UNICEF and Children's Rights

We Are What We Eat

KIDPROJ UNICEF04 ---------------- From W.J.Parks@durham.ac.uk Mon Dec 20 03:17:14 1993 ====================================================================== WEEK 4: 'WE ARE WHAT WE EAT' Aim: To introduce the topics of food and nutrition in relation to children's lives and across cultures. "The worst sufferers were the children; starving children were skeletons, many too far gone to be able to walk. The skin over the chest-bones and upper part of the stomach was stretched so tight that every curve of the breastbone and ribs stood out." (from 'The Great Hunger' by Cecil Woodham-Smith) Africa 1993 ? No, Ireland 1847. This week's topic will allow us to discuss the problems of eating and the reasons for malnourishment both in Developed Countries and in Developing countries. It is a distressing fact to know that approximately 5 million people in the UK are not eating a sufficiently nutritious diet every day because of lack of money. Why? 'People anywhere in the world can go hungry when they loose their access to food, for whatever reason. It can be because of diminished purchasing power, it can be because of breakdowns in the normal food distribution system. Adverse environmental conditions often trigger or exacerbate a food shortage, but are not usually the sole cause of people starving' (Heather Jarvis, Unicef Education Officer 1992). WHAT OTHER REASONS ARE THERE FOR FOOD SHORTAGES AROUND THE WORLD? NAME SOME COUNTRIES WHERE FOOD SHORTAGES HAVE OCCURRED RECENTLY OR ARE OCCURRING NOW. This lesson plan hopes to show that our own range of choice, that we take so much for granted, is based on a structure which could also break down under certain conditions. A good idea is to collect some food labels and adverts before starting this lesson (see especially part 3)... - - - - - - - - (1) FOOD-U-LIKE. Why do we need food? What food do you like eating and why, and what do you not like eating, and why not? If you were given $5.00 to spend on a day's food, what would you buy and why? What couldn't you afford that you would like to have? What food do you usually regard as luxuries that you only eat on special occasions? Why is this? What do you think are the cheapest foods that you eat? What do you think are the most expensive foods that you eat? What factors do you think control your choice of food at home and at school (parents, teachers, cooks, supplies etc.)? What kind of food do you eat at home? Why do you think you are given these foods? What kind of food does your school provide? Why do you think it provides these foods? What do you think you should eat to be healthy? Are these the same foods you eat at home and at school? Carry out a class survey: find out what your class eats for: (a) breakfast; (b) lunch; (c) supper; (d) snacks. Are the foods you eat different from other classes (older/younger children)? - - - - - - - - (2) FOOD CHOICE FACTORS. For two to three days record all the different types of food you eat; the time you eat, where you eat it and with whom. Construct a diary of your eating habits (not how you slurp soup for example! but how your day is influenced by eating). Work out: (a) the time(s) of day when you eat most the time(s) when you are hungriest; (b) the type(s) of food you like eating most the type(s) of food you eat most; (c) the place(s) you usually eat and why you eat there; (d) the people you eat most with most often and why. Think about some of the reasons you don't eat certain types of food. What are the reasons you don't eat these types of food? What other reasons are there (e.g. religion, health, moral)? Discuss these reasons in more detail e.g. if you don't eat meat, why don't you? - - - - - - - - (3) FOOD ON THE CATWALK (fashion food). Sometimes a new food is brought out which becomes an overnight success, like a new flavour of crisps or a new kind of fast food. Sometimes we get ideas from other countries like eating muesli or drinking mineral water. Sometimes nutritionalists become concerned about what goes into certain foods and warn us against them. Then people start to think about what they are eating and avoid certain foods or ingredients, like foods with a lot of fat or foods which contain artificial ingredients. Have you changed your eating habits in the last year or two? Why? What have you been influenced in your choices of food by (friends, concern for your health or appearance, advertising for certain products, things that you've learnt about food production i.e. moral choices? What do you think about the current fashions in food? Advertisers not only try to start food fashions, they also use the public's interest in the latest health messages in their adverts. Look at or collect some food advertisements: what current food fashions are the advertisers of the product referring to? How is the product shown (lighting and size; background; people in the advert, their ages, if there are children, are they anything like you)? Look at the wording in the adverts (e.g. "natural", "wholemeal", "healthy", "no artificial preservatives" etc.). Why do advertisers use these words? Who is the advert appealing to? When and where did you see it? Who watches/reads that? Does the advert work? Would people be persuaded to buy the product? Now design your own advertisement for a food product. Remember it is important to decide who you wnat to buy your food - who is your target audience? - - - - - - - - (4) NUTRITION. If you were a nutritionist what would you recommend people to eat and why? Four messages to improve our diet: (a) "eat more fibre"; (b) "eat less fats"; (c) "eat less salt"; (d) "eat less sugar". Give your reasons behind these messages e.g. why should we eat more fibre and less sugar? Name some foods which contain fats, salt, and sugar, and compare these foods with those that contain fibre and minimal fat,salt, and sugar. Compare these foods with those you recorded in your own class survey (section 1 above). Do you have a health diet?! How about your friends and family, are they eating healthy food or not? What could you do to change your diet? - - - - - - - - (5) GROWING AND BUYING FOOD. What do plants need to make them grow? How important is appropriate soil and rainfall and what can be the dangers of too little rainfall and sunlight or too much rainfall and sunlight? How useful are fertilizers and what hazards do they come with? What effect does the use of fertilizer have on the cost of the crop? Can all farmers afford fertilizers? What natural fertilizers are there? What hazards to these bring with them? What is 'slash-and-burn'? What effect does burning stubble and undergrowth have on the atmosphere? The brightly packaged food we take for granted on our supermarket shelves often contains produce from many other countries. Visit a local grocer or supermarket and find out where a selection of items of food come from, who the manufacturers are, and also the name of the parent company if there is one (this may be printed very small or in the form of a logo). What food does your country import and what food does your country export? What are the differences between the imports and exports (e.g. price, imports are very often in the form of raw material whereas exports have been processed)? What effect does processing the raw material have on the price of exports? How do you think this affects those countries buying our exports? Crops which are grown in developing countries to meet the demand of industrialized countries are called what? They are called **** ***** because they are grown to bring foreign exchange into the producing country. (The currency of many developing countries have no value outside their borders, so they cannot be used to buy goods from other countries. Therefore they need to earn foreign exchange). What effects does a drop in the market value of these crops have on the producing country? What are the consequences for the country's economy and general welfare? Name some important links necessary to get food from where it is harvested to where it can be sold and eaten? With each link (e.g. 'trucks and roads') name some of the potential problems that might occur and what effect these problems have on the food being transported e.g. livestock, fruit, etc.. What methods are available to preserve food? Make a list of the food items that you eat regularly (see section 1). Compare the prices of these items at your local grocers, at the largest supermarket in your area, and at another supermarket. What differences are there in the prices of these items? Why are there differences? - - - - - - - - (6) COMMUNITY-PROJECT FOR FOOD. Find out about a local charity organization that is helping people in your local area cope with food shortages. Perhaps contact a local newspaper and express your views in an article about how *you* and your friends and family can help people to cope with food shortages in your local area. Find out from the charity what problems these people face, what causes these problems, and how the charity helps them. REMEMBER - ACT LOCAL, THINK GLOBAL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Happy thinking!