of beauty, where countless birds came to feed on the berries and on the seed heads of the dried weeds rising above the snow. The countryside was, in fact, famous for the abundance and variety of its bird life, and when the flood of migrants was pouring through in spring and fall people traveled from great distances to observe them. Others came to fish the streams, which flowed clear and cold out of the hills and contained shady pools where trout lay. So it had been from the days many years ago when the first settlers raised their houses, sank their wells, and built their barns. Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change. Some evil spell had settled on the community: mysterious maladies swept the flocks of chickens; the cattle and sheep sickened and died. Everywhere was a shadow of death. The farmers spoke of much illness among their families. In the town the doctors had become more and more puzzled by new kinds of sickness appearing among their patients. -Rachel Carson2
This was written more than 50 years ago and yet the scene strikes a chord today.
In the past 30 years, the prevalence of childhood obesity has more than doubled among
children ages 2-5, has tripled among youth ages 6-11, and has more than tripled among adolescents ages 12-19 (“National Institute of Health,” n.d., para 2; Bittman, Pollan,
2 Rachel Carson, p23-24, 1962 Silent Spring
5 Salvador, & Schutter, 2015). The number of obesity related deaths in the United States each year is equivalent to a jumbo jet of 300 people fatally crashing each day. Rates of childhood obesity and diabetes are rising, and it is clear we must find a way to effect change. Environmental and social changes impact our food systems, health, and dietary habits. In turn, what we choose to eat has consequences for our health and environment.
This has not passed unnoticed. In response to these problems, growing social consideration has led to a food movement that weaves together numerous threads of concern.
… [W]e can include school lunch reform; the campaign for animal rights and welfare; the campaign against genetically modified crops; the rise of organic and locally produced food; efforts to combat obesity and type 2 diabetes; “food sovereignty” (the principle that nations should be allowed to decide their agricultural policies rather than submit to free trade regimes); farm bill reform; food safety regulation; farmland preservation; student organizing around food issues on campus; efforts to promote urban agriculture and ensure that communities have access to healthy food; initiatives to create gardens and cooking classes in schools; farm worker rights; nutrition labeling; feedlot pollution; and the various efforts to regulate food ingredients and marketing, especially to kids. -Michael Pollan3
Food Systems
National discourse indicates that the mid-century enthusiasm for T.V. dinners and processed fast food has worn off and the environmental ramifications of industrial agriculture are being questioned. Food safety scares such as mad cow disease and E. coli have contributed to a growing consumer interest in how food is produced. Rather than
3 http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2010/06/10/food-movement-rising/
6 simply seeing a tidy pound of ground beef nestled in Styrofoam and cling wrap, shoppers
could replay a newsreel in their head of the processing plant where the beef (possibly
contaminated) was mixed together. Consumers in the western world are beginning to
evaluate the impacts of various food systems, whether it be hunting and gathering4,
industrial5, industrial-organic6, local-sustainable7, or something in between. Now when
we shop we are faced with more choices than ever before. We must decide if we will
select the organic orange from another continent, or the conventional one grown with
pesticides in our own county. We question if that exceptionally beautiful and large apple
has been genetically modified. We stand at the meat counter wondering if it is better to
eat locally caught wild fish or imported farm-raised fish. The options can be
overwhelming for many consumers, but increasingly, the choices matter. We must know
the story of our food, from the farming method through the final disposal of food waste
before we can fully understand the impacts of our food choices.
4 “This is the oldest type of food chain there is. It’s hardly a chain at all, really. It is made up simply of you, hunting, growing, or finding your food.” (Chevat and Pollan 2009, p.5)
5 “This is where most of our food comes from today. This chain starts in a giant field, usually in the Midwest, where a single crop is grown-corn, or perhaps soybeans-and ends up in a supermarket or fast-food restaurant.” (Chevat and Pollan 2009, p.5)
6 “This food is grown on large industrial farms, but with only natural fertilizers, and natural bug and weed control. It is sold in the same way as industrial food.” (Chevat and Pollan 2009, p.5)
7 “This is food grown on small farms that raise lots of different kinds of crops and animals. The food from the farm doesn’t need to be processed, and it travels a short distance-to a farmer’s market, for example-before it reaches your table.” (Chevat and Pollan 2009, p.5)
7 A food system is the path your food takes to reach you from ‘field to fork.’ In
general this system includes agricultural production, processing and distribution, retail
and consumption, and waste and recycling. (See Figure 1)
Agricultural Production
Waste & Food Recycling Processing
Retail & Distribution Consumption
Figure 1: Elements of a food system
Personal health, ecology, economy, and politics are all influenced by food
systems (Bitman, Pollan, Salvador, & Schutter, 2015). An integral part of the food
system is the supply chain that reveals the path of our food in greater detail and the many
complex steps before consumption. Figure 2 traces the path of an apple. Food
production can include multiple complex stages, especially if it is part of the industrial
food system, which is most common. Each of these stages has consequences for the
environment, economy and our health. If a food is packed in Styrofoam it has
contributed to global pollution. If your coffee beans were grown on a “Fair Trade”8 farm, the field workers are more likely to have received a livable wage. A consumer
8 http://fairtradeusa.org/what-is-fair-trade
8 must decide which consequences within the steps of a food system they are willing to accept or support.
Figure 2 Lesson slide from John Hopkins Teaching the Food System9
Figure 3 is a graphic from the Nourish curriculum10 that illustrates the various
9 Copyright of the text contained in this website is owned by The Johns Hopkins University. These text materials may be used, downloaded, reproduced, publicly displayed, or reprinted for personal or nonprofit educational or research purposes provided that the following attribution appears in all copies: "Reproduced with permission of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD." Written permission is required for all other uses. The text reproduced from this Web site must not be modified in any way. http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and- institutes/teaching-the-food-system/curriculum/ingredients_of_the_food_system.html 10 http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/food-system-tools/
9 components of the food system which I explore. The relationships of farming, economy, society, and environment within this system are depicted along with the associated paths of influence and interaction.
Figure 3 Nourish Food System Map
Nationally, there are growing levels of interest in food. This is evident in multiple ways, from food shows, food documentaries, restaurants that feature local and sustainable
10 foods, a diversification in the products offered by large food corporations, organizations
to improve school lunches11 and even a campaign titled “Let’s Move”12 sponsored by the
First Lady to encourage physical activity and healthier food for children.
Humboldt County
Locally, Humboldt County, has not escaped the national movement of food
activism nor the health issues evident in the national population. It is an interesting
context in which to investigate these issues. Despite the fact that this is a county rich in
locally produced food, inhabitants often depend on conventional imports from outside the
area that are more available and affordable (California Center for Rural Policy [CCRP],
2015). Locally grown products have a reputation for being too expensive for many
(Miles, 2011). In recent years however, specialty agriculture has enjoyed a growth in
popularity and provided an economic boost for the local economy. A local specialty
agriculture report13 highlighted the local food movement, indicating that interest in
expanded local food production is growing (Prosperity North Coast, 2007). Campaigns
such as “Humboldt Made”14 and “Buy Fresh Buy Local”15 help to market products that
are locally grown, raised, and produced. The local Northcoast Coop, which features local
11 http://www.chefannfoundation.org/about-us/chef-ann 12 http://www.letsmove.gov/ 13 Prosperity North Coast. State of the Industry Report 2007: Specialty Agriculture. Pages 1-4. Retrieved May 19, 2010 (http://www.northcoastprosperity.com/fi les/ webfm/contents/SpecAgSIR.pdf). 14 http://www.humboldtmade.com/ 15 www.caff.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CAFF_humbolt_08.pdf
11 and organic foods, boasts over 16,000 members, and there are other natural food stores
with plans for expansion as well (Northcoast Coop, 2015). The 630 participants in
Northcoast Coop’s 2009 Eat Local Challenge also demonstrated enthusiasm for a more
local diet. The North Coast Growers Association16 operates five Farmer’s Markets with over 100 farmers participating. Some of the products produced are goat cheeses, organic grass-fed beef, organic eggs, and milk products. (California Center for Rural Policy
[CCRP], 2015). Dairy cows and goats provide milk for our nationally recognized milk
and cheese, while egg cartons seem to be a hot commodity in a community where many
people raise their own hens. Abundant rain makes for fields of green grass, which
nourish a budding “grass-fed beef” industry. Local ranchers have begun providing area schools with grass-fed beef for “Taco Tuesdays.” In addition, Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA) is alive and well here. Families have the option of buying
membership in these farms to pick up or harvest their own fruit and veggies.
Within this bounty, however, there still exist food deserts. A food desert can be
defined as an area where access to an adequate amount of nutritious food is hindered due
to lack of money, availability, or transportation (California Center for Rural Policy
[CCRP], 2015). Despite our lush natural resources, such as water and fertile fields, the
economy and remoteness of this area present a challenge in feeding everyone. Even with
food assistance programs, there are many who go hungry or who are left no choice but to
buy nutritionally deficient foods. It is not uncommon for rural folks to live two hours
away from a grocery store; getting there requires dependable transportation, and money
16 http://www.humfarm.org/
12 for gas. The alternative is buying supplies at local “markets” associated with gas stations,
which have costly and limited stock of nutritious food. Humboldt’s population includes
approximately 134,000 residents, of which about 20% are below poverty level. The
median household income in 2013 was $41,426. That is more than $10,000 below the national median (United States Census Bureau, 2014). A local 2008 report on rural poverty and its health impacts indicated that 32.8% of households with children under age 18 reported very low food security (Arsdale, Peeters-Graehl, Patterson, Barry, &
Bayer). We have a situation here where many simply can’t afford or access nutritious food, much less local and organic products, and often purchase less nutritious food instead. The health consequences of this are evident in statistics from the 2013 County
Health Assessment that reports that rates of obesity for children, teens, and adults surpass state averages at 28.2%, 22.8%, and 26.5% respectively (Humboldt County Department
of Health and Human Services, 2014).
Humboldt County has a struggling economy combined with a strong culture
advocating for sustainable food. Locally, the interest in improving school lunches and
evidence of local childhood health deficits creates an opportunity to address both issues
in a comprehensive way. The context and time are right for developing curricula around
food systems and associated health impacts. Environmental concerns are gradually
informing our public values and children and families are a part of this change.
There are no simple answers to something as personal as values around food and
environment, but there is clearly a conversation to be had. In order for children to have
an informed dialog (internally and externally) about food choices, they need information.
13 We’ve already noted that food production is increasingly complex and largely on an
industrial scale and the environmental impacts are not entirely understood. It is a topic worthy of devoted attention in schools.
A Who's Who of pesticides is therefore of concern to us all. If we are going to live so intimately with these chemicals eating and drinking them, taking them into the very marrow of our bones - we had better know something about their nature and their power. Rachel Carson17
Almost 50% of Humboldt County schools have gardens where food production
methods may be learned on a small scale (CCRP 2015, p 86). Students have
opportunities to plant and maintain their crops with organic and sustainable methods, and
in some instances they even get to contribute their harvest to the school kitchen. School
lunch programs are beginning to answer the call of concerned parents who want more local and sustainably produced ingredients. School food directors throughout the county
have begun to collaborate and share experiences in their efforts to shift their meals away
from highly processed, commodity rich ingredients. Nutrition education in the
classrooms, however has not kept pace. The United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) encourages districts to utilize Farm-to-School activities in an effort to increase
student interest in trying new foods.18 Unfortunately, the national government does not
provide adequate financial means to make this happen. The Humboldt County Office of
Education (HCOE) has collaborated with the Northcoast Coop, Community Alliance
With Family Farmers (CAFF), local chefs, and directly with local farmers. Despite these
17 Carson, R., p. 38 (1962) Silent Spring 18 http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/child-nutrition- programs/national-school-lunch-program.aspx
14 efforts, limited funding has made it challenging to deliver food and nutrition curriculum to a majority of local students.
15 PLANTING THE SEEDS-BACKGROUND
Germination of a Plan
Nine years ago, I began a position at a small rural K-8 school in Humboldt
County, wherein I had the opportunity to re-invent our school food program. I had some
catering experience and had previously worked as a pastry chef, but I had little
knowledge of what commodities were or the requirements that were mandatory to
running a National School Lunch Program. I soon learned that commodities were surplus domestic agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables, meats, cheese, dry and canned beans, fruit juices, vegetable shortening and oils, peanut products, rice, cheese, pasta products, flour and other grain products (United States Department of Agriculture
[USDA], 2015). These were the ingredients of skeptical quality that my local parent groups wanted to phase out of our school program. The more I researched and learned about the strict USDA regulations that dictated what I had to serve students, the more I was motivated to find creative ways to satisfy our community, our children, and the government (because we still needed the federal and state reimbursement money to support our lunch program).
As a teacher and parent I knew that all my research into vendors, recipes, and nutrition wouldn’t mean much if the students didn’t eat the food I served them. I needed to understand what they wanted and how those choices were formed. Once school started
I conducted surveys, had informal discussions with groups of students, listened to
16 students discuss food choices, and monitored lunch waste. I was able to hone in on what
students wanted and influence their food choices by appealing to their sense of
adventure, fun, and loyalty to a cook who cared about their opinions. Our new program
was, and continues to be, nine years later, a well-received and profitable model that features breakfasts and lunches made from scratch featuring local and organic ingredients.
When I acquired a position as a teacher I realized that while the students at our school were enjoying the lunches, the primary reason that students were consuming the school lunches was parental convenience. The students knew little about nutrition or why parents in our community preferred local and organic food. In order to become critical thinkers, able to make educated choices about food throughout their lives, these students needed more information.
Not long after this revelation, I came across a used and dusty copy of Young
Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat on my fifth grade classroom bookshelf. That year I used this text as a guide to introduce my students to the four different food systems: Industrial, Industrial Organic, Local
Sustainable, and Hunter Gatherer (Chevat & Pollan, 2009).
The material proved to be so interesting to the students that the following year I convinced our County Office of Education to purchase a class set of the book, which could be lent out through the library to schools all over Humboldt. The second year with
the text marked the beginning of my thesis research and was even more productive. Now
every student could read along and our trips to the local farms became even lengthier as
17 students asked deeper questions. We spent more time in our school greenhouse and
garden. Students climbed trees in their yards, filling baskets with local bounty to share in
class. The codling moth holes and apple scab were celebrated as medals, verifying the
organic growing method. We made soup and pies, we created informational slideshows
with Prezi, and we interviewed bee -keepers.
This thesis is the product of one year of piloting curriculum with my students and two consecutive years of research with revised curriculum. In response to environmental and health concerns, and the information gleaned from my research data, I have curated a collection of resources for use in classrooms (and beyond) that will prompt questions and critical thinking about food choices. My findings, which add to the emerging knowledge of food systems curriculum, may advance opportunities to develop critical consumers who will adopt eating habits that will benefit their health and our environment.
This is not a nutrition unit designed to make children eat healthier. The nutrition recommendations of today may not be the same in ten years. Children need to learn to think critically about what they are choosing to put in their bodies. To that effect, these materials present facts about our food systems and guide students to choose food based on their own informed values. If we engage students in experiences and conversations through which they process their values, they may find intrinsic motivation that leads to positive choices for their health, their community, and their environment.
18 Literature Review
This is a complex topic and I review literature in a number of separate, related, and
overlapping fields. In addition to an initial examination of the questions of
environmental sustainability and growing health concerns this thesis ranges across the
methodology of anthropology and the culture of food, but also the pedagogy of teaching,
the theories of child psychology, the science of ecology, and political economy.
Sustainability, Environment, and Agribusiness
“A nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself.” –Franklin D. Roosevelt19
Concerns about our changing environment have been on the rise as evidence of
global warming has made it clear that our current lifestyle is unsustainable (Carson 1962;
Gore, 2006; Lappé, A., 2011; Lappé, F.M., 1971; Petřini, 2010). The ecological impacts
of our food choices can no longer be denied; farming practices affect our ecological systems. In fact, according to a 2008 USDA report20, industrial farming accounts for
80% of our national water consumption. Fertilizer run-off is creating dead zones in the
ocean (Diaz & Rosenberg, 2008). Industrial monocrops of corn and soybeans impact soil
health and even the natural habitat and lifecycle of bees (Bennett, Bending, Chandler,
Hilton, & Mills, 2012; Carreck, & Ratnieks, 2010). Unsustainable food systems are a
19 Roosevelt, F. D. (1937). Letter to all state governors on a uniform soil conservation law. The American Presidency Project. 20 http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/irrigation-water-use.aspx
19 double-edged concern. Woodward and Porter’s recent study forecasts the detrimental
effects on food security if unmitigated climate change continues (2016). It could be that
at a global level, we will experience climate refugees, analogous to a scene from The
Grapes of Wrath.
And then the dispossessed were drawn west--from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from Nevada and Arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out. Car-loads, caravans, homeless and hungry; twenty thousand and fifty thousand and a hundred thousand and two hundred thousand. They streamed over the mountains, hungry and restless--restless as ants, scurrying to find work to do--to lift, to push, to pick, to cut--anything, any burden to bear, for food. The kids are hungry. We got no place to live. Like ants scurrying for work, for food, and most of all for land. -John Steinbeck21
Other potential negative impacts are derived from the unsustainability of food packaging
that creates waste and pollution in the process of its manufacturing. The origin of food
products are a consideration as well. The use of fossil fuels to transport foods across a
continent contributes to global warming (Gore, 2006; Lappé, 2011; Pollan, 2009).
Furthermore, the evolutionary effects of engineered plants and genetically altered animals remain to be seen (Ladics et al., 2015). Our diet choices and the food systems they are part of, have repercussions on our environment.
Health
Food choice impacts physical health in terms of nutrition and weight. Seventeen
percent of American children are obese (Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., &
21 Steinbeck, J. (1939) The Grapes of Wrath
20 Flegal, K. M., 2014). The overabundance of cheap calories available to and consumed by
Americans is increasing the rate of obesity. Even when appropriate portions are adhered
to, the poor nutritional quality of the food results in a population at risk for a range of
health problems (Lang & Heasman, 2015; Pollan, 2009; World Health Organization,
2015). Two of the major health effects of obesity include heart disease and diabetes.
Aside from the effects on quality of life and mortality, obesity and its related maladies
have economic consequences. The work of Lehnert and colleagues (2013) has illuminated the burden on affected individuals as well as on our national healthcare system, including the indirect costs of a decrease in workplace productivity due to illness.
In addition, potential health considerations of contemporary agriculture include the
effects of pesticides, antibiotics, and even the altered nutritional content of engineered
foods. Pesticides and Insecticides have been shown to have significant implications not
just for our environment, but also for our bodies (Aktar, Sengupta, & Chowdhury, 2009).
