Teachers’ notes – Food for thought
Synopsis
Initially, learners see images of the different kinds of foods that people might buy and are told
that 1/3 of the food that is bought in the U.K. is thrown away. Learners are encouraged to
consider the implications of this statistic and food wastage both locally and globally. They
consider where the food we eat comes from originally and where these plants and animals
might live and grow. Learners are then required to explore the journey made by different
ingredients on their way to the plate and encouraged to discuss the environmental and
economic implications of these stages in production. They think about and discuss what they
know about foods that are produced in their local area, recording their ideas as questions in a
KWHL grid.
A series of images of different types of food provides a stimulus for learners to explore where
in the world our food comes from. They then consider why Wales might import foods from
other countries. The final tab in this activity requires learners to consider their ideas about
food miles. They are required to consider the food they typically eat and to explore where in
the world it is produced and how many food miles it travels before they buy it.
Curriculum links
The sustainable Earth:
1. the daily and annual movements of the Earth and their effect on day and year length
2. the relative positions and key features of the Sun and planets in the solar system
3. a comparison of the features and properties of some natural and made materials
4. the properties of materials relating to their uses
5. how some materials are formed or produced
Skills
Communication: 1 & 2
Enquiry – Planning: 2 & 3
Enquiry – Developing: 5, 6 & 7
Enquiry – Reflecting: 5 & 6
Activities
Tab 1
This tab shows examples of the different kinds of foods that people
might buy. The images are accompanied by text that states ‘1/3 of
the food we buy we throw away!’ – This information relates to UK
households and is taken from the website ‘www.wrap.org.uk.’
Encourage the learners to name and discuss what they know
about the different foods they see in the photographs.
The average household in Wales throws away £520 worth of food
a year. There are many reasons why food might be thrown away.
For example, too much is bought, too much is prepared, it goes
rotten, it goes past its sell-by date, supermarkets over-stocking,
spoilt during cooking, refused at the table, etc.
The learners could be encouraged to discuss both the economic
and environmental implications of these statistics and consider
Unit 2.2.4 teachers’ notes – Food for thought
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food wastage around the world and how Wales and the UK
compare to other countries.
Learners might also consider what happens to waste food and the
dangers associated with recycling waste food.
Tab 2
The aim of this tab is to engage the learner in thinking about and
discussing that all the food we eat comes from somewhere
originally – not just the supermarket. Initially, ask learners to
identify each of the twelve different food sources that are
generated by clicking on the
button – eggs, cheese, leeks,
cereal, milk, carrot, mushroom, butter, apple, prawn, mushrooms
and lamb. Encourage them to consider where the plants and
animals might live and grow, where their food comes from, how it
might be made and transported.
Tab 3
This tab suggests to learners that ‘Shepherd’s pie’ is a familiar
meal eaten in Wales. They are required to consider one of the
main ingredients and trace the journey of this ingredient from its
origin through to being in the pie, identifying the stages involved
and showing how the material changes. For example:
A potato growing in a field – Picked – taken to a cleaning depot –
sorting depot – packaged – transported to a supermarket –
bought – transported to home – cooked. Encourage learners to
discuss some of the environmental and economic implications of
the many stages in food production.
Tab 4
This tab requires learners to think about and discuss what they
know about foods that are produced in their local area. They are
encouraged to raise questions about what else they would like to
find out and to record their ideas in a KWHL grid (DCELLS ‘How
to develop thinking and assessment for learning in the
classroom’)
Tab 5
This tab asks learners to look at a series of images of different
types of food and to consider which country each food might
have come from. Rollover questions encourage learners to
consider the foods supplied in local shops and supermarkets and
to identify which foods could have been produced locally.
Bananas: Ecuador, Costa Rica, Philippines and Columbia. India
is by far the largest producer but this is mainly for domestic
consumption.
Coconuts: Philippines, Indonesia, India.
Noodles: Vietnam
Unit 2.2.4 teachers’ notes – Food for thought
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Peanuts: China (produces about 33%), India, USA.
Oranges: Brazil (Over 25%), USA, Mexico.
Pasta: Italy
Pineapples: Production dominated by Southeast Asia – Thailand
and Philippines mainly – Costa Rica one of the largest exporters.
Rice: Thailand, India, Vietnam and USA.
Curry powder: India
Tuna: Japan & Taiwan account for about 30% - Spain largest
producer in Europe.
Tab 6
This tab encourages learners to consider why Wales might
import foods from other countries. They are asked to consider
what is good and not so good about importing food.
Tab 7
Food miles are usually thought of as the distance a food product
might have travelled from when it was produced until it reaches
the consumer. It is argued that air transportation of food has
negative effects on the environment. It might be argued that
Wales could potentially be self-sufficient as it has an abundance
of natural food resources.
The tab requires learners to consider the food they typically eat
and to explore the countries that this food comes from. They are
asked to find out where these countries are in the world and how
far away they are from Wales. A table is provided for learners to
record their findings.
Unit 2.2.4 teachers’ notes – Food for thought
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