Facilitating Discussion

As teachers, we have a number of discussion approaches at our disposal. It is up to us to choose which one is most effective for our students. We facilitate discussion by responding to each of the following:

a problem: “How can a government that claims to care about its nation’s health provide such unhealthy options?”

a narrative: Read or watch firsthand accounts from factory farm workers.

classroom activity:  Students will research the food they eat, then generate discussion on their findings.

an observation: Display one of the following photographs in the classroom for discussion. (I'd be careful not to post anything too disturbing.)

Since I am a hands-on learner myself, I’d like to use the last approach. The activity could be impromptu—have them investigate whatever is in their lunch bag at that moment, then discuss their findings after a bit of research.

The question I’d ask is a big one—How much does your lunch really cost?

Students would probably rush to the easiest answer, but I want them to really think about everything that goes into it, which would naturally prompt the next set of questions:

Were animals harmed in the process? (This includes humans!)

How far did it travel to reach you? What sort of natural resources were wasted in the process?

How does each of these things affect our environment?

How do they affect our own health?

The best practices I would use are:

-Use combination of group and whole class discussion. (I would have students meet in groups beforehand to compare and contrast their findings.)

-Ask students to relate their comments to content they’ve read, viewed, or heard in a lecture. (One thing I’ve noticed in my practicum classroom is that children often make up their own research. Since our topic is a serious one, I’d like prevent that as much as possible.)

-Use silence, my own! (I don’t want to push my opinions on the students, but teach them to think twice about what they put in their bodies.)

Also...

Here is an interesting PDF about the true cost of food by Greenpeace, in case you're interested.

I tried to find a kid-friendly article on the subject, and found this on Oprah's website. (It isn't for kids, but it's easy for anyone with a casual interest in the subject to understand.)

Michael Pollan adapted The Omnivore's Dilemma for younger readers. Check it out!

Sidenote: I know someone at Green Meadows who I plan on contacting soon. I'm open to other ideas for service learning if anyone has a suggestion!

Take Action, Step #1

I took a cue from Professor Worster and signed a petition urging the FDA to label genetically engineered foods. It is something that is required elsewhere around the world, but not in America. As the petition states, Americans have the right to know what goes into their food. 

Online petitions are a quick and painless way for the masses to take action. It often feels arbitrary, but history has taught us that there is safety in numbers. If we spread the word to enough people, the powers that be will have to take notice. 

Please sign the petition for yourself at http://justlabelit.org/takeaction.

Service Learning Project

For my service learning project, I'd like to spend time on Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, Massachusetts. They are a certified organic meat and vegetable farm that is known for treating their animals and environment with respect. I'd like to volunteer for the day, learning as much as possible about what goes into (and comes out of) a small scale, organic farm.

If you'd like to visit Green Meadows for yourself, contact information can be found at http://www.gmfarm.com.

Informational/Procedural Knowledge

In order for people to understand the need for a more sustainable food system, they must use both informational and procedural knowledge. For the former, I'd suggest reading books like Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer or In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Documentaries like Food, Inc. and Fresh are also a great place to start.

Procedural knowledge, on the other hand, isn't quite as easily acquired. You just might have to leave your couch to attain it. In the long run, however, it leaves a more lasting impression; one that will hopefully change the way you think about the food you eat. Here are some things you can do to become a more informed eater:

-Shop for fruit, vegetables, meat, and dairy at local farm stands and farmer's markets. By doing so, you support local business and get to see where your food is coming from.

-Avoid packaged foods at all costs. Better yet, try and stay away from the bulk of supermarket aisles. All the good stuff is found on the outskirts of the store anyway.

-Plant your own garden. Share leftover fruits, herbs, and vegetable with neighbors and friends. 

-Play detective. If there is something in a snazzy package that you really love eating, try and find out what goes into it, and how far it had to travel to get to your stomach. Then ask yourself if it was really worth it.

-Try and eat fruits and vegetables that are local and in season. 

Critical Attributes of Industrial Agriculture

The web is abound with disturbing agribusiness facts. Here are a few critical attributes found online that I think are central to understanding the need for a more sustainable way of life:

-Almost 30% of agricultural subsidies go to the top two percent of farms
and over four-fifths to the top 30%.

-The price of meat would double or triple if full ecological costs -
including fossil fuel use, groundwater depletion and agricultural-chemical
pollution - were factored in.

-The USDA reports that animals in the US meat industry produce 61
million tons of waste each year, which is 130 times the volume of human
waste - or five tons for every US citizen.

-The pollution from animal waste causes respiratory problems, skin
infections, nausea, depression and even death for people who live near
factory farms. Livestock waste has been linked to six miscarriages in women
living near a hog factory in Indiana.

-Overuse of antibiotics in animals is causing more strains of
drug-resistant bacteria, which is affecting the treatment of various
life-threatening diseases in humans.

-Antibiotics in farm animals leave behind drug-resistant microbes in
meat and milk. With every burger and shake consumed, super-microbes settle
in the stomach where they transfer drug resistance to bacteria in the body,
making one more vulnerable to previously-treatable conditions.

-Poultry processing has almost double the injury and illness rate than
trades like coal mining and construction.

and here are some facts on how the animals fare in such a system:

-Each full-grown chicken in a factory farm has as little as six-tenths
of a square foot of space. Because of the crowding, they often become
aggressive and sometimes eat each other. This has lead to the painful
practice of debeaking the birds.

-Hogs become aggressive in tight spaces and often bite each other's
tails, which has caused many farmers to cut the tails off.

-Ammonia and other gases from manure irritate animals' lungs, to the
point where over 80% of US pigs have pneumonia upon slaughter.

-Due to genetic manipulation, 90% of broiler chickens have trouble
walking.

For additional facts, please visit www.organicconsumers.org/toxic/factoryfarm.cfm.