Studies demonstrate connections between exposure to pesticides and neurological
maladies (Nigam et al., 1993) as well as congenital malformations in wildlife and humans
(Hoy, Swanson, & Seneff, 2015). Additional research into pesticide exposure for
workers has revealed that those involved in chemical production often exhibit headache,
nausea, vomiting, fatigue, irritation of skin and eyes in addition to psychological,
neurological, cardio-respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms (Gupta, Jani, Saiyed,
Kashyap, 1984). Despite these threats to our public and environmental health (which are
often suppressed in the media), lobbyists are able to influence policy so that Agribusiness
can continue to prosper, using these dangerous toxins.
21 The Hidden Curriculum
Considering the grave influences of our diet on our environment and health, it is
no surprise that food has become a popular topic. In the 2016 Netflix series Cooked,
Michael Pollan claims that while Americans are cooking less and less, we are watching
more and more shows about it. Television shows like Top Chef, Restaurant Wars, and an
entire network devoted to food programming are fueling our interest in ingredients and
the art of cooking. Restaurateurs such as Gordon Ramsay and Wolfgang Puck have
achieved celebrity status while food writers like Michael Pollan have become household
names.
Food is everywhere. Our popular media is feeding us with images and footage of
cooking as entertainment. Furthermore, there is a wealth of advertising and literature
telling us what to eat. The information fed to the public influences our choices and
formation of food values. Advertising food products is big business, and understandably.
Children age 8-12 view an average of 21 food ads per day (Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation, 2007). Future consumers are developing their perceptions of food from
these ads, and it is the highly processed foods that merit the pervasive ad campaigns, not
local, whole foods. Children are being educated about food…but much of the information they are exposed to is biased towards agribusiness, and not the health of the
planet and their bodies.
The Role of Education
“The educational features of a properly chosen diet served at school should not be under-emphasized. Not only is the child taught what
22 a good diet consists of, but his parents and family likewise are indirectly instructed.” –House Committee on Agricultural Report 194622
In the 1946 House Committee on Agricultural Report it stated that the school can
actually influence both parents and children by serving good examples of a healthy meal.
The education system of today is also is in a prime position to influence the dietary habits
of our youth and their families.23 In order to do this, we must inform students about each
stage of the food systems so that they understand how their food choices impact that
which they value. An effective course of study will address the hidden curriculum and
have the potential to influence family choices based on student driven values. Past
curricula in this area have been problematic in a number of ways, failing to provide a
holistic approach to the topic of food systems.
Unfortunately, curricula to inform students about food have only addressed
portions of the system in isolation. Dillon and colleagues (2003) have reviewed a substantial body of research on youth attitudes towards food and farming as well as the impact of teaching strategies to inform the students. These authors encourage future research to find strategies to reconnect consumers with what they eat and how it is produced. They concluded from their 2003 research review that the public has minimal understanding of agricultural production methods (as cited from Kuhlemeier, Van Den
Bergh, & Lagerweij, 1999; Mabie & Baker, 1994; Williams & Wise, 1997). They did,
22 House Committee on Agriculture Report P.L. 396-79th Congress, June 4, 1946.
23 Despite an in-depth search, I could not find research about the influence children have on their parents’ food choices. My own research showed a significant impact, although additional research in this area would be enlightening.
23 however, find examples of teaching that can increase children’s understanding of how their food is produced and how it gets to their plate. The ways in which these lessons were presented affected their outcomes. Farm visits (Weis, 1992), school gardening
(Learning through Landscapes, 2003), and hands-on (Meunier, Talbert, & Latour, 2002), multi-subject lessons (Morrison, 1996) had the most impact. We need to incorporate all of these approaches to make a curriculum which will effectively engage the hearts and minds of students for a lasting effect.
An article titled “Children’s Thinking About Food and Eating- a Piagetian-Based
Study” by Contento (1981),confirmed that much of the existing curricula assumes that children have a much more sophisticated conceptualization of the eating process and the effects of food on their health than they actually do. Contento conducted research with
34 children of age 5-11. She sought to clarify if children understand what we teach them about nutrition and if they understand its effects. This study sought to clarify why children eat what they do and to use this knowledge to design better curricula to educate youth in this realm. Contento recommended that nutrition education curricula avoid the focus on nutrients and classification of foods into dietary groups. Many children are not developmentally ready to understand concepts as abstract as “nutrients.” Pupils may be better served to have hands-on experiences from the real world. Contento also suggested that curriculum designers should ask the children what they like to eat and how they make their choices. Using lessons that incorporate the child’s point of view will make them much more relevant and effective
Just as advertisers want to attract consumers with a resonating campaign, educators
24 must design curricula around topics that are relevant to their pupils. It is critical that food
systems education for children address the factors that matter to them. The food values
of both children and parents are considerations as they both impact the food that children
ultimately eat. In a 1998 study, De Bourdeaudhuij and Van Oost discussed how parents
negotiate values when making choices about food. Parent considerations included price,
convenience, taste and nutrition. The researchers then examined how these factors were
prioritized in the process of food choice.
Children are influenced by similar factors when making choices about food but seem especially sensitive to the ethical treatment of animals that may become their next meal. The living and slaughtering conditions for chickens, pigs, and cattle are concerns that are increasingly on the minds of Americans. In response to the ecologically unsustainable practices of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) and the questionable ethics of how livestock are raised, Thistlethwaite and Dunlop have recently published a book titled, The New Livestock Farmer: The Business of Raising and Selling
Ethically Raised Meat (2015). This text provides instruction and guidance for the small farmer or rancher to select appropriate breeds, navigate government regulations and find direct markets for their meat. Others too, such as Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms24 support a return to this small-scale production of meat that allows for a symbiotic relationship between the animals and the ranchland (2011). Further public interest and concern for the treatment of livestock has resulted in the recently enacted California’s
Standards for Confining Farm Animals Act that addresses the cage size for confined
24 http://www.polyfacefarms.com/
25 animals (Manley, 2015).
The challenge is creating an appropriate food curriculum for children that will have a positive effect. Briggs (2005) blames our nutritional health crisis partly on fragmented programs presented in schools. Having worked as an elementary school
Nutrition Director/Cook and classroom teacher, I am aware of the impact of a well-
rounded delivery approach to get information to the students. Children need to feel
connected to their food sources, and the more connections the better. It may be that a
child knows the farmer, or perhaps they helped in the school kitchen. Perhaps they dug
up the potatoes for dinner or helped with the grocery shopping. Each of these
experiences carries meaning and helps a child form their opinions about food. We need
to approach youths’ perceptions of food as part of a holistic framework. Programs such
as Farm to School, classroom education, school lunch programs, and parents and community all need to be included in food education.
Educators have a unique opportunity to teach students about how food choices impact our health, our ecology, and our economy. If we want to see changes in this and future generations, we need to address problems while children are still learning and developing habits of mind (Costa, 2008). It has been noted by many researchers that kindergarten through twelfth grade is a critical time for building capacity for change towards sustainability (Nolet, 2009; Simmons & Volk, 2002; Sterling, 2001).
Teaching children ecological literacy goes hand in hand with exposing them to food systems and our foodways. Foodways are similar to food systems in that they reflect the story of a food, but the concept of foodways includes the cultural and historic
26 influence of our food choices as well. Food impacts our environment, our health, and our
culture. It is a topic that touches many areas of our lives and one that we must include in
our schools.25
USDA Policy and School
We currently have national food policies that are steered primarily by economics
rather than sustainability and health, and the research to support these policies is often
funded by the very groups that stand to profit from them. Unfortunately, the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is tasked with governing two causes that are
currently at odds with each other; agribusiness and nutrition. This creates a conflict of
interest.
USDA policy is relevant to the way we educate children about food. The USDA
designates what food students receive on their school lunch trays. This impacts
children’s and parents’ perceptions of what is healthy as well as their actual health.
Therefore, it is critical that children (and parents) are aware of how and why those foods
are in front of them. When they understand the story of the milk and chicken patties on
their tray, they can then decide if those items are acceptable to their food values.
In the 1970’s President Nixon directed Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz to devise
policy that would support farmers in creating higher yields of a small handful of
25 Clearly, other countries agree. TED Prize winner and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has begun a “Food Revolution Campaign,” touting the progressiveness of England, Mexico, Brazil, and Finland who have all made food education compulsory (n.d). Other countries such as Japan (Assmann, 2011) and Australia (Australian Curriculum, n.d) have also enacted food studies as part of their national curriculum.
27 commodity crops (corn, wheat, and soybean). This was an effort to make food more
affordable in the wake of rising food costs for Americans. An increase in production was
made possible due to inexpensive fossil fuels used for chemical fertilizers, which had
become a cornerstone of industrial agriculture farming practices (Pollan, 2010). Prior to
this, subsidies26 were provided to farmers during the Great Depression to temporarily
boost their income in a market where consumers had no money to buy the crops at a
profitable price. Farmers were essentially paid to decrease production by letting their
land lie fallow until the glut in the market subsided. At the same time, the government-
purchased surplus became the commodities that could help feed the undernourished
school children. In 1946 when the National School Lunch Bill was enacted, this
convenient relationship continued, and does so today, even though the state of agriculture
and public health has changed.
Farmer advocate, Joel Salatin, described how USDA policy influences food production, and the environment accordingly. Regulations and paperwork create a daunting set of hurdles for the non-industrial farmer, rather than supporting sustainable practices (2007, 2011). Government subsidies support commodity crops. Massive industrial farms efficiently produce a surplus of cheap calories, but at a cost to our health and environment. Government policies requiring specific foods be put on student lunch
26 As part of the 1933 Agriculture Adjustment Act the government also purchased excess grain which was strategically released to the market to prop up prices when needed. The AAA also included a nutrition program.
28 trays, such as milk27, have influenced what a majority of this country’s youth eat every day. More often than not, it seems that the health of students takes a back seat to the interests of Agribusiness. It doesn’t seem right that the policies and regulations dictating the contents of a school lunch are not first and foremost based on independently funded science research. The irrationality is exemplified in a 2011 NPR article that reported the plight of an Oregon senator lobbying to get local Oregon Comice pears added to the
USDA buying guide 28 for school lunches (Shute, 2011). Without this change, fresh
Comice pears (the type sold by gourmet fruit basket purveyors Harry and David) would not be permitted as part of reimbursable school lunches unless they were commercially canned in sucrose syrup, in which case, no specific varieties are listed. USDA policy has a very direct influence on what our children eat.
Children and parents may take it for granted that the food served at school is healthy, simply because it complies with the USDA guidelines. However, as pointed out in a National Food Policy article (Bitman, Pollan, Salvador, & Schutter, 2015) and by
Nestle and Wilson (2012), politics and economics have influenced the industrial food systems that supply our school food programs. The same argument applies to the design of the USDA “My Plate” (“Healthy Eating Plate,” n.d., para, 2), which diagrams the recommended food for a healthy diet.
27 The School Milk Nutrition Act of 2015 has been proposed to ensure increased consumption of milk by school children. It also includes a pilot program to research strategies that will best promote this goal. 28 As of April 2016 Comice pears are not included in the buying guide. http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/food-buying-guide-for-child-nutrition-programs
29 Current agricultural policy supports large-scale monocultures (Dayen, 2014;
Taxpayers for Common Sense, 2012). Organic farmers, who are not part of the agribusiness model, and who reject synthetic fertilizers, have to pay to certify their products. There are no government subsidies supporting this type of sustainable agriculture. USDA’s Farm Bill,29 which provides legal and funding authority for both farm and nutrition programs, might serve as a better advocate for sustainable farming and nutrition if USDA responsibilities were separated. It would also be the best way to reduce the farm lobby’s influence on our food policies (Shearn, 2012). In this way, the agency that provides subsidies to commodity farmers would not also be deciding what comprises a nutritionally appropriate diet for school children.
There are many changes that would contribute to a better environment, healthier people, and more effective policies. Bitman and colleagues (2015) have attributed many of our problems to the government’s failure to connect farming, diet, public health, and the environment. This has resulted in dysfunctional policies created in the service of interest groups (Gillens & Page, 2014). These policies provide the infrastructure of our predominant food systems and it is critical that students recognize the implications of these policies, so that they can make informed food choices.
Anthropology of Food
I have discussed food from a range of perspectives; ecology, national discourse, education, government policy, but food also has a significant role in culture.
29 http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=farmbill
30 Anthropologists have been portraying the pervasive role of food in our lives for more
than a century. Traditional ethnographies of food systems such as those written by
Richards (1939) in Northern Rhodesia, and more focused essays concerning regional
foodways have dealt with food history (Brandes, 1997), food preparation (Lockwood,
W.G., & Lockwood, Y. R., 2000), and preferences (Aunger, 1994; Harris, 1985). The
focus has varied over the years and more recently the topic of food has enjoyed a surge in
popularity. There are papers, journals, magazines, and movies dedicated to food from a
variety of perspectives. It is just this quality, this multi-disciplinary relationship between
food and anthropology that make it a logical lens through which we can examine food
systems and think about ways to educate our youth about them.
Mintz and DuBois’s 2002 review, “The Anthropology of Food and Eating”
illuminates how more recent anthropological food studies have helped reveal the broad
societal processes surrounding value-creation. Since the 1980’s extensive work has
focused on food insecurity, eating and ritual, and eating and identities. Furthermore,
studies such as Murcott’s 1999 investigation into the history of milk and poultry
regulation and the study by Himmelgreen et al that shed light on food insecurity have
contributed to an understanding of the social and cultural impacts of food and health
policy (Himmelgreen et al., 2000).
Dirks and Hunter (2013) provide additional historical background of the
anthropology of food including the idea of cooking as a human universal, food as part of
cultural survival, and food as a social function. Initially, Functionalists such as
Malinowski (1922), discussed how tribal social relationships served to meet nutritional
31 needs. During World War II anthropological studies of food became more practical and focused on nutrition. This timing also happens to correlate with the creation of the federal school lunch program, which was instituted because so many of the drafted soldiers had to be turned away, due to malnutrition (Jirka & Sneed, 2007). By the 1960’s ecological thinking and narratives of foodways eventually gained popularity, Levi-
Strauss and his structuralist theory looked at food as a representation of culture (1969).
Cultural Materialists and Cultural Ecologists such as Marvin Harris (1985) and Julian
Steward (1955) focused on ecology and economics of food, while others looked at the values of food in cultural identity.
Research focused on single commodities and substances has resulted in publications about the potato, sucrose, and descriptions of the diffusion of such foods across the globe (Salamin, 1949; Mintz, 1985). Included in these scholarly works are the descriptions of food systems. Societal changes have had a far-reaching impact on food, including the transformation of foodways and changes in patterns of eating. There are extensive writings on the industrialization of food production (Hamilton, 1993; Rotz &
Fraser, 2015; Pan, Chen, Zhang, Bao, & Zhang, 2016) and the impact of the slow food movement (Perdew, 2016; Petrini, 2003; Pojman, L., Pojman, P., & McShane, 2016), organics (Shannon, Kim, McKenzie, & Lawrence, 2015; Grosglik, 2016), marketing
(Hingley, 2016; Morgan, 2015) and food technologies (Frink & Giordano, 2015; Stahl,
2014). Research on government policies and their effect on dietary patterns is part of this body of literature as well (Nestle & Jacobson, 2000; Fisher & Dwyer, 2016). The role of food is important in every culture, but it is especially relevant in the world today, as our
32 eating habits have such grave consequences.
33 GETTING OUR HANDS DIRTY-WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
At the heart of these significant issues with the environment, public health, and
policy, there is one common denominator that students, and our nation, must
acknowledge: Food. Children need to know the story of their food. This can be
accomplished with engaging curriculum that speaks to their food values and gives them
hands on opportunities to connect with elements of food systems. The present study focused on curriculum intended to better inform students about how their food is linked to these various, yet connected issues. The goal was to enable them to make considerate
choices about the food they eat, within our current context and in the future.
Pollan and colleagues make an important point when they call for more school
gardening and cooking lessons for boys and girls (Pollan et al. 2015). These are the types
of hands on experiences that may be highly beneficial for children. Nature photographer,
Louis Schwartsberg, while giving a 2011 TEDX talk about gratitude, commented, “we
protect what we love.” If we can nurture a relationship between children and their food,
perhaps they will grow up with habits that help sustain the skills and environment we
need to feed not just our bodies, but also our souls.
The 2015 California Center for Rural Policy Food Report states that more opportunities are needed for people to develop hands-on gardening skills, learn about nutrition, gain techniques for smart shopping on a budget, and experience the pleasures of cooking with fresh produce. These are opportunities that I would argue school children need as well. In addition to better curriculum, educators need funding to facilitate the
34 lessons. One may question why additional money is needed to provide these lessons if
we already have teachers and classrooms. The expense in creating meaningful
experiences to teach children about food is the cost of transportation to farms, food
samples to taste, ingredients to cook with, and cooking equipment. There are plenty of
digital and paper resources that are free, but it is the hands on, place-based activities that may provide the most lasting impact. Resources on grants, parent drivers, and cooking ingredient donations, are available to teachers, but realistically, funding from school districts is needed to make the curriculum reasonable to implement. Without more school-based education it will be difficult to get buy-in from students when they are served whole grain pasta on their lunch tray, as the USDA now requires. Even if students live next to the farm that grew the tomatoes for the sauce or if the meatballs came from cattle that fed on organic grass, children won’t necessarily accept the changes that our local and global food movements are harnessing. Youth need to be drawn into the conversation about what their food choices mean to their health, the environment, and the local economy.
Most children make food decisions based on limited information. They need to understand the big picture and recognize the importance of their choices. Teachers cannot ethically indoctrinate our youth according to their own political agendas or belief systems, but instead can make students aware of what they are basing their food decisions on and give them the information to think critically about the impacts of their food values. My study highlights factors that influence food choices, such as taste, price, nutrition, and environmental impact, and addresses these factors in a curriculum that can
35 be realistically incorporated into a classroom’s existing content standards. The resulting curriculum was tested in my classroom. The resources are accessible to teachers and fellow educators in Appendix B. A more comprehensive collection of resources will be available through the Humboldt Education Resource Center (HERC).
36 FROM SOIL TO SOUL-THE PROJECT
Figure 4: Produce stand at Bayside Farm, Arcata, CA
Research Design and Methods
Subjects for this study were 5th grade students and parents of students in grades 4-8 at the K-8 school where I teach. This school is situated in a small seaside town within
Humboldt County, California, USA. Many of its 400 residents enjoy an ocean view on
clear days or are nestled amongst the forested bluffs that surround the downtown. There
is a gas station and a small shopping center with a post office, a restaurant, and local
Murphy’s market, whose selections represent a curated collection of specially requested
foods. Both the market and the café across the street from the school have collaborated
with the cafeteria to provide storage and produce delivery options for the school lunch
37 program. Commercial fishing has been a mainstay of the community long since settlers
joined the Native American community here, and both have a significant influence on the
local culture.
