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2014 Food and Education: A Framework for the Tallahassee Community Jacqueline Allegra

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Abstract

This project is focused on improving Environmental Education in Tallahassee, specifically in regards to the Food and Agriculture System. This paper draws on research about environmental education practices as well as issues within the agriculture system to develop an understanding about not only the need for Food and Agriculture Education, but also the ideal ways to engage students, teachers, and the community. The conclusions from this paper can be useful to educators and teachers who are interested in starting or improving environmental education programs in their communities and schools. The primary research in this study involved qualitative interviews with local community members and educators who are involved in Environmental Education. Themes and issues of the interviews were discussed as a foundation for an educational framework proposal. The framework involves four key elements 1) an online website of relevant content and lessons 2) a networking initiative to connect farmers and community organizations with teachers and students 3) educational opportunities for teachers and other educators 4) a connection between student’s community engagement and classroom success. The creation of such would allow for healthier students, stronger community ties, and the promotion of food production practices that are environmentally sustainable.

Key words: Education, Food, Community

THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PUBLIC POLICY

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE EDUCATION:

A FRAMEWORK FOR THE TALLAHASSEE COMMUNITY

By

JACQUELINE ALLEGRA

A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with Honors in the Major

Degree Awarded: Spring, 2014

The members of the Defense Committee approved the thesis of Jacqueline Allegra defended on April 17, 2014

______Dr. John Reynolds Thesis Director

______Dr. Stephanie Pau Committee Member

______Dr. Stacey Rutledge Committee Member

Introduction

When I began learning about food and nutrition in an Honors Ecology

Seminar, I was struck by the vastness of the issue. The in the U.S. is studied by numerous academic disciplines, each containing different perspectives on how the system functions in reality and how it should ideally function. Ecologists and biologists may examine the effects of herbicides on bee , for example, while a political scientist may study the regulation of such chemicals by our government and resistance to such regulation from the private sector. A sociologist, in turn, may look at how food deserts and crop subsidies may contribute to obesity among lower‐income groups. Outside of academia, a small farmer may wonder how she or he can compete with large‐scale agribusinesses that use herbicides, fertilizers, genetically modified crops, and sell to a market that values lower cost over nutritional quality. With a food system as complicated as ours, it is a considerable challenge (and pressing need) to educate consumers and policymakers such that they can make informed, ethical decisions whether purchasing food or deciding on regulations and incentives surrounding agriculture.

Despite the efforts of journalists, authors, filmmakers, and members of non‐ profits to raise public awareness about the social problems that arise in relation to food production, the public is still unsuspecting of the harmful methods of which their food is produced and the government and corporate interests that impact the agricultural system. (Pollan, 2006) Considering that food is an absolute necessity of life and an important element of our economic and social societies, it should have a more prominent place in our education system, and teachers should have more

1 resources that will empower them to study the complexity of the food system.

Students study civics and government in order to become educated, productive citizens. I assert that critical perspectives on food production should be added to the schools’ conversations within environmental education.

This paper will be an analysis of the critical perspectives on food production and the influence of agricultural education on the sustainable food movement.

Through the examination of community education efforts, I will identify a framework to increase collaboration with public schools, teachers, and students. By bringing community action efforts into the classroom, students will develop the ability to be grassroots advocates for change. To do so, I will examine learning strategies and challenges in formal and informal models of environmental education. Further, I will reflect on the effects of the current methods of food production in our country and analyze the movement against unsustainable methods of food production.

Using an interdisciplinary approach, my study in sociology, biology and environmental studies allows for an intersection of the social and environmental impacts of education, a necessary form of advocacy. This paper will, first, review relevant literature on both environmental education and the agricultural system.

Then, present the perspectives of the local community that have been gathered through qualitative interviews. Finally, the information will be used to form a framework for increasing food and agriculture education for k‐12 students that fits within the capacities of the Tallahassee Community.

2 Current Perspectives and Approaches to Environmental Education

Throughout the relatively brief history of environmental education in colleges and schools, there has been considerable debate on how to combine the disciplines of science, social science, and humanities. As environmental education is inherently interdisciplinary, it has fallen through the cracks in k‐12 education systems because teachers are not sure where it fits and may not be familiar with current research and academic discourse. Thus, environmental education has found a niche in community organizations whose missions align with protecting natural resources, such as conservation groups and gardening co‐ops. Most of these services come in the form of community education, like farm tours, workshops, pamphlets, and fundraising events. There is a presence of environmental education at the higher education level. Graduate programs in and

Agriculture are emerging with new support and funding from various government and international organizations. Some curricula provide a stronger focus on biology and ecology, while others aim to connect understanding of social structures and culture. This portion of the paper will serve as a review of the various approaches in the field today and give the foundation that my framework will employ.

Defining the Role of Environmental Education

Interdisciplinary approaches to studying the food system appear in universities and colleges usually under the masthead of Environmental Education

(EE) or, more recently, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). While these terms share common structural features, Pavlova (2013) shows that there are conceptual differences that have been identified on the policy level.

3 “Both EE and ESD share the following features: an emphasis on life‐long learning and inclusion of formal and non‐formal education; interdisciplinarity; inclusion of social, environmental and economic realms; and use of a variety of pedagogical techniques that promote participatory learning, first‐hand learning and development of higher order thinking skills (problem solving and critical thinking)… [However] the underlying emphases within these two fields now differs conceptually and philosophically: EE focused on understanding local‐global links and relating learning to the learner’s community at an early age; while ESD prioritizes embedded learning into locally and culturally appropriate contexts, emphasizing on quality of life and capacity building for communities, and addressing SD concepts that address socio‐ecological structures. Nevertheless, while these conceptual differences emerge at the level of analysis of UNESCO’s international policy, we should note that they are not always present in the realm of practice.” (Pavlova, 2013)

Because UNESCO defined ESD in 2005 and EE provisions were established in

1977, some have argued that ESD is an updated term that can fit within the context of EE. (Pavlova, 2013) In the past, neo‐liberal ideology about environmental development influenced education values as there was a push for privatization and mass production in our agricultural system. However, updated ideas about progressive development have yielded a language more focused on collective decision‐ making within communities. This new terminology is reflected in recent

ESD definitions. Though there may be technical differences on a policy level, practical interpretations of both ESD and EE have evolved by region to serve different cultural purposes within society and colloquial use may vary. (Pavlova,

2013) For the purpose of this paper, Environmental Education will be used as a catchall term and does not necessarily exclude ideas of ESD.

