Ready for action?
Resources
Web links
Tangible Resources
world map, coloured string, markers, computers/tablets for internet access, calculator
Human Resources
students could speak to parents about food at home
Goals, messages & concepts
Specific goals
- Students learn about the origin of the products they eat every day.
- Students know the consequences of buying and consuming products from distant countries for local and global ecosystems.
Specific messages
- Large-scale plantations established in rainforest areas.
- The negative impact of global transport on water and air pollution, and the decline of biodiversity.
Main terms
- filtration
- sealing
- biodiversity
- pollution
- lifecycle
Practices & skills
STEM practices
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
- Asking questions and defining problems
Soft skills
- Teamwork and collaboration
Management skills
- Use of resources
Course of activity
step 1
Ask students to write down all the products that made up their meals yesterday (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) or describe the ingredients of their favourite dish (template on A4 paper - list of ingredients + mileage).
step 2
Discuss the origin and the route of transport of common foods consumed (potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, avocados, cocoa, soya, rice, meat, fish, etc.).
step 3
Students work in groups of 3:
- They seek information on the origin of the products on their lists. Students use Google Earth to identify the transport route from the country of origin to this country.
- They calculate the number of kilometres each product has travelled. Each student sums up the number of kilometres for products on his/her list. For products originating in the same country enter 0.
- Students will choose five products which have taken the longest route.
- They mark the route of the products on the map by sticking string in appropriate colours (e.g. green for vegetables, blue for fruit, yellow for seeds and cereals, red for meat/fish, white for dairy products) from the place of production to their country.
step 4
Students then rank their cards in the order from the lowest to the highest total value of the list of kilometres from the product lists.
step 5
Each group presents the results of their work.
step 6
Working in pairs, students will list all known effects of buying products from distant countries on local and global ecosystems.
step 7
The pairs will merge into groups of 4, then choose the three most important effects and illustrate these.
step 8
Groups place the results of their work on a table shared by all groups to be discussed as a class.