This one-school district serves students in grades K-8 with an enrollment of approximately 160 students, 52% of which are eligible for free or reduced priced meals from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). About 80% of the students eat school lunch instead of lunch brought from home each day. Most of the adult staff chooses the cafeteria food as well. The lunch program features organic ingredients, including locally sourced tuna and lettuce from the school garden. The campus boasts multiple garden areas and a large greenhouse. It is also within walking distance to the local pier and lighthouse.
I applied an inductive research approach and employed qualitative
methods. Rather than basing research design on existing theories, I looked for patterns
in the data and developed explanations for these observations. I followed a grounded
theory methodology, rooted in observation. The problems and potential resolutions
emerged out of an iterative analysis of the data as the study progressed.
Grounded theory, as explained by Seale (2012) is applicable to qualitative
research where a more inductive approach is desired, such as in ethnographies. Its
methodology requires the researcher to be reflexive in the collection and analysis of
data, returning to each after a break to look for patterns and themes in coding and
developing arguments. This re-visiting of analysis and data collection is driven by an
emerging theory, which will dictate which group or subgroup to sample next. After a
38 category has been sufficiently researched, it is said to have reached theoretical saturation. Another quality of grounded theorizing is constant comparison. There are four stages of this method: code data into categories, integrate categories and their properties, attain theoretical saturation, and finally, write the theory. It is only after the conclusion of data collection and analysis that a theory may be posited. This could be a substantive theory that is applicable to the same specific context or a more generalized formal theory. The researchers credited with the development of this approach are primarily Glaser and Strauss (1967). The latter two are responsible for identifying distinctive ways of coding data. There are three types of coding in grounded theory: open coding (making meaning according to emerging themes), axial coding (focus is on the interconnections of categories), and selective coding (core categories are identified). One of the major criticisms of grounded theory is that it is not applicable to all kinds of research problems. For example, Brown (1973) indicates that for the study of long-term historical processes, the revisiting of data collection is not feasible. He maintains that it is more applicable to short-term processes that repeat themselves, making additional surveying or observation more accessible (Seale, 2012).
Grounded theory methodology is appropriate for researching food choices, as they are repetitive in nature and the decision process is short (Seale, 2012). I examined a variety of factors (categories) that influence these choices such as price, availability, and nutritional content. Each survey and interview was systematically analyzed using these types of categories or coding strategies that assign a code to a recognizable theme in the data (such as “convenience” or “taste”). I evaluated these patterns of behavior to
39 develop theory about how students and parents make food choices. This theory was then applied to the creation of a classroom curriculum. For example, I initially assumed that children’s diets were the result of what their parents provided, based on parental food values. After the parent interviews, I understood that the child’s preferences actually influenced the parent significantly. The parents negotiated between their values and those of the rest of the family. In light of the powerful influence children had on their diet (and their family’s), I tried to incorporate lessons that facilitated parent and child dialogue about food.
Grounded theory drove my research design and systems thinking influenced the lessons about food systems. The primary text for the curriculum I created is Young
Readers Edition: The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Chevat and Pollan, 2009). In this text, the authors discuss the impact of our food systems on our ecology, our economy, or sense of ethics, and our sense of global community. Chevat and Pollan stress the connections and networks at play and how these influence each other and I echo this approach throughout the lessons. Julian Steward’s concept of cultural ecology (1955) rooted the train of thought behind systems theory, which is applied to many disciplines. Systems theory focuses on understanding the complete system and each of the underlying interactions of the elements that make up that system (Environmental Health Systems, 2012).
Data gathered via one-to-one qualitative interviews were also subject to Interpretive
Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). This is a method of interpreting people’s personal experiences, taking into account that the retelling of a lived experience is an act of reconstruction and is inductive. This approach looks at the relationship between
40 individual and social context while analyzing the data systematically and reflexively
(Griffin & May, 2012).
Codes were developed through constant comparison to form a description or to identify themes in the data collected. For example, I assigned a response about choosing food based on price, a code such as “P” to represent the fact that price is an influential factor for this subject. I revisited the data with what Rivas refers to as a zigzag approach
(2012) and open coding so as to reconsider different possible themes and categories throughout the process. To record the various codes, I drew concept maps to organize the various themes.
Rivas (2012) warns that before implementing thematic coding a researcher must recognize that they have personal sensitivity to concepts, meanings, and relationships.
This is called theoretical sensitivity. This particular study could be termed “backyard” research, as I was a community member, the former school nutrition director, the classroom teacher, and a friend of many of the parents in the study. In light of this, I tried to maintain a reflexive approach in order to justify the validity of my research, despite potential biases.
I then analyzed the data for themes or categories. As Walsh (2012) describes, through systematic sifting and comparison, the mutual relationships and internal structure of the categories was revealed. Sample categories I saw in the data included, price, taste, convenience, and how food is grown or produced. From these observations I made an interpretation about the meaning of the data. For example, students indicated that how food was grown was an important consideration, but I came to understand that it meant
41 more than whether or not crops were exposed to pesticides. This value really represented
a concern for how far bees had to venture for food, how farmers were forced to buy GMO
seeds, how chemical fertilizers were detrimental to the ocean ecosystem, and a dislike of
policy that supports agribusiness.
Data collection for this project consisted of two phases that took place from
September 2014 through February 2016. Phase I was approximately ten weeks of lessons
in the classroom with the students including field trips and projects as well as a pre and
post survey. Phase II was a series of surveys and interviews with parents during the
course of one month.
Phase I:
Following IRB approval my 2014 class of 17 fifth grade students and my 2015 class of 27 students were invited to be part of my research. Each fall I read the oral text explaining the study to the class and gave the students assent forms and parental permission forms to take home. One student did not return both signed forms; they did not participate in the study, resulting in a sample size of 43 who completed both the pre and post surveys. However, all of my students participated in the curriculum and field trips as part of our Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science curriculum. The student pre and post survey addressed questions about food systems, food values, and general terms related to food. Parents and students had a week before each proposed start date to consider their participation in the study and were encouraged to ask further questions during that time to facilitate their decision-making. Parents were invited to meet with me
42 before or after school or to contact me via phone or email.
Following the pre-survey, I delivered the curriculum lessons. These were designed
after extensive review of existing curriculum and a pilot run in the previous year with a
class of twenty-four 5th graders. Lessons addressed the four food systems described in
Chevat and Pollan’s Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore’s Dilemma (2009):
industrial, industrial-organic, local-sustainable, and hunter-gatherer. As part of their
normal classroom curriculum, the students participated in lessons about each of these food systems and visited local farms for tours and discussions about these food systems with the farmers. As the principal investigator and classroom teacher, I designed a curriculum that included student analysis of food ads, investigations of the story of our
food, field trips, cooking, group projects, gardening, presentations, films, and class
discussions.
The Curriculum
The table below charts the lessons I used and a suggested sequence. Each
of the ten weeks usually included reading, gardening, cooking, a documentary, and
a field trip. There were four over-arching learning objectives that I attempted to
address (these are noted by the individual lessons with a corresponding numerical
code).
1. Increase awareness of the relationships between health, food production, the environment, and society.
2. Increase knowledge of and personal connection to food, cooking, and gardening through hands on experiences.
43 3. Explore the problems associated with food systems and collaboratively
identify solutions.
4. Reflect on the connection between personal values and food choices.
This general outline represents a revised version based on the three years of curriculum delivery. The particular order of lessons varied, depending on school schedules, availability of field trips, and weather, but it will give the reader a sense of what we did. The resources and contact information for these lessons can be found in
Appendix B.
It was crucial that these lessons be delivered in a setting that had an established culture of understanding and appreciation for differences. As the teacher, I was especially cognizant of the necessity to educate without indoctrinating any particular set of values. Likewise, the students were informed that they must be capable of withholding judgment about peer food choices. Food shaming was a potential behavior as we navigated this curriculum. It was important that students were able to respect each other’s food choices and understand that while a peer’s lunch bag may have contained cheap “junk food” it may have been a matter of household economics, rather than a personal opinion about healthy food…or it may have been that the individual valued a particular taste over nutrition. I sat with my students and ate lunch with them each day to be sure that any conversation regarding food was respectful.
44
Table 1: Week 1 Lessons
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 1 Temple Grandin Film • 1, 3, 4 • Students write • Awareness of down three talking animal rights points from film issues • Class discussion • Introduction to Industrial agriculture 1 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Introduction to reading • Introduction the four food • Class discussion • PART III The Local systems (local Sustainable Meal: Food sustainable, From Grass industrial, industrial organic, and hunter-gatherer) • Understanding of the local sustainable food system 1 TED talk- Mark Bittman: • 1, 3, 4 • Students highlight What's Wrong With What we • Introduction to info from Eat key food transcript, write 3 system issues: questions about sustainability, topic. health • Class discussion • Students answer each other’s questions after viewing talk and using transcript 1 Nourish Lesson: The Story of • 1, 3, 4 • Student worksheet Food • Students learn • Class discussion where and how to discover the
45 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes path their food has taken • Students recognize how difficult it is know the path their food has taken, especially with processed foods 1 Gardening-planting onion seeds • 1, 2 • Knowledge in greenhouse • Students demonstrated become through familiar with performance organic farming practices • Students form a connection with the food in the garden 1 Cooking- small group scone • 1, 2 • Knowledge baking • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared
46 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes Resources for Week 1:
Bittman, M. (2007, Dec.). What's Wrong With What we Eat [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_bittman_on_what_s_wrong_with_what_we_eat
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Jackson, M. (Director). (2010). Temple Grandin [Motion picture]. USA: Warner Bros.
Nourish (2010). Center for Ecoliteracy. Worldlink. Retrieved Mar. 20, 2016 from http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/
Table 2: Week 2 Lessons
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 2 TED talk- Birke Baehr: What's • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Wrong With our Food System • Introduction to down three talking key food points from film system issues: • Class discussion sustainability, health 2 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Introduction to reading • PART III The Local the four food • Class discussion Sustainable Meal: Food systems (local From Grass(cont.) sustainable, industrial, industrial organic, and hunter-gatherer) • Understanding of the local sustainable food system
47 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 2 Field trip to DeepSeeded CSA • 1, 2 • Students write farm and Bayside Park Farm • Compare and summary of host’s contrast answers to different food Sustainable Table systems “Questions to ask a • Analyze farmer” perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable farming practices • Form connection to local food supply 2 Forks Over Knives • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Documentary • Introduction to down three talking key food points from video system issues: • Class discussion sustainability, health 2 Nourish Lesson: Analyzing • 1, 3, 4 • Student worksheet Food Ads & Food Marketing • Describe effects • Class discussion Techniques of food marketing ad labeling on food choice • Describe marketing strategies used by food manufactures • Identify several common food labels and discuss their meaning
48 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 2 Gardening- Nourish Lesson: • 1, 2 • Knowledge Ecosystem Hunt • Students demonstrated become through familiar with performance organic farming • Student worksheet practices • Students form a connection with the food in the garden 2 Cooking- small group zucchini • 1, 2 • Knowledge bread baking • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared Resources for Week 2:
Baehr, B. (2010, Aug.). What's Wrong With our Food System [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/birke_baehr_what_s_wrong_with_our_food_system
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Fulkerson, L. (Director). (2011). Forks Over Knives [Motion picture on Online]. USA: Monica Beach Media.
Nourish (2010). Center for Ecoliteracy. Worldlink. Retrieved Mar. 20, 2016 from http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/
49 Table 3: Week 3 Lessons
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 3 Fresh Documentary • 1, 3, 4 • Students write • Introduction to down three talking key food points from film system issues: • Take home sustainability, discussion health questions for Fresh
• Class discussion 3 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Understanding reading • PART III The Local of the local • Class discussion Sustainable Meal: Food sustainable From Grass (cont.) food system
3 Field trip to Shakefork farm and • 1, 2 • Students write ranch • Compare and summary of host’s contrast answers to different food Sustainable Table systems “Questions to ask a • Analyze farmer” perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable farming practices • Form connection to local food supply 3 More Than Honey Documentary • 1, 3, 4 • Students write • Students down three talking understand the points from video importance of • Class discussion bees as pollinators in
50 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes our food systems • Students reflect on the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder 3 Gardening- Draw and label • 1, 2 • Student drawing garden ecosystem • Students become familiar with systems thinking and elements of garden ecosystem 3 Cooking • 1, 2 • Knowledge - small group pesto (cilantro & • Students gain demonstrated basil) familiarity with through - small group roasted beets and reading and performance chevre hors d'oeuvres following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared Resources for Week 3:
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Imhoof, M. (Director). (2012). More Than Honey [Motion picture]. Switzerland: Zero One Film.
Joanes, A. S. (Director). (2009). Fresh [Motion picture]. USA: Ripple Effects Films. http://www.freshthemovie.com/resources/educational-materials/
51
Table 4: Week 4 Lessons
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 4 Field trip to Clendenen’s • 1, 2 • Students write Ciderworks • Compare and summary of host’s contrast answers to different food Sustainable Table systems “Questions to ask a • Analyze farmer” perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable farming practices • Form connection to local food supply 4 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Understanding reading • PART I The Industrial of the Industrial • Class discussion Meal: Food From Corn food system
4 TEDed video- Fernanda S. • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Valdovinos: How Bees Help • Students down three talking Plants Have Sex understand the points from video importance of • Class discussion bees as pollinators in our food systems 4 TED talk- Marla Spivak: Why • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Bees are Disappearing • Students down three talking understand the points from video importance of • Class discussion
52 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes bees as pollinators in our food systems • Students reflect on the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder 4 Gardening-transplanting onions • 1, 2 • Knowledge and lettuce in school garden • Students demonstrated become through familiar with performance systems thinking and elements of garden ecosystem 4 Cooking- small group apple • 1, 2 • Knowledge crisp baking • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared Resources for Week 4:
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Spivak, M. (2013, Jun.). Why Bees are Disappearing [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/marla_spivak_why_bees_are_disappearing
Valdovinos, F., S. (n.d.). How Bees Help Plants Have Sex [Video file]. Retrieved from http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-bees-help-plants-have-sex-fernanda-s-valdovinos
53
Table 5: Week 5 Lessons
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 5 TED talk- Ann Cooper: What's • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Wrong With School Lunches • Students reflect down three talking on the policies points from film that regulate the • Class discussion school lunch system 5 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Understanding reading • PART I The Industrial of the Industrial • Class discussion Meal: Food From Corn food system (cont.)
5 TED talk- Jamie Oliver: Teach • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Every Child About Food • Students reflect down three talking on the policies points from video that regulate the • Class discussion school lunch system 5 Field trip to Warren Creek • 1, 2 • Students write Pumpkin Patch • Compare and summary of host’s contrast answers to different food Sustainable Table systems “Questions to ask a • Analyze farmer” perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable farming practices • Form connection to
54 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes local food supply 5 GMO, OMG Documentary • 1, 3, 4 • Students write • Students reflect down three talking on the known points from video and potential • Class discussion impacts (detrimental and positive) of genetically modified organisms 5 Cooking- small group pumpkin • 1, 2 • Knowledge curry • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared Resources for Week 5:
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Cooper, A. (2007, Dec.). What's Wrong With School Lunches [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ann_cooper_talks_school_lunches
Oliver, J. (2010). Teach Every Child About Food [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver
Seifert, J. (Director). (2013). GMO, OMG [Motion picture]. USA: Compeller Pictures.
55 Table 6: Week 6 Lessons
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 6 • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Super Size Me Documentary • Students reflect down three talking on diet, health, points from film and food • Class discussion culture 6 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Introduction to reading • PART I The Industrial the four food • Class discussion Meal: Food From Corn systems (local (cont.) sustainable, • PART II The Industrial industrial, Organic Meal industrial organic, and hunter-gatherer) • Understanding of the local sustainable food system 6 Field trip to Alexandre • 1, 2 • Students write EcoDairy • Compare and summary of host’s contrast answers to different food Sustainable Table systems “Questions to ask a • Analyze farmer” perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable dairy and ranching practices • Form connection to local food supply 6 Week-long homework • 2, 4 • Student journal
56 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes assignment: Food Journal • Students reflect on their food choices 6 TED talk- Dan Barber: How I • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Fell in Love With a Fish • Students down three talking consider the points from film impacts of fish • Class discussion farms and potential solutions to improve our food systems that include fish 6 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Students reading • PART II The Industrial become • Class discussion Organic Meal (cont.) familiar with the Industrial Organic food system 6 Read Nourishing Traditions • 1, 4 • Class discussion Cookbook for Children • Students learn • Incredible Eggs about health benefits of eggs 6 Cooking- deviled eggs • 1, 2 • Knowledge • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared
57 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes Resources for Week 6:
Barber, D. (2010, Feb.). How I Fell in Love With a Fish [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_barber_how_i_fell_in_love_with_a_fish
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Fallon, S. (2015). Nourishing Traditions Cookbook for Kids. Newtrends Publishing, Inc.,White Plains.
Spurlock, M. (Director). (2005). Super Size Me [Motion picture]. Madrid: Cameo.
Table 7: Week 7 Lessons
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 7 Field trip to Little River Farm • 1, 2 • Written summary • Compare and of host’s answers contrast to Sustainable different food Table “Questions systems to ask a farmer” • Analyze perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable farming practices • Form connection to local food supply 7 Fed Up Documentary • 1, 3, 4 • Students write
58 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes • Students down three talking consider food, points from film diet, and • Class discussion inadequate nutritional education for the public 7 Nourish Lesson: Action • 1, 2, 3, 4 • Student Projects • Students presentation of explore project different forms of action to address food- related issues at home, at school, and in the community 7 Food Processing Lesson • 1, 3, 4 • Student worksheet adapted from John Hopkins • Students understand the processing stage of food systems 7 Cooking-small group hummus • 1, 2 • Knowledge & crudités • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared
59 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes Resources for Week 7:
Nourish (2010). Center for Ecoliteracy. Worldlink. Retrieved Mar. 20, 2016 from http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/
Soechtig, S. (Director). (2014). Fed Up [Motion picture]. USA: Atlas Films.
Teaching the Food System (2010). John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved Sep 23, 2015 from http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and- institutes/teaching-the-food-system/curriculum/ingredients_of_the_food_system.html
Table 8: Week 8 Lessons
Week Activity Learning Outcomes Assessment 8 • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Food Inc. Documentary • Students reflect down three talking on the food points from film industry • Class discussion 8 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Students reading PART IV The Do-It- understand the • Class discussion Yourself Meal Hunter/Gatherer food system 8 MasterChef Junior TV show • 4 • Class discussion • Students gain appreciation for cooking skills 8 Class activity: Design your • 3, 4 • Students write dream lunch with nutrition & • Students reflect down three talking price in mind on their food points from film values • Class discussion
60 Week Activity Learning Outcomes Assessment 8 Class activity: Our • 1, 3, 4 • Class discussion local/regional food system • Students are able to identify their local region on a map 8 Nourish Lesson: Seasonal Food • 1, 3, 4 • Seasonal food • Students learn wheel what food is available each season where they live Resources for Week 8:
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Kenner, R. (Director). (2008). Food, Inc. [Motion picture]. USA: Movie One.