Further, policy makers and scholars still struggled to create Environmental

Education curriculum because of many competing ideas about what EE should be.

(Kirtis, 1990) This paper will be drawing on the guiding principles outlined by the

North American Association for Environmental Education, located in Appendix A.

4 These principles advocate for educational methods that stress the complexity of the environment and develop an understanding of the interdependence of global and local issues.

The Need for a Problem Solver/Systems Approach

According to Vincent and Focht (2009), there are three curriculum routes that one can follow when developing an educational framework in this field: the

Environmental Scientist, the Environmental Citizen, and the Environmental Problem

Solver. The Scientist is focused on mastery of a single discipline such as chemistry, biology, or ecology. The scientist approach reflects the typical undergraduate education within a major in the natural sciences. The Citizen includes basic literacy in the natural sciences, but emphasizes social implications, and humanities. Finally, the Problem Solver focuses on the systems approach to address the multiple dimensions of environmental issues, and is intrinsically interdisciplinary. (Vincent and Focht, 2009)

The problem solver/systems approach is critical in environmental education because, in order to realistically address our environmental issues, practitioners must be able to foresee systemic impacts.

Characteristic of systems approaches is that the area of interest is considered to be a system, i.e., the whole is taken into account as well as the interactions between the parts. Moreover, a system approach starts from the position that the whole has properties that cannot be known from analysis of the constituent elements in isolation. (Fortuin, Van Koppen, Kroeze , 2013)

I argue that environmental Education especially must be taught with the problem solver/systems approach, as our environment is an ecosystem. Students cannot learn about environmental phenomenon independent of other concepts because

5 there are no independent actions in an ecosystem. The systems approach is critical to because as students begin to see the connectedness of the environment, they put themselves within that environment as well. A focus on these skills at the k‐12 level will prepare students to take on challenges during college and in professional practice. Interdisciplinary curriculums at an early age are an important way that Environment Education instills systems learning, as they readily make connections between the social and natural sciences.

Fortuin, van Koppen, and Kroeze (2013) suggest three cognitive interdisciplinary skills that students should develop for the role of an

Environmental Problem Solver. First, there must be a holistic understanding of environmental issues. Holistic understanding includes comprehension of larger social structures and is, inherently, a systems approach.

“…for instance, eutrophication of a lake, recognize that this is not merely a matter of pollution or damage to the ecosystem, but that there are likely to be underlying societal causes and effects. Students should be able to identify relations with national or even international policies and markets that stimulate intensive agriculture practices and high inputs of fertilizers around the lake, resulting in nutrients runoff.” (Fortuin, van Koppen, Kroeze ,2013)

Second, students should have the ability to connect, understand, and identify disciplinary concepts. Though it is impossible to understand all the elements of the system, students who have a basic understanding of the language and practices of other disciplines will be able to work effectively with fellow environmental problem solvers. Once students understand how environmental issues are connected, they must be able to articulate issues in a way that is sensitive to the discipline in which they are working. Social studies classes may put emphasis on the poverty ramifications of food deserts, while a biology class may not do so. Finally, the last

6 component skill is reflection and understanding the role of scientific research within the community. While scientific analysis and findings are critical, one cannot undermine cultural values, lay knowledge, and social relationships that are the fabric of society. Students who are knowledgeable about the cultural context in which they are working will be able to more effectively influence the community.

The educational framework developed in this paper will serve to address environmental issues by incorporating a systems approach between lessons and concepts. The interactions between different social, scientific, international, local, governmental, corporate, and cultural institutions will be highlighted. In order to better prepare students to be Environmental Problem Solvers, there will be collaborative learning practices that begin with partnerships between community and educational institutions Further, in acknowledgement of the power and cultural capital that comes with scientific literacy, there will be a focus on teaching scientific processes and material, especially to students from marginalized groups. The hope for this framework is that those who may be inclined towards grassroots social action may also become versed in the scientific discipline. This well help them navigate the channels of the many groups that work in the environmental field.

Integrating Food and Agriculture into Environmental Curriculums

Instruction related to Food and Agriculture Education has long been separate from traditional environmental education programs. In the early 1990s there was a shift toward including the food production system in environmental education.

(Vahoviak & Etling, 1994) Agriculture is typically viewed as a vocational field leading to employment in food production, while environmental studies is more

7 academic and linked to careers in pure or applied science. A problem‐solving systems approach to environmental education argues that neither provides a complete picture of the functioning of our ecosystems. However, both share vested interests in soil health, water quality, forests, wildlife, pesticides, and food production. (Kirtis, 1990)

Also, important concepts of environmental education can be effectively explored through food models and the food system because production and consumption of food is a universal experience, and food/agriculture have a profound impact on human populations. “Making food an explicit part of the educational experience offers…a critical opportunity to approach sustainable development through an issue of daily significance to all.” (Clugston & Calder, 2007)

Many of the goals outlined in the literature for environmental education, specifically by the NAAEE (see Appendix A), are very broad and represent the skills that ideally would be gained from a well‐ rounded environmental curriculum, but lack a focus of topics to cover when teaching students.

Yet there are also challenges to integrating instruction related to food production and environmental education, namely the complexity when taking a systems approach. Creating a single comprehensive course is nearly impossible.

Such a course would need to cover political systems, equity and access, soil health, food quality, pest management, and farming practices – and their interconnections.

