Grade 6 Learns How Food Gets from the Farm to Their Plate
Posted January 23, 2012
Our grade 6 students just started exploring the process food goes through to get from the farm to their plate and how this system affects the environment.
As an example, students discussed corn and its byproducts, such as high fructose corn syrup, and watched clips of the documentary King Corn, about the excessive use of processed corn in America and how processed food products can lead to empty calories.
These observations led to conversations about nutrition and how food impacts the body, and this week students gave oral reports on nutrition questions they had chosen to research. Each student prepared a display to support the information he or she shared with the class: what amino acids are, for example, and how vegans and vegetarians get enough protein in their diets.
As part of this study unit, our students will also explore the necessity and the environmental impacts of packaging and transportation involved in the food system, including a comparison of organic, locally grown and commercially grown produce.