Nourish (2010). Center for Ecoliteracy. Worldlink. Retrieved Mar. 20, 2016 from http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/
Viruet, P. (Writer). (n.d.). MasterChef Junior [Television series]. Burbank, CA: Fox
Table 9: Week 9 Lessons
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 9 • 1, 3, 4 • Students write TEDed video- Robert Lustig: • Students down three talking Sugar: Hiding in Plain Sight consider diet points from film and health • Class discussion
9 That Sugar Film Documentary • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after • Students reading consider the • Class discussion impact of sugar on their health 9 MasterChef Junior TV show • 4 • Students write
61 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes • Students gain down three talking an appreciation points from film of cooking • Class discussion skills 9 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Understanding reading PART IV The Do-It- of the hunter - • Class discussion Yourself Meal (cont.) gatherer food system 9 Hike through local forest with • 1, 2 • Knowledge foraging guide • Students learn demonstrated to identify local through food sources performance that can be foraged Resources for Week 9:
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Gameau, D. (Director). (2014). That Sugar Film [Motion picture]. Australia: Madmen Production Company.
Lustig, R. (n.d.). Sugar: Hiding in plain sight [Video file]. Retrieved from http://ed.ted.com/lessons/sugar-hiding-in-plain-sight-robert-lustig
Viruet, P. (Writer). (n.d.). MasterChef Junior [Television series]. Burbank, CA: Fox
Table 10: Week 10 Lessons
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 10 • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Food Stamped Documentary • Students reflect down three talking on food equity points from film • Class discussion 10 View Michael Pollan’s • 1, 3 • Students write Supermarket Secrets by Nourish
62 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes • Students down three talking become points from film familiar with • Class discussion layout/design of grocery store displays 10 Food Stamp Menu Lesson • 1, 3, 4 • Student created • Students will menu recognize the • Class discussion challenges of eating a healthy diet on a small budget • Students engage in value negotiation 10 Field trip to Murphy’s Market • 1, 2 • Knowledge • Students form demonstrated connections to through local market performance • Students learn • Student menu for how to price food stamp budget food items for a menu 10 Nourish Lesson: Family Food • 4 • Student journal Traditions • Students examine personal food traditions and values 10 Gardening-harvesting from • 1, 2 • Knowledge school garden for class feast • Students demonstrated become through familiar with performance organic gardening practices
63 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 10 Cooking- class feast • 1, 2 • Knowledge • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared Resources for Week 10:
Nourish (2010). Center for Ecoliteracy. Worldlink. Retrieved Mar. 20, 2016 from http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/ http://www.nourishlife.org/2011/03/supermarket-secrets/
Potash, S., & Potash, Y. (Directors). (2010). Food Stamped [Motion picture]. USA: Summit Pictures.
During these activities, I employed unstructured observations and participant observation alongside the students to explore their value management processes connected to food choice and understanding of curriculum content. For example, during the Food Stamp menu creation task (see Appendix B.4) I presented my personal menu suggestion on the board, thinking out loud as I made choices, demonstrating the reasoning of why I chose dried beans instead of canned beans. As students worked on their own menus, I circulated through the classroom, listening and answering questions. I heard students discussing their choices with each other, sometimes explaining, for example, that they were just going to get fried chicken from the deli counter because they
64 didn’t know how to cook it, or asking if they could catch fish, which would be healthy and free. During field trips I toured with the students, listening to their questions for the farmers, and their side conversations with each other as we walked. Observational notes were taken to record data at the end of the day and saved with the student work for later review and analysis.
Student assignments such as their written descriptions of what they deemed
“healthy” food, their diagrams of food systems, their menus, and their notes from videos were also kept for analysis. The post-project survey, given at the conclusion of the curriculum delivery, measured the students’ understanding of both food systems and the impact of food on their physical well-being.30
30 Research documents, including the Pre/Post Survey can be found in Appendix A
65 This curriculum was piloted for the first time in 2013 with my 5th grade students.
This research project began with my 2014 students, and concluded with my 2015 class of
27 fifth graders. There were a total of 43 students who contributed to my data. Each year
throughout curriculum delivery I made adjustments based on class interest and needs. In
2013 and 2014 students were fascinated by the role of bees in agriculture and Colony
Collapse Syndrome, so we spent more time watching documentaries on this subject.
Some children interviewed beekeepers and one started his own colonies at home.
Utilizing what I learned from the previous two years in class, along with the research data
that included the student and parent surveys, as well as focus group and interview
feedback, I designed a curriculum for the 2015 class.
The most recent run of the lesson materials fell flat when we started talking about
bees. Fortunately there were other areas of interest. I knew to include more cooking,
based on the previous year’s data…and that was a hit. The students wanted to focus
more on cooking, so we did. Having used a variation of these materials with each class
and considered the experiences of each after piloting the curriculum I created yet another
draft of lesson plans. A systems thinking perspective allowed me to connect the dots for
my students as I explained the repercussions of industrial food systems compared to local
sustainable food systems. In this way, I was able to reach my student who was very fond
of bees, but did not resonate with the information that industrial mono-crop agriculture uses an excessive amount of water. When I explained that mono-crop agriculture is detrimental to bee health, they listened. All parts of the system are important, but a
66 teacher may only need one element of it to catch their learner’s attention.
Figure 5: Students visit Alexandre EcoDairy
Phase II:
Given the fact that parents are partially responsible for the food that children choose from, I included a Phase II during the Spring of 2015, during which I gathered data about the process of food choice for parents. Participants for parent surveys and interviews were recruited via an email sent to the parents of Trinidad School 4th-8th graders. This email contained a link to an anonymous Google survey form.
Approximately 100 families were invited to participate. Twenty-five recipients answered the survey and confirmed their informed consent before submission. This questionnaire
67 was standardized and served to familiarize families with the topics at hand and the results
guided the design of the interviews. Questions on this survey sought information about
parent income, the number of meals they provided, and what they considered when choosing food. This initial email prompted potential participants to email or call the researcher to set up a one-hour interview appointment.
The next step was home interviews with one or both parents. At that time, I obtained verbal consent and utilized ethnographic methodologies such as unstructured interviews with open-ended questions and observation. Ten interviews were conducted.
During the home interview photographs were taken of family food supplies, such as their pantries and refrigerators. Visual analysis of the content of these images was used to compare data from observations, interviews, and surveys and to discern if there were any patterns. Specifically, my intent was to ascertain if the content in the images of the food in the household corresponded with the subjects’ statements made about food choices.
Data from the interviews was recorded using a password protected iPhone and
researcher notes. Themes from the information provided by the participants, such as
“convenience”, “taste”, “origin of food, and “how a food is grown” were transcribed onto my computer within one week of the interview and then the recordings were subsequently deleted from the iPhone. The transcriptions and researcher notes on the computer did not identify subjects’ names. With the exception of the Google survey with the informed consent, all digital files relating to this study have since been deleted from my computer.
68 Findings and Discussion
Results from the parent survey (see Appendix) indicated that most of the families
interviewed had an annual income of over $40,000. Survey and interview responses also
confirmed that the families were spending at least 10% of their income on food. This
was higher than the national average, which dropped from 17.5 to 9.7 percent between
the years 1960 through 2014 (United States Department of Agriculture, 2016).
Furthermore, interview data suggested that the 32% of the respondents who indicated that they spent an amount “other” than the provided choices actually spent more than 10% of their income on food.
What is your approximate annual income? # of responses Other 7 $60,000-$80,000 4 $40,000-60,000 7 $20,000-$40,000 3 Less than $20,000 2
Figure 6: Annual income, Parent Survey
What percentage of your annual income do you think is spent on food? # of responses 8 9-10% 10 2 7-8% 1 3 5-6% 1
Figure 7: Percentage of annual income spent on food, Parent Survey
69 This means even more considering that most of the families stated in interviews that they did not eat out very often, maybe once a week. Families spent most of their food budget on at-home meals. This is interesting because it may be one of the ways they are able to afford the pricier organic groceries that a majority of respondents reported purchasing, based on interview data and the contents of their pantries and refrigerators.
How many times a week does your family eat out?
# of responses
16
6
2 1 0 0 0
1x or less 2x 3x 4x 5x 6x every day
Figure 8: Frequency of eating out, Parent Survey
For parents, the top considerations when choosing food for their family were where and how it was grown or produced, nutrition, and taste (figure 10). Keep in mind that these are not necessarily the main considerations in their own food value negotiations, but the factors that influenced them most when selecting food that would satisfy the range of values within their family. Students reported that their top considerations were health/nutrition, taste, and how and where the food was grown or produced (figure 11). It is interesting that these values between parents and children were so closely aligned.
70
Check the boxes to indicate factors that influence your food choices for your family
# of responses
Other 3 Where it is grown/produced 21 How it is grown/produced 24 Availability 7 Food allergies 4 Weight loss 3 Nutrition 24 Convenience 7 Price 15 Taste 22
Figure 9: Factors that influence food choice, Parent Survey
Of the categories listed above, what do you feel are your biggest considerations when choosing food for your family?
# of responses where it is grown/produced 10 how it is grown/produced 20 availability 0 food allergies 2 weight loss 2 nutrition 18 convenience 0 price 5 taste 15
Figure 10: Top factors that influence food choice, Parent Survey
71
Which of these influence your choices when you are choosing food? Post Pre
Health/nutrition 28 36 My friends like it 1 3 Good advertising 3 5 Whatever is in the fridge or cabinet 7 8 Impact on environment 11 18 Time to prepare/convenience 5 13 Cost 15 24 Locally grown 27 33 Organic 24 32 Taste 30 33
Figure 11: Factors that influence food choice, Student Survey
Figure 11 indicates the close alignment in parent’s and children’s values overall but also reveals a significant shift in the importance for students in considerations of cost, nutrition, environmental impact, and convenience.
Parents reported that they tried to buy local, organic foods that were not processed. The respondents’ pantries and refrigerators backed up their claims. Their well-stocked stores included homemade items such as sauerkraut and eggs from their own chickens. During one of my interviews I had the chance to accompany a parent as she milked her goats and then began the process of making yogurt.
“I don’t buy any meat at the store…each fall, a friend and I buy a whole steer and have it butchered. We raise our own pigs, which we feed with organic food, and my husband catches all the fish we eat. He doesn’t like chicken, so I don’t cook it.” -Parent interview, Mar. 2015
This population is unlikely a representative sample of mainstream America in their food values, but understanding the home environment is an important part of creating a curriculum that engages students. Whole foods that are grown organically and
72 livestock that is raised locally were prominent features in the diets of my students,
however, parents conceded to buying processed foods on occasion to make their children
happy.
I hate buying cereal. You know, that sugary, processed crap…but that’s what he wants and then I don’t have to fight with him about eating breakfast. -Parent interview, Feb., 2015
Parents stocked their cupboards with foods that they felt good about but admitted to occasionally buying food that didn’t coincide with their personal value system. In most cases it was to satisfy other members in the family. Parents reported that their food purchases and menu planning were greatly influenced by the taste preferences of other family members. Most parents felt that their children held food values similar to their own. When asked if they believed their children would maintain those eating preferences throughout life, parents remarked that the two barriers would likely be cost and a lack of cooking skills, but that eventually those would be overcome.
Determining if a food is healthy is not always straightforward. Students remained consistent in their evaluative measures before and after the curriculum delivery.
Most of them wanted to know the ingredients and if a product was organic or not. They reported that reading the label on foods was a good source of information if they couldn’t ask the farmer. In the classroom, we did not spend much time learning to read nutrition facts, but we did talk about the ratio of an ingredient correlating to its location in the list, as well as the fact that a product with fewer ingredients was likely to be less processed.
The “Food Detective” lesson from the Nourish curriculum challenged students to glean
73 information from food packaging to discover the path of a food product (2010).
Nourish’s “Analyzing Food Ads” prompted students to question what the word “natural” and “healthy” mean. These were terms that were prominent in many of the ads we examined. The class agreed that the ads picturing extreme close-ups of food were especially effective.
Another term that spurred conversation was - “organic.” Most students felt that organic foods are healthier to eat and better for the environment, but agreed that sometimes a local food, grown by a farmer they know might be just as healthy because the growing conditions could be the same and the farmer just didn’t pay for organic certification. A majority of students also believe that the way a food is farmed affects the environment and our ecological systems. We had lessons that discussed the plight of bees in the face of agribusiness and lessons that explained pollution from fertilizer run- off and the resulting dead zones in the ocean.
74
How do you know if food is healthy?
Post Pre
6 Didn't know 9 0 School 3 14 Organic, gathered, sustainable 3 9 Homegrown,local, origin, ask farmer, not… 5 0 Taste 6 3 Parents 5 2 Vegetable,fruit,bright colors 3 11 Read label,ingredients, not artificial, gluten-free,… 10
Figure 12: Indicators of healthy food, Student Survey
The concept that local foods do not contribute as much pollution was not as salient with the children as the fact that they could know and trust a local farmer.
According to survey results students also felt that where a food was grown impacted its nutritional content. This is especially noticeable in the results of the post survey (the lighter bar) in figure 13. Students had multiple opportunities to interact with local farmers throughout the ten weeks of curriculum delivery. The change between initial perceptions and post perceptions aligns with the idea that students appreciated the information about farming practices and nutrition that they gathered during field trips to local farms.
75
Circle any of these that you think might affect the nutritional value of a food? Post Pre 36 Where it is grown/raised 21 5 Price 7 23 Freshness 18 34 The way it is grown/raised 30 27 Preparation 13
Figure 13: Factors that affect nutritional value, Student Survey
The results of this study indicated that students in these classes were thinking
critically about food systems. Class discussions went beyond the facts presented in
readings and in documentaries and demonstrated that students were aware of the
interconnectedness of the systems at play in our foodways. They recognized the
implications of mono-crops and how industrial farming is a product of agricultural
policies. They saw how economics influence what seeds farmers choose to grow and why some families buy less nutritious processed food. The students asked farmers about pesticides and wondered why some people would not purchase the “ugly” sweet potatoes that are organic. They saw the mobile abattoir for butchering pasture raised chickens and watched documentaries about inhumane animal treatment in Concentrated Animal
Feeding Operations. Throughout the lessons I witnessed students asking each other questions about the ethics of killing animals for food. Some went as far as to question their eating habits. They became proud experts on the subject of food systems and bring examples from our lessons into their science class discussions and to their dinner table at
76 home. When given the opportunity to design their own dream lunch students
overwhelmingly selected nutritious foods. Cost, however, was not a factor and when
students priced out their meals they were shocked to learn that a single lunch of local
smoked salmon, organic raspberries, and Humboldt Chevre cost as much as $20.00
Later in the school year we visited the local market and students were challenged
to create a healthy menu that they could purchase with a food stamp budget (See
Appendix B.4). There was a great deal of value negotiation going on as students made
adjustments to their ingredient lists, factoring in price, nutrition, taste, and quality. I was
impressed to see students targeting the borders of the store where the fresh products are
displayed and those in the aisle were on their knees with calculators in hand. One student
was in the rice aisle for quite a long time and when I approached him to see how he was
doing he said that he was figuring out the price per serving size for all his different
options and that he had found that the organic brand was the best deal, even though it
initially appeared more expensive because of the larger sized bag.
Garden
All of the students were engaged when we had lessons in the garden that involved
exploring the ecosystem or tasting. Interestingly, while students expressed an interest in how local farmers grow their produce, few of the children showed much interest in
gardening themselves, although survey data indicated that they liked the idea of growing
their own food and or becoming a farmer or rancher someday31. During school garden
31 These results could be skewed, however, as it appears that many students may have interpreted the question to mean which of the two occupations would they prefer of the
77 activities students enjoyed harvesting herbs and vegetables, but didn’t want to do
weeding, digging, or planting. For the few students that did enjoy these activities, I
found that providing small group opportunities for them worked best.
Action Projects
Action projects were inspired from the Nourish curriculum and were an outlet for
individual student passion. One group decided to sell school garden lettuce to raise
money for more seeds. Another group met local beekeepers and interviewed them. One student created large cardboard signs protesting GMOs and coordinated with the local market so that he could stand outside and share his message. These projects gave students the freedom to pursue their own interests and to delve deeper into our topic.
Even when the effects of student efforts were limited to their own communities, these youth realized the experience of taking action for a belief they felt strongly about. If we can nurture a culture whereby children develop habits of eating based on critical thinking, these youth will mature into adults who advocate for better food policies that influence more than just their neighborhood.
Cooking
Cooking was a highlight of the curriculum. Students had an opportunity to make
piecrust, roast pumpkin that they harvested, pick and roast beets, cut vegetables and
prepare a locally raised chicken for soup. They delighted in the process and the
opportunity to learn new skills and to show off existing talents. If it was logistically
possible, these students would have loved to cook in class every day. Parents indicated
two: farmer or rancher. This would have led to more affirmative answers declaring one of the two.
78 that their children do not participate much in the cooking at home, although I suspect that the mess it creates and extra parental energy required was a factor. Both students and parents have expressed that they believe a lack of cooking skills in this generation is part of the obesity epidemic.
Figure 14: Students cooking in class
“I think a big part of the problem is that people don’t know how to cook anymore, so it’s easier to go buy fast food or processed stuff.” –Parent Interview, Mar. 2015
After viewing the documentary Fed Up, students were given sticky notes and instructed to write down three salient points that stuck with them. Half of the students said that to lose weight people should eat home cooked meals made from scratch.
79 Videos
Numerous documentaries have been made about food in past few years. Many of
these have been part of my lessons, including, Fresh, Food Stamped, Forks Over Knives,
Food Inc., Fed Up, GMO, OMG, and Temple Grandin. Most of these films have lesson
materials available on their websites. Viewing films in class that showed scenes from
industrial poultry and cattle factories prompted disbelief and outrage from my students.
This is an element of food systems that potentially has a powerful influence on food
choice. Fed Up’s coverage of children struggling to overcome obesity also struck an
emotional chord with my students. They were sad for the child who dieted and exercised
and yet still could not lose weight, and they blamed the parents for feeding her so much processed food. TED and TEDX talks have also been a fruitful resource for our food system topics. A list of relevant documentaries and TED talks are included in Appendix
B.
Field trips
In addition to cooking, field trips were a well received part of the curriculum. We
live in an area with a variety of informative sites (See Appendix B.3). Students and
parent drivers asked thoughtful questions (See Appendix B) and delighted in getting to
sample local products. It was especially gratifying to see parents buying CSA shares
after our visit to DeepSeeded Farm. Students from the 2014 year were envious of the
2015 year students when it was their time to go on fieldtrips. I was impressed to hear 6th
graders telling the 5th graders about all the things they would learn. They had retained a
great deal of information and expressed an affinity for the local farmers we had met.