In one empirical study of the challenges associated with environmental education,

Trexler and Johnson (2000) studied how these topics are incorporated into the

Michigan education system for elementary and middle school students. Their work

8 asserts that agricultural education cannot only be confined to vocational education.

The study involved focus groups with elementary and middle school teachers in

Michigan who taught science and social science with the hope of developing systems and products to enhance knowledge about sustainable food systems in the region.

They concluded that teachers’ lesson plans on health and nutrition topics were overly focused on eating a balanced diet and safety/regulation standards. This is because, the authors argue, the Michigan Health Model Curriculum provided materials for teaching these concepts but lacked biological, agricultural, and environmental elements. As a result, the production of food is something that most students did not readily understand.

“Teachers perceived that students do not understand where their food comes from and do not care how it arrives at their table. Specifically, they stated that youth tend to not understand what food animals are or know the products derived from them. Likewise, students are frequently unable to identify a carrot as a vegetable or that poultry is another term for chicken…they think students do not comprehend the various parts of the system (production, distribution, preservation) and believe this knowledge is important for students to understand connections between humans and the environment.”(Trexler and Johnson, 2000)

Generally, teachers noted that students seem to be getting their information about the food system from the media in the form of advertisements for trendy, unhealthy foods and news reports about recalls, crises, and other issues. Paired with a school system that teaches about nutrition but provides unhealthy al‐a‐carte lunch options, educators were concerned tomorrow’s grocery shoppers were receiving mixed messages. The teachers in this study expressed the need for a centralized curriculum that provided consistent messages and resources. Trexler and Johnson’s research led to recommendations for the Michigan Health Model Curriculum to be

9 altered to include sustainability issues, and the environmental and biological implications of food production.(Trexler and Jonshon, 2000)

The challenges that teachers faced in this study are not surprising when we take into account the vastness of the Food and Agriculture System. Though teachers expressed a desire for a centralized curriculum, it is necessary to consider regionality when discussing environmental issues. As our nation’s system is so large and difficult for students conceptualize within one course, an effective framework must focus on Tallahassee and the community systems that students will encounter.

By teaching through a local lens, the interaction between elements of the food system will not be as daunting. Further, students will have opportunities to apply their education as they interact with their community as a well‐rounded educational strategy focuses on teaching approaches and methodology in addition to content.

Experiential Learning

A common claim among environmental education scholars is that effective environmental education relies heavily on experiential learning. For example, according to the NAAEE’s ten guiding principles of environmental education

(Appendix A), students should play an active role in their learning process and have the options to make decisions with real life consequences and rewards. Additionally, the literature on cultivating environmental “problem solvers” stresses the need for leadership development and teambuilding skills. Instructional lessons or curricula that involve experiential learning engage students in the practical application of their knowledge, and helps train them to be active problem solvers in the real world.

Agriculture education, in particular, provides many fun and engaging opportunities

10 for students to learn out of the classroom. For example, students may learn about soil health by planting a school garden, or about crop diversity by visiting a local farmer’s market. An ideal way to institute Experiential Learning is through

Community Based Learning.

Community Based Learning

According to Mooney and Edwards, “community based learning refers to any pedagogical tool in which the community becomes a partner in the learning process.” (Mooney & Edwards, 2001) A community partnership may mean working directly with community organizations, or giving students opportunities to explore issues within their own neighborhood. Environmental Education can easily lend itself to Community Based Learning because so many practices and types of knowledge are influenced by historical, geographical, and socio‐political contexts.

Lessons that require students to engage directly with community members involved in food production or distribution allow students to deepen their understanding of curricula content. It also encourages personal connections within the community network and gives a human, and more interesting, element to the subject matter.

Community Based Learning also challenges traditional educational practices because it draws on knowledge of experts that may not be typically thought of as scholars. (Boyer, 1990)

Among producers, farmers may or may not have studied biology or ecology, but the real‐world experience of growing, harvesting, and selling gives her unique insight into the current system. For instance, a small farmer can readily see the connection between inputs, climate conditions, yields, demands, and profits

11 because she is directly interacting with all of these parts of the food system. In addition, resident farmers in rural communities are often deeply‐rooted and have been connected to the land for generations. Community Based Learning that creates interactions between students and local food producers may in fact strengthen the place of local farmers in the regional economy (Wright 2006).

The use of Community Based Learning can empower learners to examine issues of social justice. Transformative education uses the perspective that the lessons must allow for self‐directed learning and critical thinking, resulting in students drawing their own conclusions. In this way, lessons should be relatable in daily life, so they feel empowered to make social change. (Blum, 2009) This theory draws on the work of Paolo Freire; who believed that traditional means of education serve only to maintain the status quo of the hegemonic class. When teachers are seen as the keepers of knowledge, it prevents growth and thought among those who have been oppressed by the existing power structure of race, class, and gender.

(Freire, 1972)

Academics of this movement assert that current education systems are ways to maintain the status quo and reproduce societal structures that are inherently oppressive. Education should build capacities for students to challenge these notions and encourage opposition. (Lundegard and Wickman, 2007) Community

Based Learning helps to build these capacities through the networking with community individuals who may be leaders and activists. By engaging with local organizations, students learn how to have a critical understanding of the current food system and its apparent contradictions.

12

Current Food System

The conventional food system is the driving force behind the advancement and need for agricultural education. Average citizens are unaware of the processes that create, transport, preserve, and dispose of their food. The vast majority of our calories are produced in mass quantities by a few corporations and then transported across the globe. In recent years, there has been an emergence of a counterculture that disagrees with the social and environmental implications of this model. This section argues that three concepts are critical to understand the current food system – commodity agriculture, civic agriculture, and sustainability – and it identifies a set of issues in the current food production system that are cause for concern.

