Food Choices and Climate Change

Module 3 Lesson 6

LESSON 6: FOOD CHOICES AND CLIMATE CHANGE OVERVIEW:

Students will review concepts of the energy pyramid focusing on the loss of usable energy as it moves through food chains from producers to consumers. These ideas will then be used to explain pricing variations relative to vegetables and meats. Because more land is required to support a pound of animal vs. a pound of plants and there are limits to land that can be used for agriculture, the importance of food choice will be explored. As a concluding activity, students will calculate the distance that food ingredients for a standard lunch. In this way, students will also account for the added fossil fuels used in agriculture to provide cities with food.

SUB-QUESTION:
How do our food choices impact energy use?

WAYS OF KNOWING URBAN ECOLOGY:

Understand
Students will Understand how energy transformations in food chains cause the loss of usable energy within the system (forces and drivers, ecosystem change, and ecosystem state and structure). Identify means by which agriculture contributes to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (human impact). No specific goals connected with talking urban ecology in this lesson. Calculate the distance traveled by various foods in a given lunch. No specific goals connected with acting on urban ecology in this lesson.

Talk Do Act

SAFETY GUIDELINES
No specific safety issues are associated with this lesson.

PREPARATION:
Time: 1 class period Materials: Activity 6.1 White board or smart board for PowerPoint Presentation Activity 6.2 Student Worksheets Access to Google Earth Or 1

Food Choices and Climate Change

Module 3 Lesson 6

Access to World and U.S. Maps with Measurement Scale Rulers Calculators Reflection: Student notebooks

INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE
Activity 6.1: Energy Transformations in Food Chains Plants and Animals Require Different Investments 1. A PowerPoint presentation has been provided in order to introduce the idea of energy loss within a food chain and how the choices we make about the food we eat can affect the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Notes have been provided for your use as you present. Time should be given for class discussion around the questions throughout the presentation as well as time given for any additional inquiries. Activity 6.2: How Far Did This Lunch Travel? 1. Introduce Activity 6.2 o In introducing this next activity, you can begin by reminding students of the fact that energy is not only passed from producer to consumer, but humans also invest energy in the transportation required to bring food to us from all over the world. Ask students if they know where in the world most of their food comes from. Students can suggest some foods and their country or state of origin. For example, how are we eating oranges and bananas when banana and orange trees dont grow in the Northeast? Other fruits and vegetables can be used as examples in other parts of the country as needed. 2. Students Complete Activity 6.2 o Have students work in groups using the student sheet as a guide to complete the activity. o Two different student sheets have been provided depending on the method chosen to calculate distances. If computer access is available, you may choose to have students use Google Earth to make the calculations. If not, students may use scaled world maps and a ruler to complete this activity. 3. Discussion of Activity 6.2 o Discuss as a class the student responses to how the lunch could be changed to decrease the travel time. o You may also want to discuss aspects of the activity that students found surprising or noteworthy.

Food Choices and Climate Change

Module 3 Lesson 6

Teacher Background Knowledge From an ecosystems services perspective, the vegetable plants and fruit trees are providing an important and necessary service to humans: food. However, in transporting these products across the globe, the environment is providing other hidden services in the form of carbon-based fuel. Carbon-based fuel, such as gasoline or coal, allows the processing and transportation of foodstuff, and negatively impacts ecosystem state and structure with an increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This has a negative impact on ecosystem change. Buying locally grown and produced food reduces the need for these hidden ecosystem services such as carbon-based fuel. As these products do not travel nearly as far, the fuel needed to transport them is far less. In addition, local fruits and vegetables tend to be fresher due to the fact that less time has elapsed between harvest and sale. They are also less expensive as the consumer does not pay for those hidden ecosystem services. See LocalHarvest (http://www.localharvest.org/) for a directory of places, such as farmers markets, that sell local produce around the United States. Concluding the Lesson As an end of the class reflection, have students consider the following question: How has the growth of cities increased the distance that food travels? Let your students know that in the next lesson they will be exploring how trees can reduce the impact of increased carbon in the carbon cycle.