80
Figure 15: Field trip to Deep Seeded CSA farm
Summary of Findings
Overall, data from the student surveys did not show a substantial increase in knowledge about the topic, however, classroom discussions and assignments testify to a deeper understanding. Shifts in what students consider when making food choices were evident in figure 11, which showed a marked increase in the value of health, environmental impact, and preference for organic farming practices. Lessons that involved cooking and the creation of menus were especially engaging to the students.
Field trips to farms and ranches were a positive experience, providing an opportunity for
81 students to ask questions and reveal their prior knowledge to the farmers. Both parents and students base their food choices primarily on where or how products are grown, taste, and nutrition. All of the students demonstrated a keen interest in food systems and have shown a continued awareness even after the presentation of curriculum.
Concerns and Recommendations
A concern throughout this study in relation to methodology was my close involvement with the school food culture. My previous work at the school and my own values surely biased the design of my curriculum. Previously I was the school cook and
Nutrition Director. I re-designed the food program and led a campaign to serve local, organic meals made from scratch with minimal use of government commodities. The students and parents knew me well for this and I am sure that this influenced who chose to participate in parent interviews. This type of “backyard research” is common and in many ways was beneficial, in that I knew my population well. It was limiting, however, in that I risked missing a connection with potential participants that may not have shared my food values.
The parent interviews were very informative. I noticed, however, that the food values of this parent group were very homogeneous. I believe this was due in large part to the fact that those interested in volunteering for a food study were those who had strong opinions about good food. Out of approximately 100 families, 25% completed the parent survey and 10% participated in interviews. I did not have an adequate cross-
82 section of food values represented in my parent sample. It is plausible that I could have broadened my research from Trinidad school and stationed myself at different types of markets, or contacted parents from other school districts in order to reach different demographic groups. As an applied anthropologist and classroom teacher though, my goal was to create something that I could incorporate into the curriculum at the Trinidad school, so understanding that specific population and their values surrounding food was my priority.
Even after working with relevant resources for three years, I recognize many areas I would like to revise. A major void in the curriculum I developed is the waste aspect. This is a topic I believe students would connect with, especially given how concerned they were that many people in the country do not get enough food, even though we produce plenty. A field trip to the local sanitation site may be enlightening.
One of the richest potentials that I would recommend exploring is parent involvement in the lessons. On the occasions when I sent home discussion questions to be signed by a parent after a dialogue with their child, I received multiple notes from home appreciating the chance to discuss what the students were learning. It is also an authentic context for the child to synthesize what they have studied, thus deepening understanding. Based on parent interviews it is clear that the children have a lot of influence on the weekly menus. This dialogue would allow both parents and children to explain their food values.
Searches for academic studies on this topic have so far produced few results though other countries have begun to incorporate a more well rounded (and required)
83 approach to food and health in their national curriculums.32 On the local level we are
lacking research that tests the efficacy of food system curriculum. The Pre and Post
Survey allowed me to track changes in student awareness after the lessons were
presented. I was temporarily disheartened to see that there was not a significant amount
of change. It could be that the materials I used were not effective, or that my teaching methods did not convey the content. However, one must consider the fact that this particular population of students began with quite a bit of knowledge. The setting for this study is a unique community with an active parent group who spurred a re-haul of our school lunch program and who choose to spend more than the national average of their income on food. Another explanation could be that the questions on the survey simply did not elicit an accurate measure of student understanding, or that they need revision.
More fine grained and open ended questioning may provide more telling results.
Granted, there is always room for improvement, but my experience while facilitating the class discussions and examining student assignments indicated there was a great deal of interest, meta-cognition, and understanding.
The content of the lessons need not be static and I encourage educators to adapt, contribute, and edit from the resources as necessary. In order to instill long-term habits of critical thinking about food choices, I strongly suggest that the curriculum be delivered year round, in a reflective manner. Ten weeks is not enough time to cover such an
32 TED Prize winner and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has begun a “Food Revolution Campaign,” touting the progressiveness of England, Mexico, Brazil, and Finland who have all made food education compulsory (n.d). Other countries such as Japan (Assmann, 2011) and Australia (Australian Curriculum, n.d) have also enacted food studies as part of their national curriculum.
84 immense topic or to allow students time to incorporate what they learn into their daily
habits. The students would be better served to have repeated exposure to the concepts and
ongoing opportunities to connect it to other subjects such as science, social studies, and
language arts. The Common Core Standards33 encourage this type of cross-curricular teaching. Ideally, this topic would resurface as students progress through grade levels.
An additional benefit of this approach would allow students to revisit concepts and apply them to new information, cementing their understanding even more. That type of thinking, that habit of mind, is a requirement if we are to make the health, policy, and environment changes needed.
This curriculum will continue to be revised and utilized by the district where this study took place and may hopefully be adopted by others. Schools in Humboldt County are poised to benefit the most, as they can participate in the same field trips and utilize the class set of The Young Readers Edition of the Omnivore’s Dilemma (Chevat &
Pollan, 2009) that has been donated to the Humboldt County Office of Education library.
A copy of my curriculum will be included in the boxed class set of these texts so that teachers may conveniently copy desired lessons. Ideally, educators who use this resource will add to the collection and provide recommendations for adaptations based on their classroom experiences. I have also communicated with the Director of Nutrition
Education for the Humboldt County Office of Education about pursuing grant funding to help facilitate the use of this curriculum in classrooms throughout the county.
33 http://www.corestandards.org/
85 Nationally there are undoubtedly many other schools pursuing this path and making similar discoveries. These results should begin to develop a solid debate and body of scholarly literature in the near future.
86 THE HARVEST-CONCLUSION
Our current lifestyle on the planet is not sustainable. Pollution from chemical fertilizers and the transportation of food is changing our environment. Industrial farming practices are using too much water and exposing our food and children to toxic pesticides so that subsidized crops may grow bigger, faster. The American diet has become top heavy with convenient, inexpensive processed foods that provide minimal nutrition.
Over one third of our national population is obese. The cheap calories and pollution of
Agribusiness are primary contributors to the environmental and health crises we face.
Popular media reminds us of our innate attraction to food and cooking, and yet, working families don’t have time to prepare food from scratch and poor families can’t afford nutritious food. Children are targeted by advertising campaigns and left to sort out their food values without understanding nutrition and the elements of our food systems.
Schools however, have the potential to reach our young consumers and to provide them with the information they need to make informed food choices.
There are few programs with a comprehensive approach to educating students about food systems. Children need to understand the role of policy, health, agriculture, ecological systems, economics, advertising, ethics, cooking, and gardening skills. For the most part, previous curriculum has been ineffective in creating an informed and personal connection to student food choices and has paid minimal attention to the various factors that can influence young people’s knowledge and attitudes about food. These curricula have failed to inspire a habit of critical thinking in regards to what students choose to eat.
87 An approach that simply tells children to fill their plate according to USDA
recommendations will not resonate with them. A developmentally appropriate
curriculum that incorporates experiential opportunities will have the most impact, given
the material is relevant to the child’s values. A personal connection is imperative if we
want to create lasting habits of mind when they choose food.
Children are a pivotal audience for lessons about food systems. School-aged
children are poised to develop lifelong values and habits. They eat food, they choose
food, and they vote with their forks. These lessons have the potential to develop critical
thinking capacity to shape children’s values and to create youth who are informed and
empowered. We must cultivate a culture that recognizes the consequences of our food
choices, and acts responsibly. Our health and environment depend on it.
This magical, marvelous food on our plate, this sustenance we absorb, has a story to tell. It has a journey. It leaves a footprint. It leaves a legacy. To eat with reckless abandon, without conscience, without knowledge; folks, this ain’t normal. – Joel Salatin34
34 Salatin, J. (2011). Folks, this Ain't Normal: A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World. Hachette UK.
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Oliver, J. (n.d.). Food Revolution. Retrieved Feb. 20, 2016 from http://www.foodrevolutionday.com/campaign/#pjpjv7wujGyIVFXT.97
Oliver, J. (2010). Teach Every Child About Food [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver
Pan, J., Chen, Y., Zhang, H., Bao, M., & Zhang, K. (2016). Strategic Options to Address Climate Change. In Climate and Environmental Change in China: 1951–2012 (pp. 129-137). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Perdew, L. (2016). Eating Local. Lerner Publications.
Petřini, C. (2003). Slow food: The case for taste. Columbia University Press.
Petřini, С. (2010). Terra Madre: Forging a new global network of sustainable food communities. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.
96 Pojman, L., Pojman, P., & McShane, K. (2016). Food Ethics. Engage Learning.
Pollan, M. (2009). Food rules: An eater's manual. Penguin.
Pollan, M. (2010). Food Movement Rising. The New York Review of Books. Retrieved Mar 2, 2016 from http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2010/06/10/food-movement-rising/
Pollan, M. et al. (Producers), & Gibney, A. (Director). (2016). Cooked [Documentary]. United States: Netflix. Polyface Farms (n.d.). Retrieved Mar.20, 2016 from http://www.polyfacefarms.com/
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Rivas, C. (2012). Coding and Analyzing Qualitative Data. Researching Society and Culture, edited by Clive Seale, pp. 366-392. Sage Publications, London.
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97 Schwartzberg, L. (Jun, 2011). Nature. Beauty. Gratitude [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude?language=en
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100 APPENDIX A MISE EN PLASE- RESEARCH PROTOCOL DOCUMENTS
A.1 Parent Survey
1. Who makes most of the food decisions in your family?
2. How many people do you feed each day?
3. What food do you provide for your family each day?
4. What percentage of your household annual income do you think is spent on food?
5. What is your approximate annual income?
6. Check the box if you receive the following: o Calfresh (food stamps) o WIC o Reduced or free school lunch o Calfresh tokens for the Farmers Market
7. How many times a week does your family eat out?
8. Check the boxes to indicate factors that influence your food choices for your family. o taste o price o convenience o nutrition o weight loss o food allergies o availability o how it is grown/produced o where it is grown/produced
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o Other
9. Of the categories checked above, what do you feel are your biggest considerations when choosing food for your family?
10. Who makes most of the food decisions in your family?
11. Do you agree to participate in this study?
102 A.2 Parent Interview Protocol
• Interview goal statement: o The goal of this interview is to identify and understand the processes of value negotiation that parents go through as they choose food for their family. • An explanation of your interview sample parameters: Participants will be parents of students in grades 4-8. • Interview location/s: o Interviews will take place in the subjects’ home • Interviewee recruitment strategy: o Parents of Trinidad students in grades 4-8 will receive an email explaining my project and inviting them to complete an online survey as well as to contact me if they are willing to be interviewed.
• Privacy and confidentiality: o Participants will sign two copies of the consent form and keep one for themselves • Questions to ask the interviewee (I know most of the potential subjects pretty well already) o Warm up questions (low stakes) . Do you have a garden? Can we take a look? . What are you making for dinner tonight? . I may ask them about a dish of theirs I’ve had at a potluck
• Interview topics from Survey Questions: • • • Who makes of most of the food choices for your family? • • How many meals do you provide each day? • • How many people do you feed each day? • • How many are in your household? • • What is your household income? •
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• What percentage of your annual income do you think you spend on food, including eating out? • • How many times a week does your family eat out? • • What do you feel are your biggest considerations when choosing food for your family? • • Additional Interview Topics: • • Do your food choices usually align with your values regarding nutrition, ecology, economics, etc.? • • Why or Why not? • • What kind of influence do your children have on what food you buy? • • Who does most of the cooking in your household? • • In what ways do your children participate in the preparation of meals? • • Who does most of the food shopping for your household? • • Where is that shopping done? • • What factors influence your choice in where to shop? • • Do your children go food shopping with you? • • What kinds of food do your children specifically request? •
104 A.3 Student Survey (Pre/Post)
Code:______Date:______From Soil to Soul: A Project Implementing Curriculum and Measuring 5th Grade Perceptions of Food Systems Pre/Post Survey Most of these questions can be answered with a “yes” or “no”, others you can circle and there are a few that need a sentence or two. Please take your time and give thoughtful answers. This does not affect your grade.
1.Who decides what you eat for lunch?
2.How do you know if a food is healthy?
3.Do you think you have a healthy diet?
4.Do you think it costs more to eat healthy?
5.Which would you rather eat? An apple you grew in your yard An apple grown in Washington and shipped to Humboldt County
6.Do you care if your food is organic?
7.Do you think organic food is healthier?
8.Do you think GMO foods are a good idea (to grow or eat)?
9.Do you think there are people in this country who don’t have enough food to eat?
10.Do you think we grow enough food in this country for everyone?
11.Would you rather eat chickens raised in a mobile chicken coop or in an industrial facility?
105 12.Circle any of these that you think might affect the nutritional value of a food? the way a food is prepared the way a food is grown/raised the time between harvest and eating (freshness) the price where a food is grown/raised
13.Which of these influence your choices when you are choosing food? (you can circle as many as you’d like) taste impact on environment organic whatever is in the fridge or cabinet locally grown good advertising cost my friends like it time to prepare/convenient health/nutrition
14.Do you want to grow, hunt, gather, or raise some of your own food? If yes, what type?
15.The way food is farmed affects our environment, True or False?
16.Which food system do you believe is best for our environment? local sustainable industrial organic industrial hunter-gatherer
17.Why do you think organic food costs more?
18.Do you know where your food for your breakfast came from? (Where did the egg come from or how was the chicken raised? Where was the corn grown for your cereal?)
19.Do you think it is better to have a farm with just corn growing or a farm with many different things growing? Why?
20.Would you like to be a farmer or rancher someday?
106 A.4 Student Pre/Post Survey Data
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116 A.5 Text of oral explanation to child participants
“As you know I’m studying Anthropology at the university and one of the things anthropologists do is research. I will be writing a report, or thesis, about my research project. If want to, you can be a part of it (but your name won’t be in it to protect your privacy). If you decide that you don’t want to be a part of it, you can change your mind anytime. It won’t affect your grades in class (but you will still need to do our regular class work). I will be designing and creating lessons about food systems. This means we’ll be learning about the different ways we get our food (from the farmers market, or the grocery store, or hunting…) and we’ll learn about some things that might influence what food we choose (ads, tradition, or how it’s grown). Some of the lessons will be in class and some will be in the school garden or at local farms. After I design the lessons, I will give you a survey asking you questions about these topics. I don’t expect you to know the answers. This tells me what I need to teach you and lets me see what you already know. We’ll also have a class discussion. You’ll take the same survey after I teach you all the lessons and then I’ll see if any of your answers changed. At the end of the unit (we’ll be studying this for 10 weeks during some of our Language Arts time), you will be in small groups to design an action project. That means you’ll do more research yourself about one of the topics we talked about and develop a plan of action. These are things everyone in the class will be learning about and doing. If you choose to be a participant in my research I will use the results of the surveys in my report. I will also include things I learn from our class discussions and assignments. I might even quote you, but I won’t use your name. I also might put some photos in my report, but I will use ones that don’t show or face or identify who you are. Today I’ll be giving you an assent form which you can sign if you want to be a part of my research. I’m also giving your parents a permission slip that they will sign if they give you permission to participate. Even if they say you can participate, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Also remember you can change your mind anytime.”
117 A.6 Cover letter with parental consent form
Hello wonderful 5th grade families, As we begin our school year here at school, my studies at HSU are already underway. I am a graduate student in the Applied Anthropology program and am getting started on my thesis research. The attached permission slips give details about my project but if you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. I’d like to get started by September 22, so if you could return my copies of the two forms by then, that would be super. It’s going to be a fun year and I hope some of you can join us on our field trips to the farms (actually we can’t go without you--we’ll need parent drivers). Check out the class website to see the scheduled trips so far.
Be well, eat well, Ms. Rosie [email protected] cell 834-0786 class website: https://sites.google.com/site/msrosiesclass/
118 A.7 Parental consent form for research
Your child’s class has been selected to participate in a research study this fall. The project
is described in detail below. Rosie Slentz, your child’s teacher, is the Principal
Investigator of this study. You may contact her at any time if you have questions (707-
834-0786 or [email protected]).
The purpose of this project is to design and deliver an effective curriculum that informs
5th graders about food systems and to then assess if their perceptions of these systems
have changed after implementation of this Common Core aligned curriculum.
Fifth grade students at our school will be given a pre-survey and participate in a whole- class focus group discussion to ascertain their knowledge and perceptions of food systems. We will be addressing The four food systems described in Michael Pollan’s
Omnivore’s Dilemma (Industrial, Industrial Organic, Local Sustainable, and Hunter-
Gatherer).
As part of their normal classroom curriculum, the students will then participate in lessons about each of these food systems and will visit local farms for tours and discussions with the farmers. As the principal investigator, the classroom teacher will design a curriculum that includes analysis of food ads, investigations of the “story” of food (Where was it
119 grown? How was it processed? How did it get here?), definitions of bio-regions and food-sheds, the role of bees in modern agriculture, school lunches, and the role of food in our culture as a means of celebration or tradition. The final assignment for students will be an “action project” where they incorporate some of their new knowledge or interest into a student designed project. This may be selling lettuce from the school garden to raise money for the gardening program, interviewing local beekeepers, or meeting with the school cook to learn about making changes on the lunch menu. Students will have freedom to choose a related topic of their own interest.
After the completion of the 10 week unit, students’ knowledge and perceptions will be assessed again with a post survey and follow up class discussion.
There will be no direct benefit for your student to take part in this study other than the information provided. There are no risks or discomforts for your child. Participating in the study and completing the surveys will not affect your child’s grade in any way.
Your child’s part in this study is confidential. None of the information collected from the surveys will be identified by name. Surveys will be coded by number, however, so we can match up the surveys to each child before and after the unit of instruction. The identification number will be assigned by the classroom aide and the teacher/principal investigator will not have access to this information. Surveys will be kept at school in locked file cabinets for a period of 1 year and then they will be shredded.
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Regardless of whether or not they participate in the study, all 5th grade students will be participating in the curriculum and field trips as part of our Language Arts and Science curriculum which Ms. Slentz piloted last year.
The only difference between a child who participates and one who does not is that the survey results and class discussion data of the participants will be anonymously included in the research findings. The decision to allow your child to take part in this study is yours. He/she does not have to participate and may quit at any time. Whatever you decide will in no way affect your child’s grade in the class. If you wish your child to quit, simply inform Rosie Slentz of your decision.
If you are not satisfied with the way this study is performed, you may discuss your complaints with your child’s classroom teacher and this study’s principal investigator,
Rosie Slentz (Tel: 707.834.0786 Email: [email protected]). In addition, you may contact the office of the chair of the Anthropology Department, Llyn Smith, at Humboldt
State University
(Tel: 707.826.4441 Email: [email protected].).
If you have any additional concerns with this study, contact the Chair of the Institutional
Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects, Dr. Ethan Gahtan, [email protected] or (707) 826-4545. If you have questions about your rights as a
121 participant, report them to the Humboldt State University Dean of Research, Dr. Rhea
Williamson, at [email protected] or (707) 826-5169.