Commodity Agriculture

Contemporary food production in the U.S. is a characterized by a high degree of industrialization—that is, much of the agricultural sector is highly mechanized, large‐scale, with intensive technical inputs (e.g., genetically modified seeds, fertilizer, pesticide/herbicide, growth hormones), and an emphasis on profit and/or low prices. Within an industrial framework of food production, growing crops and raising livestock is simply another type of commodity production. “Commodity agriculture” therefore is the practice of growing and raising crops with the goal of producing as much as possible with maximized efficiency. These ideals are rooted in experimental biology, which values yield output, and neo‐classical economics that boosts profitability through land, labor, capital, and management (Lyson &Guptill,

13 2004; Kay, 1986). In the commodity agricultural system, farming practices are greatly influenced by a handful of multinational corporations like ConAgra and

Cargill, by the research conducted at land grant universities, and by government entities such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Congress who manipulate the incentives for different approaches to farming. In this system, individual farmers have relatively few degrees of freedom. Likewise, farms have become more independent of the local community and often owned by outside companies, now simply locations for a highly standardized and centralized production system. (Kay,

1986)

As a consequence of the industrialization of agricultural production, our food system has been able to increase yields to levels that defy “natural” environmental capacities. For instance, chickens are fed growth hormones to shorten their maturation time and increase their weight; they now grow so fast that many chickens are unable to stand and support their own body mass. In addition, soil fertility is increased through synthetic fertilizers, biocides control pests and plants, and optimal plants are modified through genetic engineering. (Lyson & Guptill,

2004) Therefore, the agriculture system is dependent not only on natural factors like land and water, but also on the industries that surround chemical production, distribution, and research. Further, the commodity crop system is interconnected with other parts of our food system. According to the USDA (2013), about eighty percent of corn grown in the US is used for animal feed. As a result, there are many stakeholders in commodity agriculture. The interests of the industry corporations

14 are protected and supported by tens of billions of dollars in government subsidies each year. (Lyson & Guptill, 2004)

Another practice of commodity agriculture is regionalization and large farming operations. In the last 50 years, smaller family farms that grew or raised a variety of crops and animals at subsistence levels have declined dramatically and have been replaced by large scale profit‐oriented agribusinesses that focus on a single product or crop. Monoculture, the practice of growing only one product or even one strain (e.g., today’s ubiquitous yellow dent corn), depletes soil of nutrients over time as the same crop is grown season after season. Industrial farmers must then use synthetic fertilizers to make up for the nutrient deficient in the soil.

Another risk with monoculture is the vulnerability of the crop. The lack of crop diversity on large scale farms means that one pest or disease can destroy an entire harvest. With the stakes so high, the few types of crops that are planted must be optimal. Farmers increasingly use genetically modified crops that are resistant to certain chemicals or bugs. For example, “Roundup Ready” crops, made by Monsanto, are able to withstand the use of the pesticide Glyphosate, marketed as “Roundup.”

Farmers use Roundup Ready crops so they can spray the pesticide and kill everything in the field, except for the crop. This is beneficial to monoculture but obviously detrimental to the level of in the soil.

As different regions of the country have come to specialize in a particular crop/animal‐ corn and soy in the Midwest, citrus in California‐ no one region grows everything that it needs. Transportation and shipping are essential parts of this system of agriculture, and the dependence on interstate transportation brings

15 another set of drawbacks. As food is shipped all over the country and the world, chemicals must be used to keep food fresh and ripe. Production, transportation, and processing of food is a huge contributor to global climate change and emissions in our atmosphere. (Matthews, 2014) This research shows that food production and agriculture have immense effects not only on our economy and social structures, but also on the environment. Despite efficiency, the continuation of these methods jeopardizes our future environmental and .

It is important to note that despite the many criticisms of commodity agriculture that are presented in this paper, there are cultural and technological conditions that have led to the creation and perpetuation of this system. As the world grows at an exponential rate, our food production must become more efficient with our limited resources. The industrial system has allowed us to produce enough food for the entire world. However, political, economic, and social forces have prevented equal distribution, so people still starve in an era of plenty.

Further, cultural and personal connections to food drive production markets. As the

United States becomes focused on instant gratification and meals that are heavy in meat and corn products, our food system works to meet consumer demands.

Commodity agriculture is not intrinsically negative, but the effects of its practices must be examined and critiqued.

Civic Agriculture

Though our mainstream food system is reliant on commodity agriculture, there is a growing resistance to this method and a growing demand for alternatives.

While commodity agriculture is built upon a production‐ and profit‐maximizing

16 business model, “civic agriculture” is an umbrella term used to classify production practices and transactions that value community health and personal relationships

(between farmers, consumers, and citizens alike) in addition to economic viability.

According to Lyson (2004) civic agriculture refers to the “emergence and growth of community‐ based agriculture and food production activities that not only meet consumer demands for fresh, safe, and locally produced foods, but create jobs, encourage entrepreneurship, and strengthen community identity.” In recent years, community‐centered agriculture has become much more popular and can be seen in the (re)emergence of farmer’s markets, community gardens, local processing, and local food cooperatives. (Wright, 2006)

Farmers and consumers that are part of the local, civic agriculture community are highly passionate individuals who see small‐ scale farming as a connection with their food and the earth. As part of this project, I interviewed several civic agriculture advocates were interviewed. They held strong opinions not only about industrial agriculture, but also the importance of alternative methods that can be taught.

“Industrial farming sucks. So young people don’t go into it. I mean you’re just a chemical custodian. There’s a cookbook of this is what you spray when and, you know, there’s no passion or soul or creativity in that kind of farming. And in [sustainable farming] it’s totally that. You have to be really passionate, it’s really complex. It is knowledge that is on the verge of being lost.” (Herman Holley, Turkey Hill Farm)

Another participant echoed this sentiment and identified local agriculture as the most influential method of production, even more important that organic agriculture. This is because local agriculture is often so small scale that it does not

17 use monoculture and other industrial practices that are detrimental to the biodiversity of the surrounding ecosystems and the health of the soil.

