1.2 Where does our food come from?

Teacher & Student Materials > Feeding a Hungry Planet

1.2 Where does our food come from?

Lesson Overview

Guiding question:

Where does our food come from?

90 minutes

Purpose:

In this lesson, students will understand the challenges of our current food system and its ability to provide for a growing population. They will raise questions about the future of food production by reading and interpreting information from graphs.

Overview:

Design Principles:

Contextualized in the issue
Practice oriented

Background Knowledge:

All necessary background knowledge will come from this lesson.

Common Misconceptions:

Safety:

Unit Connections:

Teacher

Teacher slides: 1.2 Where does our food come from?
Whiteboards

Student

Student material: 1.2 Global agriculture
Student material: 1.2 Crop production and population

Instructional Sequence

Materials:

Teacher slides: 1.2 Where does our food come from?
Student material: 1.2 Global agriculture
Student material: 1.2 Crop production and population

Where does your food come from? (Slide 2)

Students share findings from their table.

Summarize: Now let’s look at some of these ingredients from a global perspective.

Student led discussion

Global agriculture production (Slide 3)

Student materials:

1.2 Global agriculture

Before looking at the global maps, ask students to write these questions in a worksheet and think about them as they view the maps.

What are the three countries that are major producers for every type of food?
Which continents are least represented as major producers?
Is that significant for providing food locally and globally?
Don’t people in countries like Argentina eat tomatoes?

Global / local dynamic

Teacher led whole class discussion

Top producers of wheat, beef and tomatoes (Slides 4-6)

Look at some top producing countries of some of the ingredients of pizza and hamburgers that we identified.

Wheat (slide 4): Wheat is used to make pizza dough and hamburger buns.

Beef (slide 5): Are you surprised by any of these countries?

Tomato (slide 6)

Checking questions (slide 7)

The three countries that are major producers are the USA, India and China. The three of them are big countries in the northern hemisphere with varied climates. Which continents are least represented as major producers? Africa, Australia, and South America.

Is that significant for providing food locally? This doesn’t mean that these products are not produced in these continents. For example, Israel grows wheat, but only 25% of its needs, so it needs to import the rest. Many countries grow produce for local consumption only.

Whole-class discussion

Local land for agriculture and food production (slide 8)

44.4% of land in the USA is used for agriculture. Let the students find out what crops are mainly grown in their states and communities.

This is a place for localization.

Data analysis and Argumentation (Slides 9-16)

Student material: 1.2 Crop production and population

Students will be introduced to the global challenges faced by our existing food system in meeting the needs of a growing population, accompanied by multiple graphs.

Land for agriculture

Opportunity to engage with bar graphs – ask students to verbally describe the data in the graphs.

The discussion should lead to the issue of population – how many people do we need to feed.

Population growth

Ask the students to describe the graphs, this time line graphs.

After determining the growth trajectory, ask the students: What do you think the population size will be in 2050?

Encourage students to use the CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) model to build group argumentation on the whiteboard. They can use the table that the teacher shared. After creating their arguments, they will share them using a ‘sharing argumentation protocol.’ Once all the boards are prepared, we will share them with our classmates following a protocol.

When they share ideas and critique publicly, these are the questions that students can use.

Students will enhance the original arguments they already have based on feedback, and then they will share the final arguments in groups with the whole class.

After the argumentation activity, ask students: What are possible solutions?

Offer some ideas and emphasize that these questions will be addressed throughout the unit.

Maybe recall some of the features of solutions from the water and fuel units (e.g., increasing water use efficiency.)

Additional ideas: Make croplands more productive, change crop use, change your diet, develop new technologies/processes for food production

Keep record of student ideas for later in the unit.

Argumentation

Group discussion

Ultra-processed foods (Slide 19)

One way to feed more people is to use food processing techniques that preserve food.

In this slide, you can see different levels of processing for one food product. In the past decades, with the advancement of food processing technologies, ultra-processed foods are becoming popular across the developed world and a symbol of advancement in developing countries (i.e., Coca-Cola in Africa).

Food processing has benefits and drawbacks, both on a personal and global environmental level.

Information for Planning & Teaching

Background Knowledge
Lesson Timing
Student ideas & Experiences
Science Practices
Teaching Cases

Background Knowledge:

What is CER?
Ultra processed foods and the NOVA classification

The NOVA classification a food classification system developed by the NOVA Research Center in Brazil ) is endorsed by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and is the most widely researched and validated food processing classification.

NOVA categorises food based on the extent and purpose of industrial processing. It classifies food into four levels, which are:

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: This level includes natural, whole foods that have undergone minimal or no processing. Examples include fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, eggs, and milk.
Processed culinary ingredients: This level comprises substances obtained from unprocessed foods, such as oils, fats, sugars, salt, and other substances used in culinary preparations. These ingredients are typically added to enhance the flavor, texture, or appearance of dishes.
Processed foods: This level includes foods that have undergone processing to improve their taste, extend their shelf life, or make them more convenient to consume. This category includes canned fruits and vegetables, cured meats, cheeses, and bread. Although they may contain additives, processed foods usually retain some of their original nutritional value.
Ultra-processed foods: This level encompasses highly processed food products made with industrial formulations. They often contain minimal amounts of whole foods and instead rely heavily on additives, artificial ingredients, and synthetic substances. Examples include packaged snacks, sugary drinks, ready-to-eat meals, and fast food. Ultra-processed foods are not technically “foods” but “edible industrial substances.” They are designed to be cheap, convenient, durable, extremely tasty and attractively packaged. They are heavily marketed and created to displace all other foods and dishes.

The NOVA food classification system helps to raise awareness about the degree of processing involved in different food products and promotes a focus on whole and minimally processed foods for a healthier diet.

Some examples of ultra-processed foods commonly consumed by teenagers include:

Packaged snacks: This category includes items like potato chips, pretzels, flavored crackers, and packaged cookies or pastries.
Sugary drinks: Soft drinks, energy drinks, sweetened juices, flavored water, and sports drinks are all examples of sugary beverages that fall into the ultra-processed category.
Fast food: Burgers, fries, pizza, fried chicken, and other fast food items are typically highly processed and often high in unhealthy fats, sodium, and added sugars.
Frozen convenience meals: Frozen pizzas, microwaveable meals, instant noodles, and pre-packaged frozen snacks fall into this category.
Sweetened breakfast cereals: Many breakfast cereals targeted at teenagers are highly processed and loaded with added sugars.
Processed meats: Hot dogs, sausages, deli meats, and other processed meat products often contain additives and high levels of sodium.

More about Ultra-processed foods

According to a recent study (link here) ultra-processed foods are the main source (nearly 58%) of calories eaten in the US, and contribute almost 90% of the energy we get from added sugars. Diets with higher proportions of ultra-processed foods (in terms of energy intake or weight of consumed food) are prospectively associated with various increased health risks (for example type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease). (link to article here).

Ultra-processed foods not only affect human health but also the health of the environment. Driven by their intense production and overconsumption, a negative environmental impact exists across the food chain, encompassing production, processing, packaging, storage, distribution, and consumption.