Skip to Main Content

Section 3: Overview

The Global Food System: Challenges and Responses

We will continue to analyze issues and arguments that advocate for possible solutions to challenges within the food system by delineating and evaluating arguments from various perspectives and determining which ones we find most compelling. We will examine topics related to what the future of food production might look like, including possible new technologies and solutions to some of the biggest challenges and issues presented so far in the unit. Through reading, analysis, and discussion, we will address the Central Question: How do we feed a growing population in a viable way? We also will pursue the following questions: What are the most pressing challenges facing the future of the global food system? How should we go about addressing those challenges? Each of us will frame, explain, and defend a perspective and position in response to these questions, which will lead to the development of an argument in Sections 4 and 5.

  • Lesson 1:

    We will begin to address the subtopic question: Are new technologies, such as indoor urban agriculture and vertical farming, viable solutions to sustaining a global food system? We will learn about new technologies and innovations that have developed as a response to the challenge of sustainably feeding a growing global population by listening to an interview with a journalist who discusses what food might look like in the future. We will analyze some of the major challenges discussed in the interview as well as possible solutions.

  • Lesson 2:

    We will continue to learn about new technologies and innovations that have developed as a response to the challenge of sustainably feeding a growing global population, examining the following question: Are new technologies, such as indoor urban agriculture and vertical farming, viable solutions to sustaining a global food system? We will critically examine some of the proposed solutions and analyze perspectives that challenge some of these developments. We will participate in an activity and write a short claim based on a proposed solution that we think is a sustainable and viable option for growing food to meet a burgeoning population.

  • Lesson 3:

    We will continue to explore the subtopic question: Are new technologies, such as indoor urban agriculture and vertical farming, viable solutions to sustaining a global food system? We will learn about a solution aimed at increasing access to sustainably grown food: vertical farming. We will watch a video and read an article that provide varying perspectives on the impact of this solution and proposed new technology. We will practice delineating arguments of two opposed positions and continue to think about the environmental, economic, social, and farming impacts of the proposed new solutions.

  • Lesson 4:

    We will read two articles about global meat consumption and its impact on farming and the environment, examining the subtopic questions: Is industrial agriculture a sustainable means of feeding the world? If so, why? If not, what might some alternative solutions be? We will think of possible responses to these questions and read a piece that cautions against proposed solutions. Students will evaluate the claims in each piece and then participate in a speed debate that will allow each student to practice forming evidence-based claims quickly with a partner.

  • Lesson 5:

    We will discuss the concept of local food systems and examine some of the different perspectives about how they can be used to support environmental, economic, and societal systems. We will consider the subtopic questions: Is regionalization a viable alternative to a globalized food system? If so, why? If not, what role, if any, should local food factor in? We will watch a short video that outlines some of the benefits of local food systems and read selections from a book that cautions against the predominant use of local food systems as a means to create a more sustainable food system. We will begin to think and write about our own perspectives based on the ideas introduced in this section, as well as previous texts in the unit that address this topic.

  • Lesson 6:

    We will review some of the major topics discussed in this unit and how they fit into the greater food system by looking at the Culminating Task Checklist and reviewing the subtopic questions. We will pay specific attention to some of the challenges that have been addressed, as well as some of the potential solutions that were posed. In small groups, we will think about our own perspectives and brainstorm some of the differing points of view. We will determine a position on a subtopic question and begin to delineate an argument we can present for review in the Section Diagnostic.

  • Lesson 7:

    In a peer review, we will each present and delineate a proposed argument in response to the Section Diagnostic questions. We will use our peers’ feedback to revise elements of our argument and submit them for review to our teacher.

  • Lesson 8:

    We will review feedback on the Section Diagnostic. We will use the feedback to make revisions to our work.

  • Lesson 9:

    We will share the understanding we have gained through our independent reading and continue to read our texts.