Food Choices and Climate Change

Module 3 Lesson 6

Name: __________________________ Period/Class: __________________ Date:__________ Activity 6.2: How far did this lunch travel? (Google Earth) Many of us rarely give much thought to where the food we eat originally came from. A lunch bag containing a tuna fish sandwich with a bag of potato chips, a small carton of milk and fruit salad may not seem like an energy sucker, but do you know how far this food traveled to get to the bag? Food Tuna Fish - Chicken of the Sea Bread Mayonnaise Hellmans Potato Chips Milk Horizon Organic Fruit Salad - Banana Fruit Salad Orange Sunkist Fruit Salad Kiwi Zespri Fruit Salad Grapes Fruit Salad Strawberries Product of Thailand (distributed through San Diego) A local bakery New Jersey Washington State, Colorado or Idaho Colorado Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand California Mexico

1. For each of the following food items, determine the distance it traveled to go from its original place for growth or fabrication to get to us here in Massachusetts. 2. Using Google Earth (http://earth.google.com) begin by typing in the location into the small window that says Fly To. 3. Open the tools at the top of the page and click on Ruler. Remove the check mark from the Mouse Navigation box. 4. Click on the start location, move the mouse to the ending location, click again and the distance will appear in the window. 5. For long distances, you may need to zoom out, and rotate the globe. Zooming and rotating can be done by using the Navigation Tool located at the upper right hand side of the window. When you place the cursor on the directional compass, the navigational tool appears. Click the ruler curser on your starting location, at any time you can click on the map, use the Navigation Tool, and then re-drag your line to the proper location by placing your cursor on the red box. Food Tuna Fish - Chicken of the Sea Bread Mayonnaise Hellmans Potato Chips Milk Horizon Organic Fruit Salad - Banana Fruit Salad Orange Sunkist Distance traveled to Massachusetts

Food Choices and Climate Change Fruit Salad Kiwi Zespri Fruit Salad Grapes Fruit Salad Strawberries Total Distance Traveled

Module 3 Lesson 6

1. The circumference of the earth is approximately 24,900 miles. Compare your total distance traveled to the circumference of the earth. How far around the earth did your food travel? How does your total above compare to that number?

2. What are some forms of transportation that would need to be used in order to bring different types of food products and ingredients to the average lunch bag? How might this contribute to climate change?

3. Reflecting on your answer to question #2, what are some choices you could make in preparing a lunch that would contribute less to climate change? Why?

Food Choices and Climate Change

Module 3 Lesson 6

Name: __________________________ Period/Class: __________________ Date:__________ Activity 6.2: How far did this lunch travel? (Scaled World and U.S. Maps) Many of us rarely give much thought to where the food we eat originally came from. A lunch bag containing a tuna fish sandwich with a bag of potato chips, a small carton of milk and fruit salad may not seem like an energy sucker, but do you know how far this food traveled to get to the bag? Food Tuna Fish - Chicken of the Sea Bread Mayonnaise Hellmans Potato Chips Milk Horizon Organic Fruit Salad - Banana Fruit Salad Orange Sunkist Fruit Salad Kiwi Zespri Fruit Salad Grapes Fruit Salad Strawberries Product of Thailand A local bakery New Jersey Washington State, Colorado or Idaho Colorado Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand California Mexico

For each of the following food items, determine the distance traveled from its producer to Massachusetts. Use the scale on the map and a ruler to help you estimate the distances. Complete the table below and then answer the questions. Food Tuna Fish - Chicken of the Sea Bread Mayonnaise Hellmans Potato Chips Milk Horizon Organic Fruit Salad - Banana Fruit Salad Orange Sunkist Fruit Salad Kiwi Zespri Fruit Salad Grapes Fruit Salad Strawberries Total Distance Traveled Distance traveled to Massachusetts

Food Choices and Climate Change

Module 3 Lesson 6

1. The circumference of the earth is approximately 24,900 miles. Compare your total distance traveled to the circumference of the earth. How far around the earth did your food travel? How does your total above compare to that number?