“I can get organic blueberries from Chile but it doesn’t mean that I want to eat them... I think a lot of organic agriculture is conventional organic and that doesn’t help our environment…The way that it’s grown may not make it more nutritious because its not nurturing the environment around it. It’s still too large scale… So if you go local, it’s going to be small scale… it’s going to be the farmer down the street…they feed your community, they hire your community, they work with your children, they clean your air.” (Kristi Hatakka, Damayan Garden Project)

In addition to the health of communities, civic agricultural practices are seen as more sustainable and better able to meet the needs of local consumers. Whereas commodity agriculture is focused on mass sales of monocrops, civic agriculture provides localized products that are sensitive to the social, demographic, and cultural desires of the region. (Lyson & Guptill, 2004) Currently, however, the impact of civic agriculture is limited. Due to the size of these operations, civic agriculture makes up a tiny fraction of all farming sales in the United States and is often seen as a “premium product.” For this reason, civic agriculture is much more likely to be located near high‐income communities in urban and suburban regions.

(DeLind 1999, Govindasamy et al., 1998)

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is one form of civic agriculture that has generated a lot of interest. A CSA involves community members contributing money to a farmer at the beginning of a growing season in exchange for a frequent, often weekly, share in the product. Many small farms are supported through CSAs as they would not otherwise have the resources to front the costs of production throughout the season. Several scholars have noted the significance of this trend as

18 it forms a direct relationship between the producer and consumer while creating a community with shared risks and rewards. (Wells et al, 1999; Durrenberger, 2002)

Successful CSAs rely on media, activism, and volunteerism of non‐profit organizations. (Janssen, 2010) These assertions support the idea that agricultural and food education is vital to the success of alternative food systems and civic agriculture.

Defining and Maintaining Sustainability

A third central concept in a systems, problem‐solving approach to Food and

Agriculture Education is “sustainability.” According to Michael Pollan, renowned author in the field, it is easier to define what is not sustainable rather than what is.

Something is unsustainable when, “a practice or activity cannot go on as it has much longer, [and] because of various internal contradictions, it will sooner or later break down.” (Pollan, 2006) Ironically, efforts to increase sustainability of food production also have internal contradictions. For instance, when sustainability is sought through more efficient use of agricultural inputs, it may sacrifice environmental health. The contradictions with the blueberries from Chile (see above) are a prime example of how organic agriculture that produces healthier food for human consumption is not necessarily a better alternative for soil health.

The Farm Bill passed by U.S. Congress in 1990 also provided a definition (a positive one) of that included both ecological and economic dimensions.

“[A]n integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site‐specific application that will, over the long term: (A) satisfy human food and fiber needs; (B) enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends; (C) make the most

19 efficient use of non‐renewable resources and on‐farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls; (D) sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and (E) enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.” (Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990)

This definition seeks to encompass the many tasks that a food system must meet in order to continue to feed our population, maintain a healthy planet, and be a viable agricultural business. Again, It is easy to see how goals of enhancing environmental quality can be at odds with goals of efficiency and profitability.

Even if we narrow the scope of “sustainability” to just an environmental standard, there are still competing goals between environmental efficiency and enhancing environmental quality. One study of the modern beef production showed that the current system requires less input resources (land, water, animals) and generates less waste outputs (manure, Carbon, CH4, N20) as compared to the beef industry in 1977. However, it was noted that these measures ignore other aspects of the environment such as bio‐diversity impacts and animal welfare. (Kershan,

2013)

In addition to having goals that are frequently in contradiction with each other, sustainability has also been labeled as a concern of the middle and upper classes. Environmentally friendly foods, farmers markets, and CSAs are usually the purview of the college‐educated middle class, with working class and poor families more likely to rely on the commodity agricultural system that produces cheap calories. (Janssen, 2010) For those financially able to act on a preference for

“sustainable” food products, organic farming is at the forefront.

20 Organic agriculture is intended to have a smaller environmental impact, to enhance biological diversity within the soil, and to minimize the use of non‐ renewable resources by waste and using local, renewable resources where possible. These farms rely on crop rotation and natural predators instead of pesticides and, in the event of pesticide use, are limited to naturally based products.

(Smith, 2010) Though organic agriculture has lessened environmental impacts, there can still be issues associated with traditional commodity agriculture. The process to become certified organic is lengthy and expensive, making it inaccessible to many small farmers. (Traher, 2010) An alternative has been introduced, which is called “Certified Naturally Grown.” This process has the same environmental standards and regulations of organic agriculture, but relies on farmers to peer‐ review and certify each other’s farms. This method cuts down on fees and regulations and fosters collaboration between agricultural professionals.

Purpose and Objectives for Project

The purpose of this research is to assess the current efforts of agricultural advocacy and education in the Tallahassee region in hopes of creating a framework for future public, k‐12 education on the topic. Presently, information about commodity vs. civic agriculture is entering the public consciousness through the efforts of community agencies and local food advocates such as farmers and community organizers. Previous literature on this topic suggests that agriculture and food education is missing from many standardized curriculums and has little presence in public schools. (Trexler and Johnson, 2000) Largely, education about alternative agriculture is the result of regionalized community efforts. Therefore,

21 the goal of this paper/project is to create an educational framework that instructors may use to incorporate the experiences and expertise of community members. The intended benefit is to foster in environmental education students a greater understanding of the complex relationship between the environment and the way we produce, distribute, and consume food in the U.S.

Currently there is a disconnect between existing community efforts and traditional educational practices, such as schools. Because local organizations and agencies are reaching only a small portion of the population, there is a need for a more efficient way to share this material with classrooms. This study will serve to identify opportunities for collaboration between teachers, schools, and those in the local agricultural community.

Additionally, the insights of stakeholders such as farmers and scientists will serve to identify issues and concerns that are most pressing to the local region. The inclusion of such issues will make the educational framework relevant and useful.

Ultimately, the goal is to provide teachers with educational tools that equip them to teach food and agriculture education in their classrooms. This training is critical, as educators will ultimately make their students better consumers and empower them to deepen their understanding of scientific processes that are an inherent element of food production.

