Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes	Part A: Food production
15 minutes	Part B: Our ability to feed ourselves
30 minutes	Part C: Sustainable food production
05 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Food production

Step 1.

Discuss:

What are some forms of food production that you know of? Humans grow a variety of crops, and have domesticated a variety of animals for consumption. However, you may also want to touch on innovations such as 3D printing food, or lab-grown meat.
Should we be able to eat whatever we want, all year round? This speaks to the emissions costs of transporting food from overseas by plane and boat, and the energy use required to store or preserve foods. And perhaps also the entitlement present in our diets.
Do we grow food sustainably? This is what we will discover in this lesson. For now, you might like to mention that in Australia it takes 6 litres of water to produce a single almond.

Step 2.

Watch:

Change the Way You Think About Food (youtube.com/watch?v=s_JLmxhnpNY)

Part B: Our ability to feed ourselves

Step 1.

Explain that by 2050 humans will require 70% more food, 120% more water and 42% more crop land (Source). This means we need to think carefully about how we're sustainably producing food.

Step 2.

Independently or as a class, students read the IPCC Report's findings on future food security found on the Student Worksheet.

Step 3.

As a class, unpack and list on the whiteboard all the ways in which the IPCC anticipates climate change will affect our future food security.

Step 4.

The World Economic Forum’s report offers four potential scenarios for the future of our food.

As a class, read through the four points below (also found on Part 2 of the Student Worksheet) and check students' understanding of each point, including discussing any unfamiliar words.

Unchecked consumption: We continue to use more resources than the earth can regenerate. We are using 1.6 Earths' worth of resources every day. That is, we use 60% more than the earth is actually producing, leaving us eating into our reserves and creating a deficit.
Survival of the richest: Countries are allowed to charge whatever they want for trade. Citizens can eat whatever they can afford to buy or grow.
Local is the new global: Countries produce only their only food.
Open-source sustainability: Countries work together to produce food for the world. Countries grow what they are good at, and trade for the rest. People work together and share new ideas to improve the way we produce food.

Step 5.

In small groups, students conduct a 'Good, bad, better' activity on these scenarios using their student worksheets.

Good, bad, better

A GBB is a tool for evaluating ideas and scenarios by putting aside our prejudices and innate ways of thinking and instead looking at topics with empathy and critical and creative thinking.

Students should work in small groups and spend three minutes on each of the filters below, starting with only 'good'. Students should go around the group and offer one idea at a time. No idea is a bad idea, and everyone has to have something to say. As the teacher, keep track of the time. After three minutes, move the groups onto 'bad'.

Good. What is good about this idea? What did you really like about this concept? What is the main point in its favour that you would use to promote it to others? Remember, there is always someone benefiting from an idea, even if someone else is simultaneously suffering. We're looking for the benefits as part of the good.

Bad. What's not so great about this idea? Are there any potential drawbacks, such as cost, size, or difficulty in implementation? Who or what is it hurt if things are done like this? Even if you like the idea, try to find some problems or negatives.

Better. How could you improve this solution so that it worked even better, or mitigate some of its drawbacks? Time to get creative. You can't change this idea wholesale, but there might be some tweaks you can make to fix it or improve it.

Alternatively, you might want to allocate only one point to each group for analysis.

Step 6.

Each group nominates a speaker to share their analysis with the class.

Here are some helpful talking points:

Unchecked consumption: not much to say about this one, other than it is the way we are currently heading.
Survival of the richest: well-off countries and especially their richest citizens will be fine, but the gap between rich and poor will widen. Food (and energy) form a disproportionately high amount of overall spending for the worst-off in our society. Many may not be able to afford sustainably produced food, so-called 'food poverty'. It's also unlikely that environmental problems and climate change will improve, as there won't be enough incentive for those in power to create change because it is not affecting them.
Local is the new global: countries without good agricultural land face a difficult choice between overusing resources or risking hunger.
Open-source sustainability: resource-efficient consumption and strong trade help to provide food while protecting the environment. But relying on produce from around the world means local extreme weather and economic or political shocks will affect people worldwide. Also, we may continue to consume unabated.

Part C: Sustainable food production

Step 1.

Explain that, as our population continues to grow, by 2050, humans will require 70% more food, 120% more water and 42% more cropland. With the current way we produce food is unsustainable, these figures will be unsustainable.

The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report makes it clear that climate change will have a major impact on food security around the world due to the way it will reduce the ability of our current methods of producing food.

While the World Economic Forum’s report's scenario of open-source sustainability does help to spread the load globally, it is not without its challenges.

The best scenario would be an as yet undiscovered or underutilized option which allows Australia to produce all the foods we want on our own turf in a sustainable way.

This is what students will be investigating in this activity.

Step 2.

(These instructions can also be found on the Student Worksheet.)

Independently, students investigate some methods of addressing climate change and sustainable food production. Students can research whatever methods they might find interesting, but here are some to get them started.

Food waste. A large amount of produce is wasted for not meeting retail cosmetic standards. This means that the food looks 'ugly' and won't be bought by consumers in the supermarket. All of the energy towards production, transportation, and processing of this food, therefore, goes to waste. This modern culture of waste must be addressed. If we can lower the food waste ratio from 33% of all food produced to 10%, we will save 1 gigatonne of carbon emissions per year.
Alternative food sources. The idea of farming insects and jellyfish are just some examples of the innovative suggestions that have been made for diversifying protein sources beyond traditional meats (beef, lamb, chicken) and soya. This would also allow countries without great access to these traditional proteins to improve their diets.
Agroforestry. The interaction of trees and agriculture provides the biological infrastructure on farms that make them robust and resilient.
Urban agriculture. The practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. This reduces the emissions costs of transporting our food from further outside urban areas, and reduces the demands of deforestation to create more land for agriculture. It also gives people who might be struggling access to nutritious food options. This is more than just a backyard or community garden. It includes aquaponics and systems for making smaller food-growing spaces incredibly efficient.
Vertical farming. The practice of growing crops using soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics in vertically stacked layers.

Step 3.

Using the Student Worksheet, students record a summary of the technology or solution they have investigated.

Step 4.

Students conduct a final 'Good, bad, better' on their investigation.

What did you really like about this solution? How would you promote it to others?
What's not so great about this solution? Are there any potential drawbacks, such as cost, size, or difficulty in implementation?
How could you improve this solution so that it worked even better, or mitigate some of its drawbacks?

Reflection

Select some students to present their 'Good, bad, better' to the whole class.

Reflect on the fact that there are solutions to the climate challenges we are facing, and there are people who are working to address the unsustainability of how we're currently operating.

Teacher reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

IPCC - How Does Climate Change Affect Food Production?

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