You have read the Consent Form. Your questions have been answered. Your signature on this form means that you understand the information and you agree to allow your child to participate in this study.
______
Signature of Parent Signature of Researcher
______
Typed/printed Name Typed/printed name
______
Date Date
Please sign both consent forms, keeping one for yourself
122 A.8 Children’s assent form
I am doing a study to try to find out the best way to teach kids your age about food systems and to see what you think about them.
I will be designing and creating lessons about food systems. This means we’ll be learning about the different ways we get our food (from the farmers market, or the grocery store, or hunting…) and we’ll learn about some things that might influence what food we choose (ads, tradition, or how it’s grown). Some of the lessons will be in class and some will be in the school garden or at local farms.
After I design the lessons, I will give you a survey asking you questions about these topics. I don’t expect you to know the answers. This tells me what I need to teach you and lets me see what you already know. We’ll also have a class discussion. You’ll take the same survey after I teach you all the lessons and then I’ll see if any of your answers changed. At the end of the unit (we’ll be studying this for 10 weeks during some of our Language Arts time), you will be in small groups to design an action project. That means you’ll do more research yourself about one of the topics we talked about and develop a plan of action. These are things everyone in the class will be learning about and doing.
If you choose to be a participant in my research I will use the results of the surveys in my report. I will also include information I learn from our class discussions and assignments. I might even quote you, but I won’t use your name. I also might put some photos in my report, but I will use ones that don’t show or face or identify who you are.
You should talk this over with your parents before you decide to be in the study or not. I will also ask your parents to give their permission for you to be in this study. But even if your parents say “yes”, you can still decide not to do this.
Signing this paper means that you have read this form or had it read to you and that you want to be in the study. If you don’t want to be in the study, don’t sign the paper. Remember, being in the study is up to you. No one will be mad if you don’t sign this
123 paper or even if you change your mind later and it won’t affect your grade in class. If you have more questions you can talk to me in class or email me at [email protected].
Signature of participant: ______Date: ______
Signature of Investigator: ______Date: ______
124 A.9 Parent interview consent form
As many of you know, my Masters thesis project includes the creation of a classroom curriculum that informs students about food systems. This next phase of my research will examine how parents make food choices. Through surveys, interviews, and observation, I will explore how parents categorize, prioritize, and balance their values regarding food and food systems as they procure and prepare meals for their families.
The interviews will be recorded digitally on my phone and then deleted after I have transcribed the data. Your responses and my observations during the interview will not reveal your identity. I will use your answers to look for prevalent themes in the way parents make choices about what food to buy and eat. The values that adults negotiate as they make these decisions should be addressed in the curriculum I create, so your participation is especially valuable.
Your participation will have no monetary benefit or impact on your child’s grade. Your contribution to my study would be greatly appreciated as I will be able to design a more effective curriculum with this information in mind.
I understand that the researcher will answer any questions I may have concerning the investigation or the procedures at any time. I also understand that my participation in the assessment is entirely voluntary and that I may decline to participate or withdraw at any time without jeopardy. I understand that the investigator may terminate my participation in the assessment at any time. If I have questions about the interview I may contact Rosie
Slentz at (707) 834-0786 or Rebecca E. Robertson in the HSU Department
125 Environmental Science and Management at (707) 826-4342 or [email protected]. Any concerns I have regarding this project, or any dissatisfaction with any part of this assessment, will be addressed by the IRB Chair, Dr.
Ethan Gahtan, who may be reached at [email protected] or (707) 826-4545. If I have questions regarding my rights as a participant, I may report them to the IRB Institutional
Official at Humboldt State University, Dr. Rhea Williamson, at
[email protected] or (707) 826-5169.
Signature of participant: ______Date: ______
Signature of Investigator: ______Date: ______
126 APPENDIX B THE FEAST- CURRICULUM RESOURCES
Fortunately, in recent years some educators have begun to focus on a systems approach to explain food systems and the interconnectedness of our environment, economy, and health. A great deal of inspiration has come from the Center for
Ecoliteracy website and their digital publications of curricula titled, Big Ideas (2012) and
Nourish (2013). This curriculum presents lessons that highlight ecological systems, hands on projects, computer research, map skills, interviewing skills, and food label analysis. I encourage educators to download the complete Nourish curriculum from the website, as I found this resource to be useful in its entirety. The John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future has created an excellent free resource to pull from, titled, Teaching the
Food System. These lessons are in depth and best suited for an older audience, but some of the content is accessible to students in grades 4-8 provided the teacher has adapted them.
It is crucial that these lessons be delivered in a setting that has an established
culture of understanding and appreciation for differences. Food shaming is a potential
behavior as one navigates this curriculum. It is important that students are able to respect
each other’s food choices and understand that while a peer’s lunch bag may contain
cheap “junk food” it may be a matter of household economics, rather than a personal
opinion about healthy food…or it may be that the individual values a particular taste over
nutrition.
127 The table below charts the lessons I used and a suggested sequence. Each of the ten weeks usually included reading, gardening, cooking, a documentary, and a field trip. There were four over-arching learning objectives that I attempted to address (these are noted by the individual lessons with a corresponding numerical code).
1. Increase awareness of the relationships between health, food production, the environment, and society.
2. Increase knowledge of and personal connection to food, cooking, and gardening through hands on experiences.
3. Explore the problems associated with food systems and collaboratively
identify solutions.
4. Reflect on the connection between personal values and food choices.
This general outline represents a revised version based on the three years of curriculum delivery. The particular order of lessons varied, depending on school schedules, availability of field trips, and weather, but it will give the reader a sense of what we did.
128 B.1 Lesson Sequence
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 1 Temple Grandin Film • 1, 3, 4 • Students write • Awareness of down three talking animal rights points from film issues • Class discussion • Introduction to Industrial agriculture 1 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Introduction to reading • Introduction the four food • Class discussion • PART III The Local systems (local Sustainable Meal: Food sustainable, From Grass industrial, industrial organic, and hunter-gatherer) • Understanding of the local sustainable food system 1 TED talk- Mark Bittman: • 1, 3, 4 • Students highlight What's Wrong With What we • Introduction to info from Eat key food transcript, write 3 system issues: questions about sustainability, topic. health • Class discussion • Students answer each other’s questions after viewing talk and using transcript 1 Nourish Lesson: The Story of • 1, 3, 4 • Student worksheet Food • Students learn • Class discussion where and how to discover the path their food
129 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes has taken • Students recognize how difficult it is know the path their food has taken, especially with processed foods 1 Gardening-planting onion seeds • 1, 2 • Knowledge in greenhouse • Students demonstrated become through familiar with performance organic farming practices • Students form a connection with the food in the garden 1 Cooking- small group scone • 1, 2 • Knowledge baking • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared
130 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes Resources for Week 1:
Bittman, M. (2007, Dec.). What's Wrong With What we Eat [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_bittman_on_what_s_wrong_with_what_we_eat
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Jackson, M. (Director). (2010). Temple Grandin [Motion picture]. USA: Warner Bros.
Nourish (2010). Center for Ecoliteracy. Worldlink. Retrieved Mar. 20, 2016 from http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 2 TED talk- Birke Baehr: What's • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Wrong With our Food System • Introduction to down three talking key food points from film system issues: • Class discussion sustainability, health 2 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Introduction to reading • PART III The Local the four food • Class discussion Sustainable Meal: Food systems (local From Grass(cont.) sustainable, industrial, industrial organic, and hunter-gatherer) • Understanding of the local sustainable food system
131 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 2 Field trip to DeepSeeded CSA • 1, 2 • Students write farm and Bayside Park Farm • Compare and summary of host’s contrast answers to different food Sustainable Table systems “Questions to ask a • Analyze farmer” perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable farming practices • Form connection to local food supply 2 Forks Over Knives • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Documentary • Introduction to down three talking key food points from video system issues: • Class discussion sustainability, health 2 Nourish Lesson: Analyzing • 1, 3, 4 • Student worksheet Food Ads & Food Marketing • Describe effects • Class discussion Techniques of food marketing ad labeling on food choice • Describe marketing strategies used by food manufactures • Identify several common food labels and discuss their meaning
132 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 2 Gardening- Nourish Lesson: • 1, 2 • Knowledge Ecosystem Hunt • Students demonstrated become through familiar with performance organic farming • Student worksheet practices • Students form a connection with the food in the garden 2 Cooking- small group zucchini • 1, 2 • Knowledge bread baking • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared Resources for Week 2:
Baehr, B. (2010, Aug.). What's Wrong With our Food System [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/birke_baehr_what_s_wrong_with_our_food_system
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Fulkerson, L. (Director). (2011). Forks Over Knives [Motion picture on Online]. USA: Monica Beach Media.
Nourish (2010). Center for Ecoliteracy. Worldlink. Retrieved Mar. 20, 2016 from http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/
133 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 3 Fresh Documentary • 1, 3, 4 • Students write • Introduction to down three talking key food points from film system issues: • Take home sustainability, discussion health questions for Fresh
• Class discussion 3 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Understanding reading • PART III The Local of the local • Class discussion Sustainable Meal: Food sustainable From Grass (cont.) food system
3 Field trip to Shakefork farm and • 1, 2 • Students write ranch • Compare and summary of host’s contrast answers to different food Sustainable Table systems “Questions to ask a • Analyze farmer” perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable farming practices • Form connection to local food supply 3 More Than Honey Documentary • 1, 3, 4 • Students write • Students down three talking understand the points from video importance of • Class discussion bees as pollinators in our food systems
134 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes • Students reflect on the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder 3 Gardening- Draw and label • 1, 2 • Student drawing garden ecosystem • Students become familiar with systems thinking and elements of garden ecosystem 3 Cooking • 1, 2 • Knowledge - small group pesto (cilantro & • Students gain demonstrated basil) familiarity with through - small group roasted beets and reading and performance chevre hors d'oeuvres following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared Resources for Week 3:
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Imhoof, M. (Director). (2012). More Than Honey [Motion picture]. Switzerland: Zero One Film.
Joanes, A. S. (Director). (2009). Fresh [Motion picture]. USA: Ripple Effects Films. http://www.freshthemovie.com/resources/educational-materials/
135 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 4 Field trip to Clendenen’s • 1, 2 • Students write Ciderworks • Compare and summary of host’s contrast answers to different food Sustainable Table systems “Questions to ask a • Analyze farmer” perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable farming practices • Form connection to local food supply 4 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Understanding reading • PART I The Industrial of the Industrial • Class discussion Meal: Food From Corn food system
4 TEDed video- Fernanda S. • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Valdovinos: How Bees Help • Students down three talking Plants Have Sex understand the points from video importance of • Class discussion bees as pollinators in our food systems 4 TED talk- Marla Spivak: Why • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Bees are Disappearing • Students down three talking understand the points from video importance of • Class discussion bees as pollinators in our food systems • Students reflect
136 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes on the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder 4 Gardening-transplanting onions • 1, 2 • Knowledge and lettuce in school garden • Students demonstrated become through familiar with performance systems thinking and elements of garden ecosystem 4 Cooking- small group apple • 1, 2 • Knowledge crisp baking • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared Resources for Week 4:
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Spivak, M. (2013, Jun.). Why Bees are Disappearing [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/marla_spivak_why_bees_are_disappearing
Valdovinos, F., S. (n.d.). How Bees Help Plants Have Sex [Video file]. Retrieved from http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-bees-help-plants-have-sex-fernanda-s-valdovinos
137 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 5 TED talk- Ann Cooper: What's • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Wrong With School Lunches • Students reflect down three talking on the policies points from film that regulate the • Class discussion school lunch system 5 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Understanding reading • PART I The Industrial of the Industrial • Class discussion Meal: Food From Corn food system (cont.)
5 TED talk- Jamie Oliver: Teach • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Every Child About Food • Students reflect down three talking on the policies points from video that regulate the • Class discussion school lunch system 5 Field trip to Warren Creek • 1, 2 • Students write Pumpkin Patch • Compare and summary of host’s contrast answers to different food Sustainable Table systems “Questions to ask a • Analyze farmer” perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable farming practices • Form connection to local food supply
138 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 5 GMO, OMG Documentary • 1, 3, 4 • Students write • Students reflect down three talking on the known points from video and potential • Class discussion impacts (detrimental and positive) of genetically modified organisms 5 Cooking- small group pumpkin • 1, 2 • Knowledge curry • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared Resources for Week 5:
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Cooper, A. (2007, Dec.). What's Wrong With School Lunches [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ann_cooper_talks_school_lunches
Oliver, J. (2010). Teach Every Child About Food [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver
Seifert, J. (Director). (2013). GMO, OMG [Motion picture]. USA: Compeller Pictures.
139 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 6 • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Super Size Me Documentary • Students reflect down three talking on diet, health, points from film and food • Class discussion culture 6 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Introduction to reading • PART I The Industrial the four food • Class discussion Meal: Food From Corn systems (local (cont.) sustainable, • PART II The Industrial industrial, Organic Meal industrial organic, and hunter-gatherer) • Understanding of the local sustainable food system 6 Field trip to Alexandre • 1, 2 • Students write EcoDairy • Compare and summary of host’s contrast answers to different food Sustainable Table systems “Questions to ask a • Analyze farmer” perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable dairy and ranching practices • Form connection to local food supply 6 Week-long homework • 2, 4 • Student journal assignment: Food Journal • Students reflect on their food
140 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes choices 6 TED talk- Dan Barber: How I • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Fell in Love With a Fish • Students down three talking consider the points from film impacts of fish • Class discussion farms and potential solutions to improve our food systems that include fish 6 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Students reading • PART II The Industrial become • Class discussion Organic Meal (cont.) familiar with the Industrial Organic food system 6 Read Nourishing Traditions • 1, 4 • Class discussion Cookbook for Children • Students learn • Incredible Eggs about health benefits of eggs 6 Cooking- deviled eggs • 1, 2 • Knowledge • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared
141 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes Resources for Week 6:
Barber, D. (2010, Feb.). How I Fell in Love With a Fish [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_barber_how_i_fell_in_love_with_a_fish
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Fallon, S. (2015). Nourishing Traditions Cookbook for Kids. Newtrends Publishing, Inc.,White Plains.
Spurlock, M. (Director). (2005). Super Size Me [Motion picture]. Madrid: Cameo.
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 7 Field trip to Little River Farm • 1, 2 • Written summary • Compare and of host’s answers contrast to Sustainable different food Table “Questions systems to ask a farmer” • Analyze perspectives of farmers and other stakeholders • Understand sustainable farming practices • Form connection to local food supply 7 Fed Up Documentary • 1, 3, 4 • Students write • Students down three talking consider food, points from film
142 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes diet, and • Class discussion inadequate nutritional education for the public 7 Nourish Lesson: Action • 1, 2, 3, 4 • Student Projects • Students presentation of explore project different forms of action to address food- related issues at home, at school, and in the community 7 Food Processing Lesson • 1, 3, 4 • Student worksheet adapted from John Hopkins • Students understand the processing stage of food systems 7 Cooking-small group hummus • 1, 2 • Knowledge & crudités • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared
143 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes Resources for Week 7:
Nourish (2010). Center for Ecoliteracy. Worldlink. Retrieved Mar. 20, 2016 from http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/
Soechtig, S. (Director). (2014). Fed Up [Motion picture]. USA: Atlas Films.
Teaching the Food System (2010). John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved Sep 23, 2015 from http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and- institutes/teaching-the-food-system/curriculum/ingredients_of_the_food_system.html
Week Activity Learning Outcomes Assessment 8 • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Food Inc. Documentary • Students reflect down three talking on the food points from film industry • Class discussion 8 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Students reading PART IV The Do-It- understand the • Class discussion Yourself Meal Hunter/Gatherer food system 8 MasterChef Junior TV show • 4 • Class discussion • Students gain appreciation for cooking skills 8 Class activity: Design your • 3, 4 • Students write dream lunch with nutrition & • Students reflect down three talking price in mind on their food points from film values • Class discussion 8 Class activity: Our • 1, 3, 4 • Class discussion local/regional food system • Students are able to identify their local region on a map 8 Nourish Lesson: Seasonal Food • 1, 3, 4 • Seasonal food
144 Week Activity Learning Outcomes Assessment • Students learn wheel what food is available each season where they live Resources for Week 8:
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Kenner, R. (Director). (2008). Food, Inc. [Motion picture]. USA: Movie One.
Nourish (2010). Center for Ecoliteracy. Worldlink. Retrieved Mar. 20, 2016 from http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/
Viruet, P. (Writer). (n.d.). MasterChef Junior [Television series]. Burbank, CA: Fox
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 9 • 1, 3, 4 • Students write TEDed video- Robert Lustig: • Students down three talking Sugar: Hiding in Plain Sight consider diet points from film and health • Class discussion
9 That Sugar Film Documentary • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after • Students reading consider the • Class discussion impact of sugar on their health 9 MasterChef Junior TV show • 4 • Students write • Students gain down three talking an appreciation points from film of cooking • Class discussion skills 9 Read Young Readers Edition: • 1, 3, 4 • Quick write after The Omnivore's Dilemma • Understanding reading PART IV The Do-It- of the hunter - • Class discussion Yourself Meal (cont.) gatherer food system
145 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 9 Hike through local forest with • 1, 2 • Knowledge foraging guide • Students learn demonstrated to identify local through food sources performance that can be foraged Resources for Week 9:
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
Gameau, D. (Director). (2014). That Sugar Film [Motion picture]. Australia: Madmen Production Company.
Lustig, R. (n.d.). Sugar: Hiding in plain sight [Video file]. Retrieved from http://ed.ted.com/lessons/sugar-hiding-in-plain-sight-robert-lustig
Viruet, P. (Writer). (n.d.). MasterChef Junior [Television series]. Burbank, CA: Fox
Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes 10 • 1, 3, 4 • Students write Food Stamped Documentary • Students reflect down three talking on food equity points from film • Class discussion 10 View Michael Pollan’s • 1, 3 • Students write Supermarket Secrets by Nourish • Students down three talking become points from film familiar with • Class discussion layout/design of grocery store displays 10 Food Stamp Menu Lesson • 1, 3, 4 • Student created • Students will menu recognize the • Class discussion challenges of eating a healthy diet on a small
146 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes budget • Students engage in value negotiation 10 Field trip to Murphy’s Market • 1, 2 • Knowledge • Students form demonstrated connections to through local market performance • Students learn • Student menu for how to price food stamp budget food items for a menu 10 Nourish Lesson: Family Food • 4 • Student journal Traditions • Students examine personal food traditions and values 10 Gardening-harvesting from • 1, 2 • Knowledge school garden for class feast • Students demonstrated become through familiar with performance organic gardening practices 10 Cooking- class feast • 1, 2 • Knowledge • Students gain demonstrated familiarity with through reading and performance following recipes, using kitchen equipment, and form a connection with the food they have prepared
147 Week Activity Learning Assessment Outcomes Resources for Week 10:
Nourish (2010). Center for Ecoliteracy. Worldlink. Retrieved Mar. 20, 2016 from http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/ http://www.nourishlife.org/2011/03/supermarket-secrets/
Potash, S., & Potash, Y. (Directors). (2010). Food Stamped [Motion picture]. USA: Summit Pictures.