Methods and Procedures

This project utilized qualitative interviews with experts in both the agricultural and educational fields within the Tallahassee area. As this community is relatively small, the participants were identified through a word‐of‐mouth process

22 in which participants recommended other relevant individuals. As a result, the findings may be biased towards the ideas of small‐scale farming or the particular ecology and culture of the Big Bend region of North Florida. Overall, there were five participants. Wes and Kristi are both Master’s students in the community who are studying Urban and Regional Management and Soil Science. They individually work with two different community organizations, the Agronauts and the Damayan

Garden Project. Herman and Louise are a married couple in their mid‐60’s who have their own farm and started the Red Hills Small Farm Alliance. Sheri is a local high school teacher who started her own school garden. The interviews were about 45 minutes in length, conducted in local coffee shops, and recorded using a digital recorder. The interview questions differed slightly based on the individual’s experience and areas of expertise. Overall, the questions followed these themes:

1. Background in agriculture and food

2. Involvement in education

3. Student’s understanding of agriculture and food systems

4. Strategies the individual employs in curriculum planning and development

5. Capacities of Tallahassee Agricultural Community

6. Thoughts on improving education strategies in the region

*Full interview guide listed in Appendix B

At the end of each interview, I asked the respondent about specific needs/resources that would be useful to improving environmental education. As a result, many of the framework components were created directly from their suggestions.

Findings and Discussion

23 Portrait of Community Organizations

In this study, representatives from three community organizations were interviewed. The Agronauts is a community organization that has partnered with a local second‐chance school to teach at‐risk youth about sustainable agriculture and gardening. This founder of this organization, Wes, relies on heavy involvement from college volunteers and works entirely on school grounds. They maintain good relationships with teachers and school officials, who are supportive of their work.

The Damayan Garden project is a local non‐profit that has several community gardens throughout the Tallahassee area. Students and local groups can come to their sites and participate in after‐school programs. Kristi, a member of this organization and graduate student in Sustainable Agriculture, has been involved with the project for a few years and enjoys working with the students. Currently, the organization does not work in schools directly, but does provide funding and resources to help schools start their own gardens.

Turkey Hill Farm, a farm within the Red Hills Small Farm Alliance, is well known within the local agriculture community. The Red Hills Small Farm Alliance was founded to support small farmers and educate professionals about sustainable methods for growing food, which they believe relies fundamentally on healthy soil.

The Alliance participates in various community education events and has recently received a grant to host several workshops.

Student Understanding of Agriculture and Food System

The most prevalent theme in the interviews was the perception that students/adults do not know where their food comes from or what food looks like

24 in its natural form. For example, one interview participant is the founder of an organization, The Agronauts, that works in the school system. He and his colleagues had students keep a food diary. The results of the food diary exercise revealed that their middle and high school students mostly ate hot wings, fried chicken, and

French fries. Students rarely ate vegetables. When they did, they were often canned and not fresh. An implication of these observations is that what young people eat is not only an indication of their overall health and nutrition, it also reveals something about their (limited) understanding of what food is. One interviewee expressed that even when students were involved in gardening, they still struggled with the concept that food came from plants and that food from the earth is safe to eat.

“A student and I picked off a green bean, and I ate it. The student was alarmed that I put that in my mouth. That I put something in my mouth that was from this plant. He was like, ‘what are you doing?’ It’s like this is a green bean; this is what we’re trying to grow. We’re trying to eat it.”

Students’ lack of basic knowledge about food production is not surprising given the state of environmental education. Without a system in place to introduce this knowledge into the curriculum, it is likely these misconceptions will extend into adulthood. Local farmers expressed that their clientele, even at farmers markets, are often confused about food and agriculture.

“It used to be that people had never seen any kind of lettuce but Iceberg their whole life. Now, it is that they’ve never seen lettuce that wasn’t already cut up in a bag. I mean, we had people come to the market and say, ‘what is this?’ They don’t recognize it is lettuce!”

One reason for the lack of knowledge about food production is that we are taught nutrition and healthy eating habits from the perspective of the options at a

25 grocery store, or the choice between eating out or eating in. Learning that one should eat “an apple a day” does not connect students to the food system that grows, harvests, washes, waxes, and transports those apples. Participants of the study stressed that the food pyramid and the current teaching nutrition tools such as

ChooseMyPlate.gov are only meant to be teaching aids, rather than the absolute model of nutrition. The images and concepts in FDA nutrition guides, for example, are more consistent with an industrialized, commodity food production system than with civic agriculture and community‐based food markets. A healthy diet in the FDA paradigm is determined by a formula—eating a few servings of this and balancing it with some servings of that—with no consideration of where it was grown, how it was produced, or what impact its production had on the land or the surrounding community.

According to the food growers and educators I interviewed, students are developing a greater appreciation for food by working in community and school gardens. Elementary age students readily make the connections between food they grow and food they eat at home. After growing spinach in a community garden at school, they may ask their parents for fresh spinach because they now see spinach in a bigger, life cycle perspective and are more interested in it.

However, the interviewees perceived that their older students have more established eating habits and already have conceptions about what they like and don’t like. While they may enjoy working in a community garden or learning about agriculture, it does not necessarily translate into different food choices. To connect with these older students, food advocates and educators may try to find other ways

26 to connect with students’ interests. Some organizations in the Tallahassee area allow youth to develop their own niche within the agricultural effort such as doing media campaigns or creating signs for the garden.

Over time, this exposure to sustainable food and agriculture has apparently yielded positive results. The interviewees in this study that work directly with children cited that students gained knowledge from evaluation methods such as testing. Students also show a growing interest in produce and have enjoyed cooking and being outdoors. A teacher who started her own gardening program at her school shared a story of one student, in particular, who made great progress within the program.

“ I had a student last year who didn't seem to be motivated to do all that much. He was about to graduate and pretty apathetic. He got really into his garden bed and taking care of the area. By the time he left school he was already hired at [a local garden] and works with them controlling in the native environment. [This year] he led my [current students] in a field activity following a lecture presentation he gave to them last month. I couldn't be more proud.”