2. What are some forms of transportation that would need to be used in order to bring different types of food products and ingredients to the average lunch bag? How might this contribute to climate change?

3. Reflecting on your answer to question #2, what are some choices you could make in preparing a lunch that would contribute less to climate change? Why?

Food Choices and Climate Change

Module 3 Lesson 6

Activity 6.2: How far did this lunch travel? (calculated using Google Earth) Many of us rarely give much thought to where the food we eat originally came from. A lunch bag containing a tuna fish sandwich with a bag of potato chips, a small carton of milk and fruit salad may not seem like an energy sucker, but do you know how far this food traveled to get to the bag? Food Tuna Fish - Chicken of the Sea Bread Mayonnaise Hellmans Potato Chips Milk Horizon Organic Fruit Salad - Banana Fruit Salad Orange Sunkist Fruit Salad Kiwi Zespri Fruit Salad Grapes Fruit Salad Strawberries Product of Thailand (distributed through San Diego) A local bakery New Jersey Washington State, Colorado or Idaho Colorado Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand California Mexico

1. For each of the following food items, determine the distance it traveled to go from its original place for growth or fabrication to get to us here in Massachusetts. 2. Using Google Earth (http://earth.google.com) begin by typing in the location into the small window that says Fly To. 3. Open the tools at the top of the page and click on Ruler. Remove the check mark from the Mouse Navigation box. 4. Click on the start location, move the mouse to the ending location, click again and the distance will appear in the window. 5. For long distances, you may need to zoom out, and rotate the globe. Zooming and rotating can be done by using the Navigation Tool located at the upper right hand side of the window. When you place the cursor on the directional compass, the navigational tool appears. Click the ruler curser on your starting location, at any time you can click on the map, use the Navigation Tool, and then re-drag your line to the proper location by placing your cursor on the red box. Food Tuna Fish - Chicken of the Sea Bread Mayonnaise Hellmans Potato Chips Milk Horizon Organic Fruit Salad - Banana Fruit Salad Orange Sunkist Distance traveled to Massachusetts (miles) From Thailand->San Diego-> Boston ~ 10,836 Answers will vary ~1-5 New Jersey->Boston ~247 Washington-> Boston~ 2,431, Colorado -> Boston~ 1,816, Idaho-> Boston~ 2,135 Colorado-> Boston~ 1,816 Costa Rica -> Boston ~2,373 South Africa -> Boston~ 7,784

Food Choices and Climate Change Fruit Salad Kiwi Zespri Fruit Salad Grapes Fruit Salad Strawberries Total Distance Traveled

Module 3 Lesson 6 New Zealand-> Boston ~9,111 California-> Boston ~2,556 Mexico-> Boston ~2,214 ~39,000 miles

1. The circumference of the earth is approximately 24,900 miles. Compare your total distance traveled to the circumference of the earth. How far around the earth did your food travel? How does your total above compare to that number? Total distance traveled is greater than the circumference of the earth. Total Distance Circumference 39,000 = ~1.7 24,900 Answers will vary, but somewhere between 1-2 is expected

Our food traveled 1.7 times around the earth.

2. What are some forms of transportation that would need to be used in order to bring different types of food products and ingredients to the average lunch bag? How might this contribute to climate change? Transportation examples: air planes, buses, trucks, boats, ect. Transportation vehicles use fossil fuels to move. This process releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases which trap heat and contribute to climate change.

3. Reflecting on your answer to question #2, what are some choices you could make in preparing a lunch that would contribute less to climate change? Why? The further the food travels the more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. One could choose locally grown food to limit transportation. One could also produce some of their own foods to cut back on transportations costs. Because the food is not traveling great distances it would contribute less to climate change.