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Lesson 6

We will review the elements and definition of a food system by creating our own food system map as a class. We will review our claims formed at the end of Lesson 3 and incorporate different global challenges facing food into our understanding of the food system.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I express an accurate understanding of the concept of a food system and the different key players, as introduced in the texts?

  • Can I recognize points of connection among key players, elements, and issues of the food system, and how these connections impact each other, using examples from the texts?

  • Do I work productively in various roles with other participants to create a sample food system map in collaboration with my class?

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • “Food System Primer: The Food System,” Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins University
    • “The Dizzying Grandeur of 21st-Century Agriculture,” George Steinmetz, The New York Times, 2016
  • Unit Reader
    • “Nourish Food System Map,” Nourish, WorldLink, 2014

Materials

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will review our notes from the texts read so far in section 1 to determine some of the major issues facing the global Food system.

Read through your notes on the materials you have read during this section. Pick one main issue that you think is most pressing, relevant or interesting, which you determined while writing your claim and during the class discussion.

Share your chosen issue with the rest of the class.

Activity 2: Discuss – Write

We will construct a Food map as a class, starting with a meal commonly consumed in the us. we will add different elements, influences, and issues that connect to this meal and how it got to the plate.

A picture of a meal commonly consumed in the US (e.g., burger, fries, and a soda) will be drawn or posted in front of the class.

In small groups or pairs, come up with a list of important elements and issues involved in getting these food items to your plate, including different people involved in the process; social, economic, and environmental considerations; and possible challenges that this meal might face in getting to your plate.

Draw or write out the things you identify as a group, each on its own card or piece of paper.

Activity 3: Write

We will construct a Food system map as a group, using the different issues and elements we came up with in small groups or pairs.

Once you have written out or drawn your different issues or elements, place them on the board with arrows to where they connect to the meal or other elements in the food system.

Keep in mind that one element or issue might connect to multiple places in the system. Try to connect as many of these elements and issues as possible, especially as more things are added to the map by your peers.

Activity 4: Discuss

We will review the Food map we created as a class and discuss the activities that produced the meal.

As a class, we will discuss how the activity went, using the following guiding questions:

  1. What did you learn from this activity?

  2. What issues or elements are missing from the map? Are there issues or elements that came up more than once? If so, which ones?

  3. What questions do you have about certain food issues? What do you want to learn more about?

  4. What are some potential ideas for how to solve some of the issues listed on the map?

  5. Where do you see the most connections? Where do you see the fewest connections?