Teaching Strategies

When asked about instructional strategies, all participants of the study advocated for outdoor education. They stressed that a crucial element of any environmental curriculum is to directly experience the environment. Both the

Agronauts and the Damayan Garden Project focused most of their energy on gardening and teaching through hands on experiences outside. In addition, the

Agronauts used a strategy that they called “Narrative Education” in which topics are taught through a progressive story line throughout the semester. For example, one semester the students and instructors created story in which the Mayor of

27 Tallahassee causes problems for the community that the Agronauts solved. For the nutrition unit, the Mayor of Tallahassee introduced a sugary drink called “Slarf.”

During the course of the unit, the students talked about nutrition but also did hands on learning in the garden such as growing wheatgrass to make their own healthy drinks. This method was engaging and worked well even with high school students because students had some self‐direction in their curriculum by the choices they made when solving the problems. This idea is consistent with transformative education ideals and encourages empowerment through action.

Similar approaches were used with the other organizations, though they were labeled differently. “Problem Based Learning” is popular in this field and is a helpful strategy when teaching through the systems approach. In this method, a problem is presented to students and they must examine all of the different factors before making a decision. Students may spend a whole semester deciding whether to plant pears or apples in the community, but each week they will learn about different elements of the problem such as packaging costs, labor, pesticide usage, or transportation. These elements are critical in agriculture education because agriculture is not simply growing food, it is a system composed of many moving parts. Interviewees concluded that teaching about agriculture in this systemic way also allows for students to understand other disciplines such as economics and business.

Community and Classroom­ Creating a Connection

Though there are a few community programs that reach out to schools, the vast majority of public school students in Leon County, FL, do not receive

28 agriculture or food education. Many groups seek to educate the public and

Tallahassee community about sustainable agriculture, but most of this knowledge is passed through the community. In order to reach a larger population, there must be teachers and educators within the public school system that are invested in creating educational opportunities for this content.

The interviewees applauded the schools for their openness and eagerness to collaborate with the existing community groups. However, the schools with gardening programs tended to be the alternative schools in the district, such as the magnet art school and a second‐chance program. Wes identified one semester where he had a lot of time to develop interactive lesson plans, and now the school has high expectations for the environmental curriculum. Though as he continues his professional development, he is unable to be as involved. In order to meet the needs of all students, schools must implement their own environmental education strategies that can be sustained without constant outside support.

One participant from the study spoke about similar issues in her previous work at her undergraduate university. She worked with a school system that was eager to implement agricultural education but needed support. Participants felt that there is often a disconnect between the content to be taught and the ability to relay that information in an effective way to students. Therefore, teachers are the key to expanding this type of education. However, most teachers are already pressed for time.

“There are tons of resources on the internet on farm‐to ‐school or how to teach outdoor education. But teachers still feel overwhelmed and they don’t have the confidence to take a lesson plan and execute it.”

29 A strategy that one school system employed was the creation of a workshop series for teachers. The school district partnered with a local university agriculture department to offer workshops on gardening, agriculture, and sustainability. The teachers who participated gained familiarity with the content and were then able to translate it into lessons for their students.

Proposed Education Network

Based on an examination of the environmental education literature and interviews with the local farming community and educators, the following conclusions can be made. First, it is clear that a sound environmental education curriculum must incorporate the food production system, studied from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Second, such a curriculum should increase students’ understanding of the distinction between different modalities of agricultural production, both “industrial” (or commodity) and “community” (or civic), and also increase students’ critical thinking as it relates to the internal contradictions that arise in the pursuit of sustainability. Third, the best approach to achieve this enriched environmental education curriculum is by bringing in community‐based knowledge and experiential learning into the school. In order to best address pressing environmental issues, we need creative problem solvers who can effectively navigate across disciplines. Using traditional educational structures, such as schools, to teach children about the local community may allow them to see the tangible benefits of schooling and education as a whole. Because food plays an essential part in every human’s lives, a focus on this system will undoubtedly impact their future consumption choices.

30 The framework proposed in this paper would create a space for interaction between community agriculture/food advocates and educators within the public school system. I propose a “framework” rather than a specific curriculum, because teachers must meet standards and benchmarks specific to their school, district, and state. What would be most beneficial, according to many of the respondents I interviews, is a way to gain better access to content that captures local interests and incorporates key concepts such as sustainability or civic/commodity agriculture. To support these efforts, community members can provide content and networking through an online platform.

As a prototype test, I propose developing the Tallahassee Agriculture and

Food Education Network that would have as its primary mission an increase in collaboration between educators, community members, and farmers. The proposed framework would be designed to work in conjunction with other elements of an overall initiative to increase sustainable food and civic agriculture education. The main components of this framework include 1) an online website of relevant content and lessons 2) a networking initiative to connect farmers and community organizations with teachers and students 3) educational opportunities for teachers and other educators 4) a connection between student’s community engagement and classroom success. In developing the components of the proposed framework, I drew heavily from the comments made by educators in the interviews.

The first component of this framework is an online platform that allows for content sharing. The interviews revealed that many community organizations make their own presentations and lesson plans and do not currently have a system to

31 share information with other groups. Indeed, as the Sustainable Food Movement

(a.k.a., Slow Food, Local Food, or simply the “Food Movement”) has gained momentum, a great amount of instructional resources is readily available— documentaries, webpages, Powerpoint presentations, class exercises, field trip templates, etc. Interviewees articulated that they have no trouble finding content.

However, it is very time consuming to sift through all of the available information to design lesson plans that are culturally relevant and age appropriate. One community advocate cited that she regularly shares links with teachers but is worried that the content may not be clear and concise enough for beginners, such as the teachers who are just starting school gardens.