148
B.2 Web resources
Teaching the Food System (Grades 8 and up, but can be adapted) John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/teaching-the-food- system/curriculum/
Nourish: Curriculum (Grades 4-8) Center for Ecoliteracy, Worldlink, PBS http://www.nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum/ Educational resources on food and sustainability. Includes a companion DVD, viewing guide, six learning activities, action projects, student handouts, suggested resources and a glossary.
Sustainable Table Grace Communications Education http://www.sustainabletable.org/1117/sustainable-table
149 B.3 Print Resources
Chevat, R., Pollan M. (2009). Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Dial, New York.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma for Young Readers (2009) was a guiding force for lessons as it described various food systems and the relevant factors related to environment, health, and economics. This source explains the information well with graphics and diagrams, but is still beyond the reading level of some of my 5th grade students. It was most effective read aloud with frequent discussion.
Fallon, S. (2015). Nourishing Traditions Cookbook for Kids. Newtrends Publishing, Inc.,White Plains.
This cookbook contains excellent explanations of different types of ingredients (such as eggs and butter) as well as simple, illustrated recipes.
Pollan, M. (2009). Food rules: An eater's manual. Penguin, New York.
Pollan’s book Food Rules an Eater’s Manual (2009) really gets down to the basics, covering essential information in a simple, concise manner. This is an excellent choice for independent reading in grades 4-8.
150 B.4 Sample Lesson: Food Stamp Challenge
Grade Level: 4-8
Overview: Students view Food Stamped and take a fieldtrip to a grocery store to plan a low budget meal.
Goal: Students will be able to plan a balanced meal for their family within the constraints of a food stamp equivalent budget.
Objective: Students will recognize the challenges of eating a healthy diet on a small budget.
Time: 45m in store
Materials:
Calculators or cell phones for each group
Pencil & paper for each student (clip boards would be helpful too)
Advance Preparation:
Watch Michael Pollan’s Supermarket Secrets by Nourish
http://www.nourishlife.org/2011/03/supermarket-secrets/
Watch Food Stamped documentary
Prepare menu ideas
Students should already have an understanding of a healthy, balanced diet
Fieldtrip permission if needed
Check in with the intended host market to be sure the class is welcome…
151 Background: http://www.foodstamped.com/35
In 2014 the average benefit amount was $141.99 per month per person. That comes to about $4.74 per person for each day of the month. Divide that by three and each person gets about $1.58 per meal.
Procedure:
After viewing the film and discussing any questions or confusions students are told that their challenge is to create a healthy meal (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) for their family. They will need to decide how many family members they are cooking for and then multiply that by the budgeted amount per person for a single meal (The students can use the figures from the background section to figure this amount out). I would recommend students come up with a sample menu before they go to the store. The tips provided on the film website can help guide students and remind them of some of the strategies used in the film to save money on food ( http://www.foodstamped.com/learn- up/tips).
Put students in small groups of three or four and remind them of courteous behavior when visiting the grocery store. Review information from Michael Pollan’s
Nourish video about how markets are laid out and where they will find particular types of ingredients.
Bring paper, pencil, and calculator to the store. At the store students may roam around (with an adult if possible) and begin looking for the ingredients for their menu idea. They may encounter many choices and have to decide between organic, local,
35 (Potash, 2009)
152 conventional, bulk, processed, or frozen. There is some rich conversation to be had as
they negotiate these choices. The teacher should roam from group to group and inquire
about how things are going. Have they had to alter their menu? Are they finding the
ingredients they need within their budget? Students will need the calculators to sort out
the price when they aren’t using all of an item for their meal (they aren’t shopping for an
entire week, so they only need to write down the price of four slices of bread if they are
only making two sandwiches.) Just as in the film, condiments are limited. They can’t
assume they have mustard and mayo available at home. They will need to factor that into
their budget. Are any of them getting creative and considering dumpster diving? What
items could they have grown if they had a garden? Would those items be available this
season?
After returning to class, discuss some of the challenges and choices they
encountered. Give students time to re-write their menus including the prices of ingredients and the total budget. Do a gallery walk to let students view what their classmates came up with. Discuss differences between these meals and what they actually have at home.
153 B.5 Food System Field Trips
I highly recommend utilizing the “Questions to ask…” from the Sustainable Table website. There are unique questions for a variety of these settings. http://www.sustainabletable.org/917/handouts-questions-to-ask
Contact Information for locations I have visited with my classes:
Alexandre EcoDairy Stephanie Alexandre & Family 8371 Lower Lake Rd Crescent City, CA 95531 707) 487-1000 [email protected] http://www.ecodairyfarms.com/ Facebook: Alexandre Family EcoDairy Farms
Bayside Park Farm Jayme Buckley 736 F Street Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7091 [email protected] www.cityofarcata.org/rec Facebook: Bayside Park Farm
Clendenen’s Ciderworks Drew Clendenen 96 12th Street Fortuna 707-725-2123 http://clendenensciderworks.com/ Facebook: Clendenen’s Ciderworks
154
DeepSeeded Community Farm Eddie Tanner PO Box 4380 Arcata CA 95518 (707) 825-8033 [email protected] www.arcatacsa.com
Little River Farm (organic) John Severn 140 Ole Hanson Rd. Eureka, CA, 95503 (707) 441-9286 [email protected]
Murphy’s Market Nelson Fagundes Main and View St. Trinidad, CA 95570 677-3643 http://www.murphysmarkets.net/index.php
Shakefork Community Farm Melanie and Kevin Cunningham 7914 State Highway 36 Carlotta, CA 95528 707-498-3546 [email protected] www.shakeforkcommunityfarm.com Facebook: Shakefork Community Farm
Warren Creek Farms (organic) Paul Giuntoli 1264 Warren Creek Road Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-6017 [email protected]
155 The following are locations that may be open to hosting field trips:
Brio Breadworks 1309 11th St #101, Arcata CA 707.822.0791 http://briobreadworks.com/ Facebook: Brio Breadworks
Feral Family Farm (organic) Dave, Autumn, Misha and Ray Feral 134 Esther Lane, Arcata, CA, 95521 (707) 822-2514 [email protected]
Fieldbrook Valley Apple Farm Richard & Betty Lovie & Arley Smith 336 Rock Pit Road Fieldbrook, CA 95519 [email protected]
Humboldt Sanitation 2585 Central Avenue McKinleyville, CA 95519 (707) 839-3285 http://www.humboldtsanitation.com/index.html
Loleta Cheese Factory 252 Loleta Drive Loleta, CA 95551 707-733-5470 [email protected] https://loletacheese.com/ Facebook: Loleta Cheese Factory
156 Organic Matters Ranch (organic) John Gary and Heather Plaza 6743 Myrtle Ave Eureka, CA 95503 (707) 407-FARM [email protected] www.organicmattersranch.com Facebook: Organic Matters Ranch
Redwood Roots Farm Janet Czarnecki PO Box 793 Arcata, CA 95518 (707) 826-0261 [email protected] www.redwoodrootsfarm.com
Food for People Anne Holcomb 307 W 14th St, Eureka, CA 95501 (707) 445-3166 http://www.foodforpeople.org/ Facebook: Food for People, Inc.
This is not an all-inclusive list and I encourage educators to reach out to any potential field trip hosts who are part of a food system.
157 B.6 Documentaries
When our class viewed documentaries we usually sat down with a sticky note and aimed to write down three interesting facts, questions, or thoughts. This gave students some accountability but also allowed them to simply watch. Afterwards we would have class discussions or quick writes about what we viewed.
Pre-viewing guide (general for any documentary) http://pov-tc.pbs.org/pov/docs/Copies%20of%20Viewing%20Guide.pdf
Student Active Viewing Guide (Comprehension & further thought questions to be answered during film viewing) http://gallery.mailchimp.com/d3cb1561607e1ea40c0005df2/files/REACT_to_FILM_Fed _Up_Student_Active_Viewing_Guide_Final.pdf
A Place at the Table
Jacobson, K., & Silverbush, L. (Directors). (2012). A Place At The Table [Motion picture]. USA: Motto Pictures.
50 Million Americans—1 in 4 children—don’t know where their next meal is coming from. A Place at the Table tells the powerful stories of three such Americans, who maintain their dignity even as they struggle just to eat. In a riveting journey that will change forever how you think about the hungry, A Place at the Table shows how the issue could be solved forever, once the American public decides—as they have in the past—that ending hunger is in the best interests of us all. (Retrieved from http://www.magpictures.com/aplaceatthetable/)
Chef’s Table
Jeter, C., McGinn, B., Fried, A., & Gelb, D. (Directors). (2015). Chef's Table [Motion picture]. Worldwide: Netflix.
Each of the hour-long episodes profiles a different chef: Dan Barber; Niki Nakayama; Massimo Bottura; Magnus Nilsson; Ben Shewry; and Francis Mallmann.
158
Dive
Seifert, J. (Director). (2010). Dive [Motion picture]. USA: Compeller Pictures.
Inspired by a curiosity about our country's careless habit of sending food straight to landfills, the multi award-winning documentary DIVE! follows filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and gated garbage receptacles of Los Angeles' supermarkets. In the process, they salvage thousands of dollars worth of good, edible food - resulting in an inspiring documentary that is equal parts entertainment, guerilla journalism and call to action. (Retrieved from http://www.divethefilm.com/default.aspx)
Farmageddon
Canty, K. (Director). (2011). Farmageddon [Motion picture]. USA: Kristin Canty
Productions.
Americans’ right to access fresh, healthy foods of their choice is under attack. Farmageddon tells the story of small, family farms that were providing safe, healthy foods to their communities and were forced to stop, sometimes through violent action, by agents of misguided government bureaucracies, and seeks to figure out why. Producer Kristin Canty’s film, Farmageddon, documents as her quest to find healthy food for her four children turns into an educational journey to discover why she is denied the freedom to select the foods of her choice from the producer of her choice. The movie tells the story of small, family farmers providing safe, healthy foods to their communities who were forced to stop, often through violent action, by agents of misguided government bureaucracies. The movie succinctly poses and addresses the question “why is this happening in 21st century America?” Evoking both sympathy and anger for those farmers violently shut down by overzealous government policy and regulators, Farmageddon stresses the urgency of food freedom. Though the film deals with intense scenes and dramatic situations, the overall tone is optimistic, encouraging farmers and consumers alike to take action to preserve individuals’ rights to access food of their choice and farmers’ rights to produce these foods. (Retrieved from http://farmageddonmovie.com/)
159 Fed Up
Soechtig, S. (Director). (2014). Fed Up [Motion picture]. USA: Atlas Films.
Discussion guide:
http://www.hotdocs.ca/resources/documents/educational/HD14_DFS_FED_UP_rev.pdf
Educators guide: http://fedupmovie.com/#/page/fed-up-educators-guide
Everything we’ve been told about food and exercise for the past 30 years is dead wrong. FED UP is the film the food industry doesn’t want you to see. From Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar winning producer of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH) and director Stephanie Soechtig, FED UP will change the way you eat forever. The film opens in theaters across the country on May 9th. (Retrieved from http://fedupmovie.com/#/page/home)
Food Chains
Rawal, S. (Director). (2014). Food Chains [Motion picture]. USA: Illumine Group.
In this exposé, an intrepid group of Florida farmworkers battle to defeat the $4 trillion global supermarket industry through their ingenious Fair Food program, which partners with growers and retailers to improve working conditions for farm laborers in the United States. There is more interest in food these days than ever, yet there is very little interest in the hands that pick it. Farmworkers, the foundation of our fresh food industry, are routinely abused and robbed of wages. In extreme cases they can be beaten, sexually harassed or even enslaved – all within the borders of the United States. Food Chains reveals the human cost in our food supply and the complicity of large buyers of produce like fast food and supermarkets. Fast food is big, but supermarkets are bigger – earning $4 trillion globally. They have tremendous power over the agricultural system. Over the past 3 decades they have drained revenue from their supply chain leaving farmworkers in poverty and forced to work under subhuman conditions. Yet many take no responsibility for this. The narrative of the film focuses on an intrepid and highly lauded group of tomato pickers from Southern Florida – the Coalition of Immokalee Workers or CIW – who are revolutionizing farm labor. Their story is one of hope and promise for the triumph of morality over corporate greed – to ensure a dignified life for farm workers and a more humane, transparent food chain. (Retrieved from http://www.foodchainsfilm.com/)
160 Food Fight
Taylor, C. (Director). (2008). Food Fight [Motion picture]. USA: November Films.
Eating good food is a sensual experience. We taste it, we savor it, and we remember great meals. Sharing those meals with family and friends helps define our humanity. And the food we choose to eat expresses a fundamental choice about the kind of world we want to live in. But there is a great lie being sold to the American food consumer about these choices. That lie is that the food being grown for us on the big farms and sold in the big chain supermarkets is tasty and nutritious. The truth is, it is neither. Four out of ten chronic diseases are food-related in their origins. The food we buy today at the supermarket is lower in taste and nutrition and higher in fat and salt since 1960. Our children represent the first generation in our planet's history that will have a shorter life span than their parents. And it is entrenched government policy that has built, supports, and continues this dysfunctional system. How did this come to be? In the 20's and 30's, the major food problem in America was under-supply and mal-nourishment. Coming out of World War II, newly-developed fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides became standard inputs in an agricultural process that helped create a six- fold increase in farm fertility. When use of these chemicals combined with large petroleum-based farm machinery, agriculture exploded as never before in human history. Small community-based local farming infrastructures were dismantled, and the number of farms nationwide decreased from 6 million to 2 million between 1945 and 1970. As newly-consolidated mega-farms churned out tons of food, and transportation infrastructure developed, a new food paradigm arose that valued shipping and shelf life over taste and nutrition. For the big growers and the even bigger food processing conglomerates, growing food became all about growing dollars, and taste and nutrition did not contribute to the bottom line. Making junk food out of cheap, overabundant commodities (like corn and soybeans) did, and so, in just two generations, the American food consumer went from a problem of under-supply and malnutrition to one of over- supply and obesity. As these trends in agriculture became entrenched as USDA food policy, a small counter-revolution began to take place. Starting as part of the anti-war counter-cultural movement in the 60's, a group of Berkeley radicals began to protest against the same companies-Dow, Monsanto, and DuPont-that were part of the war machine in Southeast Asia. Not surprisingly, these companies were also part of the industrial food complex and were directly responsible for the declining quality of produce in this country. In protesting these companies, the counter-culture in Berkeley was also protesting against the corporate forces that were driving the production of food in America away from taste and health. In this spirit the Organic Food Movement was born. One of these Berkeley activists was a woman named Alice Waters. As she protested against these large multinational companies, she was also staking a claim for the role of food in the political protest movement. She felt that in protesting against these
161 companies and their economic values, she was also reaching back into the past to regain the values centered around good food and good meals, a pursuit of pleasure that was under attack by those companies and their impact on our food supply. Having discovered the joys of eating local, fresh food in France, and feeling that a good meal simply cooked could be a revolutionary act of both political and sensual consequences, she decided to open a restaurant. In 1971 Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse as a meeting place for friends and similarly committed anti-War activists, as well as poets, musician, artists, and intellectuals from nearby UC Berkeley. No one knew at the time that this restaurant would within five years become the most influential restaurant in America. In ten years, that influence would be global. In starting Chez Panisse, Alice wished to re-introduce pleasure to a food scene that was lacking that most fundamental quality. She quickly realized that the key to great taste was properly-grown, fresh ingredients, and soon she was hunting them down. That search for taste has not only changed American cuisine, it is still to this day, changing American agriculture. At the time there was no local farm infrastructure in place to sell local fresh produce directly to the restaurant. Alice found a few remaining small farmers in the Bay Area, and some local backyard growers found Alice. By fostering them and their products, she grew and nurtured an alternative to the industrial food paradigm, which had leached flavor out of produce. This key action coincided with vital legislation in 1975 that allowed direct farm-to-consumer sales, and Farmers' Markets began to spring up all over California, providing consumers (and not just Chez Panisse) with access to healthy, delicious, well-grown produce. Importantly, Alice and her partner and chef Jeremiah Tower took the revolution one step farther. By naming their farmer/suppliers on the Chez Panisse menu, Alice and Jeremiah allowed the fame of the restaurant to shine a light on those farmers who were growing local, organic, sustainable produce. By virtue of this endorsement, a delicious revolution was launched. As chefs came into and through Chez Panisse, the word began to spread. Helped by favorable press, word-of-mouth, and the departure of chefs to open new restaurants, the style of cooking known as "California Cuisine" began to gain critical media notoriety. When Wolfgang Puck opened Spago in 1982, bringing Hollywood glamour and celebrity to the movement, the revolution was televised. Puck celebrated local ingredients by putting them on pizzas, and in so doing made the ingredients not just accessible and fun, but also the star of the meal. As his fame grew, like Alice before him, he was able to focus that light on the importance of ingredients throughout the whole haute cuisine movement. As others have noted, this idea of fresh, local, high-quality ingredients is not at all new; it is the basis of many of the world's great culinary traditions. But it was, at this time, counter-revolutionary for American culinary tradition, which had been dumbed- down by a generation of poor quality, industrially-grown food. Wolfgang Puck exploded
162 forever the notion that culinary technique would matter more than the ingredients and their provenance-and his fame and personality made that a national dialogue. As Americans became fascinated with food, they became equally fascinated with the star chefs who cooked that food. The explosion of interest was amply demonstrated by the new media and cable television outlets, where shows like "Top Chef," "Iron Chef," "Too Hot Tamales," and "Molto Mario" were broadcast on the Food Channel and Bravo Networks. Now the world knew that simply-prepared, delicious food was being cooked in California, and that it was based on organic, locally-grown produce available at your neighborhood Farmers' Market. Just as you could buy a set of Wolfgang Puck cooking utensils on QVC, now you could also buy his same ingredients from the same farmer on Wednesdays in Santa Monica. As you walked out of Spago or Chez Panisse the path led directly to a new choice in food delivery systems, the one in play at the local Farmers' Market. Today, we as consumers have access to an ever-growing variety of sustainably- grown products from Farmers' Markets across the nation. But the battle is far from over. Although the small farmers at the front lines in this counter-revolution know that flavor and nutrition come from the micronutrients found in healthy soil, the big food corporations continue to lash large swaths of farmland with destructive chemicals, creating unhealthy, tasteless food. And they do so with the support of the federal government. The current Farm Bill, about to be signed into law, completely ignores the local organic fresh food movement, and refuses any investment in alternative or minority small food delivery systems; instead, 70of the crops it subsidizes are actually inedible by humans. The inner city suffers the most from our lopsided food system. Fortunately, the revolution is springing up amidst the urban food deserts where local minority populations, who have been ignored by food retailers for two generations or more, are starting urban gardens and local farmers' markets in their communities. Where heart disease and obesity are twice as high in the inner city as they are in the rest of population, these urban farms are changing the social landscape of the inner city in literal and figurative, and deeply important ways. At the end of the day, the movement from California Cuisine to "the way Americans now cook nationwide," with the insistence on local, fresh, seasonal, sustainable, and organic produce, is a combination of art and politics. It is a beautiful revolution, good for us and good for the planet. It sustains us in health, it sustains us as families, and it sustains us as communities. We can all share in this revolution. We have power through our food choices to put the culture back in American agriculture. We get three votes a day, and they don't all have to be perfect. But if just one meal is made with a mind to the small farmer, the land, and the environment, then we can all make a huge difference, one meal at a time. (Retrieved from http://www.foodfightthedoc.com/foodfight.html)
163 Food Inc.
Kenner, R. (Director). (2008). Food, Inc [Motion picture]. USA: Movie One.
