Future Foods: Fortify Your Students with the Real-World Science of Sustainability
Did you know food systems are responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions? That’s a pretty alarming figure, but where does it come from?
If you’re a middle-school teacher, this might sound like just the sort of question a curious student would ask—big, challenging, and definitely not addressed anywhere in their textbook. Fear not! “Future Foods” is here to help students dig into the data and find the answers. This unit is supported by researchers at the National Science Foundation-funded Center for Food Innovation and Diversification to Advance the Bioeconomy (FoodID).
Feeding the World Sustainably
Ensuring everyone has access to food that is delicious, affordable, and healthy for people and the planet is one of the key challenges facing the next generation of global citizens and scientists. FoodID researchers are developing new food products and processes to work toward this goal. In addition to growing students’ curiosity about the science of traditional and novel food production methods, Future Foods empowers students—both as current consumers and as future food engineers and innovators—to participate actively in envisioning a more sustainable food future for all of us.
- What is a carbon footprint?
- What stages of production (from farm to table) have the biggest impact on the carbon footprint of foods?
- What are possible solutions to minimize the impact of our food supply on climate change?
- NGSS | MS-ESS3-5: Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
Carbon “Foodprints”: Farm to Table
Our food system is vast and complex, with many different steps and interacting components. To understand how each component of the food supply chain—from farm to table and beyond—contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and a warming planet, students will learn about the concept of a “carbon footprint.” They will analyze and compare the carbon footprints of various foods using the interactive platform OurWorldinData, then dig deeper to discover which stages of food production contribute most to the carbon footprints.
Equipped with this knowledge, students will consider opportunities to minimize the climate impact of the food they eat—their overall carbon “foodprint.” They’ll reflect on personal, family, and community-level food choices that might reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next 5-10 years. Then, inspired by cutting-edge research that is creating more sustainable forms of familiar foods, students will become future food engineers, imagining innovative solutions to reduce the climate impact of our food system in the next 10-20 years and beyond.
A slide from the lesson 1 presentation, guiding student interpretation of carbon emissions data through our PPSTT framework for making sense of any graph.
Digging into Data
The Future Foods mini-unit includes two 45-minute lessons. The first lets students flex their data analysis muscles, evaluating the carbon footprints of commonly consumed foods and calculating the total carbon footprint of their favorite meal. In the second lesson, students will use critical thinking and scientific argumentation to draw evidence-based conclusions about what makes certain foods more sustainable than others.
A third lesson, scheduled for release later this year, will introduce students to current research that is harnessing the power of plants and microbes to feed a growing population while also protecting the planet. Students will apply what they learn about cutting-edge food technologies and use their problem-solving savvy to remix their favorite dish and create a more sustainable version.
Interdisciplinary by Nature
And Future Foods aligns with so much more than “just” science standards. Using data to discover the story of their favorite meal offers students an appealing and relatable point of entry into systems thinking; motivates them to share and compare findings with their peers; and empowers them to apply what they learn in creative ways to reduce their own carbon “foodprint.” In the process, they will find that food sustainability has economic and social as well as environmental and scientific aspects. Supplementary learning materials include comprehensive resources from The EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health and Nourish initiative, and articles from OurWorldinData.org that explore specific topics like plant-based milk and locally sourced food (SPOILER: buying local doesn’t reduce your carbon footprint much, but it is likely more sustainable in other ways). An optional lesson extension investigates the origins and limitations of the carbon footprint metaphor, using it as a springboard to consider the role metaphors play in helping us make sense of the world more broadly.
To get the flavor of Future Foods, check out the unit below, and get ready to serve up a heaping helping of interdisciplinary, student-centered learning in your classroom!