To make readily available instructional materials more useful, an online sharing platform would be beneficial to teachers who teach environmental education and teachers who wish to incorporate food production concepts and information into other courses. It likely would be beneficial to students and community members, as well. Members of the Tallahassee Agriculture and Food

Education Network (farmers, teachers, and organizers) would be able to post information on topics relating to Food and Agriculture that they have created or have used in the past that could be sorted by content and grade level. This information could be in the form of videos, articles, worksheets, pamphlets, or presentations and lesson plans. Through the process of having interested and knowledgeable people post and rate content, teachers will have confidence that what is posted has been screened by local experts. This is an example of grassroots education, where the knowledge and content is not only created by curriculum

32 builders or scientific experts, but people connected to the industry in a real way.

This community‐controlled content allows for diverse perspectives, including those who offer different views on what sustainability means and the best agricultural practices.

Figures 1‐4 in Appendix C are models of the basic elements of this online site.

Figure 1 shows an example of different content topics that could be covered in the site. Teachers would be able to go to a specific theme and read lesson plans and articles, watch videos, and view other content that community members have posted within that subject. Using the example topic of Local Agriculture, Figure 2 demonstrates how teachers might be able to view lesson plans by grade level as well as view some introductory materials to help them get familiar with issues before instructing their students. Teachers can choose to view this content in a basic, sorted fashion or they can choose “map view” which shows the content in a web form that captures the interrelatedness of different elements within the system.

(See Figure 3) This tool can be used to show students the connections between issues and encourage the use of an interdisciplinary systems approach.

The website will be an important tool for achieving the second component of the proposed framework: building up a network of local farmers, community organizations, teachers, and students that encourages collaboration and participation from all groups. Every piece of content on the online site will be attached to the member who posted the information, so teachers or students can contact that member for further discussion and questions. Experts can choose to make a profile (Figure 4) that displays their areas of interest as well as information

33 about coordinating presentations or fieldtrips. Creating an interactive network between educators and community members is critical for building support for changing the way environmental education is taught. Currently in Tallahassee, there is a Food Network that provides opportunities to interact at weekly meetings.

This group has been created within the last few years and does have some teachers as members, and would be a good starting point for the Tallahassee Agriculture and

Food Education Network.

Professional development for teachers is the third component of the proposed framework. The interviews with educators exposed the apprehension educators feel when beginning to teach about a topic that is new to them. One participant noted that when introducing agriculture education to a school system in

Canada, she held workshops for teachers about gardening, food, and agriculture.

These teacher training initiatives will be very beneficial not only for networking purposes, but also to increase teacher’s interest in the subject material and give them confidence when educating their students. The need for teacher training was echoed in all of the interviews as participants often noted that teachers, community members, and students were learning together in the process.

Finally, in order to create an educational experience that truly fosters involvement and participation in the community, the fourth component of the proposed framework is to connect community engagement—via experiential learning about food production—to classroom success. Potential benefits include critical thinking skills and heightened student engagement. One of the respondents that was interviewed described their desire to make learning like a game. The hope

34 was to give students points or credit for activities they do in the community and use those points towards curriculum standards in the public school system. For example, students might earn English credit for writing a letter to a political leader about a local environmental issue and they might earn science points for visiting a farmers market. This system of earning points for engagement is an important way to include participatory education in a school system that does not often have the resources to do experiential learning during the school day. As this atypical learning approach may be difficult and time consuming for teachers, the online site would have specific categories that could give them ideas for these type of assignments.

Conclusions

Environmental Education is a crucial part of securing a sustainable future.

Food and Agriculture issues influence our physical and social health, economic well‐being, and the fabric of our natural ecosystems. As it is clear that current commodity agriculture practices are not sustainable, we must provide students with the skills to improve our food production system. Therefore, a Food and Agriculture

Education framework that promotes environmental problem solving is critically important to students in k‐12 education.

As seen in the interviews of this study, the current public education system does not necessarily provide direct support for teachers to educate about agriculture. There are few teachers that feel comfortable exploring the new content without training. As the local farming movement is embedded in ideas of community

(civic agriculture, CSAs, small scale farming) it becomes necessary to create an educational framework that mimics this model. After studying the experiences of

35 teachers, students and community agriculture organizations, a framework that promotes community interaction with schools has been developed. This allows for community participation with localized curriculum, while also expanding the capacities of the school system, namely teachers, to continue this education in the absence of outside organizations. Overall, this framework could be an asset to the

Tallahassee community as we move forward.

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39

Appendix A

North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Guiding Principles:

1. Consider the environment in its totality‐ natural and built biological and physical phenomena and their interrelations with social, economic, political, technological, cultural, historical, moral and aesthetic aspects; 2. Integrate knowledge from disciplines across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities; 3. Examine the scope and complexity of environmental problems and thus the need to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills and the ability to synthesis data from many fields; 4. Develop awareness and understanding of global problems, issues, and interdependence‐ helping people to think globally and act locally; 5. Consider both short and long term futures on matters of local, national, regional and international importance; 6. Relate environmental knowledge, problem solving values and sensitivity at every level; 7. Emphasize the role of values, morality, and ethics in shaping attitudes and actions affecting the environment; 8. Stress the need for active citizen participation involving environmental problems and preventing new ones; 9. Enable learners to play a role in planning their learning experiences and providing an opportunity for making decisions and accepting their consequences; and 10. Be a life‐long process—should begin at a preschool level, continue throughout formal elementary, secondary, and post secondary levels, and utilize informal odes for all age and educational levels.

(Kirtis, 1990)

40 Appendix B Interview Guide:

1. How did you first get involved with farming/agriculture/starting a school garden?

2. Are there community resources that have helped you learn about local agriculture? What is the climate of the Tallahassee Local Agricultural Community?

3.What did your students know about food and agriculture when you first started? Have you noticed any changes?

4. How do you develop lessons and curriculum? What tools and strategies are most useful?

5. What are the biggest challenges in Environmental Education? What are the biggest challenges to teachers? Community members? Students?

6. What topics do you think are most important for students to learn about in the food and agriculture realm?

41 Appendix C

Figure 1

42

Figure 2

43 Figure 3

44

Figure 4

45