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here. (Retrieved from http://www.takepart.com/foodinc)
Food Matters
Colquhoun, J., & Ledesma, C. (Directors). (2008). Food Matters [Motion picture].
Australia: Aspect Films.
Food Matters features interviews with leading health experts who reveal the best natural healing choices you can make for you and your family's health. In the film you'll discover what works, what doesn’t and what’s potentially killing you when it comes to your health. (Retrieved from http://foodmatters.tv/food-matters)
Food Stamped
Potash, S., & Potash, Y. (Directors). (2010). Food Stamped [Motion picture]. USA:
Summit Pictures.
164 Food Stamped is an informative and humorous documentary film following a couple as they attempt to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet on a food stamp budget. Through their adventures they consult with members of U.S. Congress, food justice organizations, nutrition experts, and people living on food stamps to take a deep look at America’s broken food system. (Retrieved from http://www.foodstamped.com/)
Forks Over Knives
Fulkerson, L. (Director). (2011). Forks Over Knives [Motion picture on Online]. USA:
Monica Beach Media.
Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug. Major medical operations have become routine, helping to drive health care costs to astronomical levels. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the country’s three leading causes of death, even though billions are spent each year to “battle” these very conditions. Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative diseases. Could it be there’s a single solution to all of these problems? A solution so comprehensive, but so straightforward, that it’s mind-boggling that more of us haven’t taken it seriously? Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. Dr. Campbell, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, was concerned in the late 1960’s with producing “high quality” animal protein to bring to the poor and malnourished areas of the third world. While in the Philippines, he made a life-changing discovery: the country’s wealthier children, who were consuming relatively high amounts of animal-based foods, were much more likely to get liver cancer. Dr. Esselstyn, a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, found that many of the diseases he routinely treated were virtually unknown in parts of the world where animal-based foods were rarely consumed. These discoveries inspired Campbell and Esselstyn, who didn’t know each other yet, to conduct several groundbreaking studies. One of them took place in China and is still among the most comprehensive health-related investigations ever undertaken. Their research led them to a startling conclusion: degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be prevented—and in
165 many cases reversed—by adopting a whole-foods, plant-based diet. Despite the profound implications of their findings, their work has remained relatively unknown to the public. The filmmakers travel with Drs. Campbell and Esselstyn on their separate but similar paths, from their childhood farms where they both produced “nature’s perfect food”; to China and Cleveland, where they explored ideas that challenged the established thinking and shook their own core beliefs. The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Throughout the film, cameras follow “reality patients” who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole-food, plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments—while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed. Forks Over Knives utilizes state of the art 3-D graphics and rare archival footage. The film features leading experts on health, examines the question “why we don’t know,” and tackles the issue of diet and disease in a way that will have people talking for years. (Retrieved from http://www.forksoverknives.com/the-film/)
Fresh
Joanes, A. S. (Director). (2009). Fresh [Motion picture]. USA: Ripple Effects Films.
*Study guide & discussion guide: http://www.freshthemovie.com/resources/educational-materials/
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet. Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy. (Retrieved from http://www.freshthemovie.com/)
166 *This discussion guide is an excellent handout to send home with students after they have viewed the film. Children can go through it with their parents and discuss what they saw.
GMO, OMG
Seifert, J. (Director). (2013). GMO, OMG [Motion picture]. USA: Compeller Pictures.
Study guide: http://www.gmofilm.com/docs/GMO_OMG_StudyGuide.pdf
GMO OMG director and concerned father Jeremy Seifert is in search of answers. How do GMOs affect our children, the health of our planet, and our freedom of choice? And perhaps the ultimate question, which Seifert tests himself: is it even possible to reject the food system currently in place, or have we lost something we can’t gain back? These and other questions take Seifert on a journey from his family’s table to Haiti, Paris, Norway, and the lobby of agra-giant Monsanto, from which he is unceremoniously ejected. Along the way we gain insight into a question that is of growing concern to citizens the world over: what's on your plate? (Retrieved from http://www.gmofilm.com/)
Ingredients
Kimmel, B. (Producer). (2009). Ingredients [Motion picture]. USA: Optic Nerve
Productions.
At the focal point of this movement, and of this film, are the farmers and chefs who are creating a truly sustainable food system. Their collaborative work has resulted in great tasting food and an explosion of consumer awareness about the benefits of eating local. Attention being paid to the local food movement comes at a time when the failings of our current industrialized food system are becoming all too clear. For the first time in history, our children’s generation is expected to have a shorter lifespan than our own. The quality, taste and nutritional value of the food we eat has dropped sharply over the last fifty years. Shipped from ever-greater distances, we have literally lost sight of where our food comes from and in the process we've lost a vital connection to our local community and to our health. A feature-length documentary, INGREDIENTS illustrates how people around the country are working to revitalize that connection. Narrated by Bebe Neuwirth, the film takes us across the U.S. from the diversified farms of the Hudson River and Willamette Valleys to the urban food deserts of Harlem and to the kitchens of celebrated chefs Alice
167 Waters, Peter Hoffman and Greg Higgins. INGREDIENTS is a journey that reveals the people behind the movement to bring good food back to the table and health back to our communities. (Retrieved from http://www.ingredientsfilm.com/)
King Corn
Woolf, A. (Director). (2007). King Corn [Motion picture]. USA: ITVS, Mosaic Films.
King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. In the film, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat— and how we farm. (Retrieved from http://www.kingcorn.net/)
More Than Honey
Imhoof, M. (Director). (2012). More Than Honey [Motion picture]. Switzerland: Zero
One Film.
Over the past 15 years, numerous colonies of bees have been decimated throughout the world, but the causes of this disaster remain unknown. Depending on the world region, 50% to 90% of all local bees have disappeared, and this epidemic is still spreading from beehive to beehive – all over the planet. Everywhere, the same scenario is repeated: billions of bees leave their hives, never to return. No bodies are found in the immediate surroundings, and no visible predators can be located. In the US, the latest estimates suggest that a total of 1.5 million (out of 2.4 million total beehives) have disappeared across 27 states. In Germany, according to the national beekeepers association, one fourth of all colonies have been destroyed, with losses reaching up to 80% on some farms. The same phenomenon has been observed in Switzerland, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Poland and England, where this syndrome has been nicknamed “the Mary Celeste Phenomenon”, after a ship whose crew vanished in 1872. Scientists have found a name for the phenomenon that matches its scale, “colony collapse disorder,” and they have good reason to be worried: 80% of plant species require
168 bees to be pollinated. Without bees, there is no pollinization, and fruits and vegetables could disappear from the face of the Earth. Apis mellifera (the honey bee), which appeared on Earth 60 million years before man and is as indispensable to the economy as it is to man’s survival. Should we blame pesticides or even medication used to combat them? Maybe look at parasites such as varroa mites? New viruses? Travelling stress? The multiplication of electromagnetic waves disturbing the magnetite nanoparticles found in the bees’ abdomen? So far, it looks like a combination of all these agents has been responsible for the weakening of the bees’ immune defenses. Fifty years ago, Einstein had already insisted on the symbiotic relationship binding these pollen gatherers to mankind: “If bees were to disappear from the globe,” he predicted, “mankind would only have four years left to live.” (Retrieved from http://buy.morethanhoneyfilm.com/)
Super Size Me
Spurlock, M. (Director). (2005). Super Size Me [Motion picture]. Madrid: Cameo.
Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock makes himself a test subject in this documentary about the commercial food industry. After eating a diet of McDonald's fast food, three times a day for a month straight, Spurlock proves the physical and mental effects of consuming fast food. Spurlock also provides a look at the food culture in America through it's schools, corporations, and politics. "Super Size Me" is a movie that sheds a new light on what has become one of our nation's biggest health problems: obesity. (Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Super-Size-DVD-John- Banzhaf/dp/B0002OXVBO)
Sushi the Global Catch
Hall, M. (Director). (2012). Sushi the Global Catch [Motion picture]. USA: Sakana
Films.
From humble beginnings as a simple food sold by Japanese street vendors, sushi has exploded into an international phenomenon in the past 30 years. SUSHI: THE GLOBAL CATCH is a feature-length documentary shot in five countries exploring the history, problems and future of this popular cuisine. Much of sushi's rich cultural tradition that began in Tokyo is changing as raw fish now appear from cities like Warsaw and New York to small towns worldwide. But what is the cost? Will the worldwide hunger for sushi continue to grow until wild fish vanish, or will new technology like
169 aquaculture keep plates full? Can sustainable sushi restaurants satisfy consumers or will competition for declining resources drive prices so high that only a few can afford raw fish? Written by Sakana Films (Retrieved from http://www.sushitheglobalcatch.com/)
Temple Grandin
Jackson, M. (Director). (2010). Temple Grandin [Motion picture]. USA: Warner Bros.
Staring Claire Danes, Julia Ormond, Catherine O'Hara and David Strathairn. Temple Grandin paints a picture of a young woman's perseverance and determination while struggling with the isolating challenges of autism at a time when it was still quite unknown. The film chronicles Temple's early diagnosis; her turbulent growth and development during her school years; the enduring support she received from her mother (Ormond), aunt (O'Hara) and her science teacher (Strathairn); and her emergence as a woman with an innate sensitivity and understanding of animal behavior. Undaunted by education, social and professional roadblocks, Grandin turned her unique talent into a behavioral tool that revolutionized the cattle industry and laid the groundwork for her successful career as an author, lecturer and pioneering advocate for autism and autism spectrum disorder education. This visually inventive film offers insights into Grandin's world, taking the audience inside her mind with a series of snapshot images that trace her self-perceptions and journey from childhood through young adulthood to the beginning of her career, and beyond. (Retrieved from http://www.hbo.com/movies/temple-grandin)
That Sugar Film
Gameau, D. (Director). (2014). That Sugar Film [Motion picture]. Australia: Madmen
Production Company.
THAT SUGAR FILM is one man’s journey to discover the bitter truth about sugar. Damon Gameau embarks on a unique experiment to document the effects of a high sugar diet on a healthy body, consuming only foods that are commonly perceived as ‘healthy’. Through this entertaining and informative journey, Damon highlights some of the issues that plague the sugar industry, and where sugar lurks on supermarket shelves. THAT SUGAR FILM will forever change the way you think about ‘healthy’ food. (Retrieved from http://thatsugarfilm.com/)
170
The Future of Food
Koons, D. (Director). (2004). The Future of Food [Motion picture]. USA: Lily Films.
The Future of Food distills the complex technology and consumer issues surrounding major changes in the food system today -- genetically engineered foods, patenting, and the corporatization of food -- into terms the average person can understand. It empowers consumers to realize the consequences of their food choices on our future. (Retrieved from http://www.thefutureoffood.com/)
The Harvest/La Cosecha
Romano, R. (Director). (2011). The Harvest/La Cosecha [Motion picture]. USA:
Globalvision.
Every year there are more than 400,000 American children who are torn away from their friends, schools and homes to pick the food we all eat. Zulema, Perla and Victor labor as migrant farm workers, sacrificing their own childhoods to help their families survive. THE HARVEST/LA COSECHA profiles these three as they journey from the scorching heat of Texas’ onion fields to the winter snows of the Michigan apple orchards and back south to the humidity of Florida's tomato fields to follow the harvest. (Retrieved from http://theharvestfilm.com/)
MasterChef Junior
Viruet, P. (Writer). (n.d.). MasterChef Junior [Television series]. Burbank, CA: Fox.
http://www.fox.com/masterchef-junior
Washington’s Food Fight: The Debate Over GMO Labels
Kissee, A. (Director). (2013). Washington's Food Fight [Motion picture]. USA: TVW.
http://wafoodfight.com/
171 A massive food fight is underway in the U.S. State by state, voters and lawmakers are being asked to pick a side in the battle over GMO foods and whether to label them. You can already check labels for calories, fat, allergens, and even the country of origin. All of that is required by law. Label supporters say requiring GMO labels is one more way for shoppers to make informed decisions at the grocery store. Washington state’s version of C-SPAN, TVW, is producing a documentary on this issue in anticipation of the November election, when voters there could become the first to require GMO labeling by law under I-522. Supporters say requiring GMO foods be labeled “clearly and conspicuously” gives shoppers the right to know what’s in their food. But opponents say GMOs are safe, and labels would only cause fear while driving up the cost of groceries. The Emmy Award-winning producers of “Coal Crossroads” are tackling this complicated topic that impacts all of us. “Washington’s Food Fight: The Debate Over GMO Labels,” will provide a balanced, but comprehensive look at this issue. Unlike other films on GMOs, we will NOT present only one point-of-view, or pick a side. That’s up to voters. But TVW wants to help sort out where the science ends and the rhetoric begins, so people can feel confident making their own decision on GMO labeling. (Retrieved from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1987871932/washingtons-food- fight-the-debate-over-gmo-labels)
172 B.7 Ted Talks
I found that printing the transcripts for these talks for students to read prior to and
during the video helps with comprehension. The transcripts can also be used for class
discussion as the time markers help students point out the section of the speech they are
referring to.
Birke Baehr: What's Wrong With our Food System
Aug. 2010 Time:05:14
https://www.ted.com/talks/birke_baehr_what_s_wrong_with_our_food_system
At a TEDx event, 11-year-old Birke Baehr presents his take on a major source of our food — far-away and less-than-picturesque industrial farms. Keeping farms out of sight
promotes a rosy, unreal picture of big-box agriculture, he argues, as he outlines the case
to green and localize food production.
Dan Barber: How I Fell in Love With a Fish
Feb 2010 Time:19:02
https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_barber_how_i_fell_in_love_with_a_fish
Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish
on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles his pursuit of
a sustainable fish he could love, and the foodie's honeymoon he's enjoyed since
173 discovering an outrageously delicious fish raised using a revolutionary farming method in Spain.
Mark Bittman: What's Wrong With What we Eat
Dec 2007 Time:20:08 https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_bittman_on_what_s_wrong_with_what_we_eat
In this fiery and funny talk, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman weighs in on what's wrong with the way we eat now (too much meat, too few plants; too much fast food, too little home cooking), and why it's putting the entire planet at risk.
Ann Cooper: What's Wrong With School Lunches
Dec 2007 Time:19:42 https://www.ted.com/talks/ann_cooper_talks_school_lunches
Speaking at the 2007 EG conference, "renegade lunch lady" Ann Cooper talks about the coming revolution in the way kids eat at school — local, sustainable, seasonal and even educational food.
Dennis vanEngelsdorp: A Plea for Bees
July 2008 Time:16:28 https://www.ted.com/talks/dennis_vanengelsdorp_a_plea_for_bees
174 Bees are dying in droves. Why? Leading apiarist Dennis vanEngelsdorp looks at the gentle, misunderstood creature's important place in nature and the mystery behind its alarming disappearance.
Malcolm Gladwell: Choice, Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce
Feb 2004 Time:17:30 https://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce
"Tipping Point" author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce — and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.
Jamie Oliver: Teach Every Child About Food
Feb. 2010 Time:21:53 https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver
Sharing powerful stories from his anti-obesity project in Huntington, West Virginia — and a shocking image of the sugar we eat — TED Prize winner Jamie Oliver makes the case for an all-out assault on our ignorance of food.
Marla Spivak: Why Bees are Disappearing
June 2013 Time:15:57 https://www.ted.com/talks/marla_spivak_why_bees_are_disappearing
Honeybees have thrived for 50 million years, each colony 40 to 50,000 individuals coordinated in amazing harmony. So why, seven years ago, did colonies start dying en
175 masse? Marla Spivak reveals four reasons which are interacting with tragic
consequences. This is not simply a problem because bees pollinate a third of the world’s
crops. Could this incredible species be holding up a mirror for us?
B.8 TedEd Video Lessons
Daniel D. Dulek: The Haber Process
Time:05:19
How do we grow crops quickly enough to feed the Earth's billions? It’s called the Haber
process, which turns the nitrogen in the air into ammonia, easily converted in soil to the
nitrate plants need to survive. Though it has increased food supply worldwide, the Haber
process has also taken an unforeseen toll on the environment. Daniel D. Dulek delves
into the chemistry and consequences.
Retrieved from http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-chemical-reaction-that-feeds-the-world- daniel-d-dulek#watch
Robert Lustig: Sugar: Hiding in Plain Sight
Time:04:04
While sugar is easy to spot in candy, soft drinks and ice cream, it also hides out in foods
you might not expect -- including peanut butter, pasta sauce and even bologna! Robert
176 Lustig decodes confusing labels and sugar's many aliases to help determine just how
much of that sweet carbohydrate makes its way into our diets.
Retrieved from http://ed.ted.com/lessons/sugar-hiding-in-plain-sight-robert-lustig
Vance Kite: Urbanization and the Evolution of Cities Across 10,000 Years
Time:04:09
About 10,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers, aided by rudimentary agriculture, moved to semi-permanent villages and never looked back. With further developments came food surpluses, leading to commerce, specialization and, many years later with the Industrial
Revolution, the modern city. Vance Kite plots our urban past and how we can expect future cities to adapt to our growing populations.
Retrieved from http://ed.ted.com/lessons/urbanization-and-the-future-of-cities-vance-kite
Fernanda S. Valdovinos: How Bees Help Plants Have Sex
Time:05:26
Plants have a hard time finding mates -- their inability to get up and move around tends
to inhibit them. Luckily for plants, bees and other pollinator species (including
butterflies, moths and birds) help matchmake these lonely plants in exchange for food.
Fernanda S. Valdovinos explains how these intricate pollination networks work and how
it can all change from one season to the next.
Retrieved from http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-bees-help-plants-have-sex-fernanda-s-
valdovinos