m3_l6_final

8/6/2019 M3_L6_Final

1/9

Food Choices and Climate Change Module 3 Lesson 6

1

LESSON 6:FOOD CHOICES AND CLIMATE CHANGE

OVERVIEW:

Students will review concepts of the energy pyramid focusing on the loss of usable energyas 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 isrequired 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 aconcluding 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 inagriculture to provide cities with food.

SUB-QUESTION:

How do our food choices impact energy use?

WAYS OF KNOWING URBAN ECOLOGY:Students will

Understand Understand how energy transformations in food chains cause the lossof usable energy within the system (forces and drivers, ecosystem

change, and ecosystem state and structure).

Identify means by which agriculture contributes to the accumulation ofgreenhouse gases in the atmosphere (human impact).

Talk No specific goals connected with talking urban ecology in this lesson.

Do Calculate the distance traveled by various foods in a given lunch.Act No specific goals connected with acting on urban ecology in this

lesson.

SAFETY GUIDELINESNo 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 WorksheetsAccess to Google Earth

Or

8/6/2019 M3_L6_Final

2/9


2

Access to World and U.S. Maps with Measurement ScaleRulers

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 ofenergy 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 classdiscussion around the questions throughout the presentation as well as time givenfor any additional inquiries.

Activity 6.2: How Far Did This Lunch Travel?

1. Introduce Activity 6.2o 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. Forexample, 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 examplesin other parts of the country as needed.

2. Students Complete Activity 6.2o 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 chosento calculate distances. If computer access is available, you may choose to have

students use Google Earth to make the calculations. If not, students may usescaled world maps and a ruler to complete this activity.

3. Discussion of Activity 6.2o 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 surprisingor noteworthy.

8/6/2019 M3_L6_Final

3/9


3

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 inthe form of carbon-based fuel. Carbon-based fuel, such as gasoline or coal, allows theprocessing and transportation of foodstuff, and negatively impacts ecosystem state and

structure with an increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in theatmosphere. This has a negative impact on ecosystem change.

Buying locally grown and produced food reduces the need for these hidden ecosystemservices 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 befresher 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. SeeLocalHarvest (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 treescan reduce the impact of increased carbon in the carbon cycle.

8/6/2019 M3_L6_Final

4/9


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 lunchbag 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 tothe bag?

Food Product of

Tuna Fish - Chicken of the Sea Thailand (distributed through San Diego)

Bread A local bakery

Mayonnaise Hellmans New Jersey

Potato Chips Washington State, Colorado or Idaho

Milk Horizon Organic ColoradoFruit Salad - Banana Costa Rica

Fruit Salad Orange Sunkist South Africa

Fruit Salad Kiwi Zespri New Zealand

Fruit Salad Grapes California

Fruit Salad Strawberries 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 theMouse 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. Whenyou 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 Distance traveled to MassachusettsTuna Fish - Chicken of the Sea

Bread

Mayonnaise Hellmans

Potato Chips

Milk Horizon Organic

Fruit Salad - Banana

Fruit Salad Orange Sunkist

8/6/2019 M3_L6_Final

5/9


Fruit Salad Kiwi Zespri

Fruit Salad Grapes

Fruit Salad Strawberries

Total Distance Traveled

1. The circumference of the earth is approximately 24,900 miles. Compare your total distancetraveled 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 toclimate change?

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

8/6/2019 M3_L6_Final

6/9

8/6/2019 M3_L6_Final

7/9




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 toclimate change?

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

8/6/2019 M3_L6_Final

8/9


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 fruitsalad may not seem like an energy sucker, but do you know how far this food traveled to get tothe bag?

Food Product of

Tuna Fish - Chicken of the Sea Thailand (distributed through San Diego)

Bread A local bakery

Mayonnaise Hellmans New Jersey

Potato Chips Washington State, Colorado or Idaho

Milk Horizon Organic Colorado

Fruit Salad - Banana Costa Rica

Fruit Salad Orange Sunkist South AfricaFruit Salad Kiwi Zespri New Zealand

Fruit Salad Grapes California

Fruit Salad Strawberries 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 distancewill 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. Whenyou 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 Distance traveled to Massachusetts (miles)

Tuna Fish - Chicken of the Sea From Thailand->San Diego-> Boston ~ 10,836

Bread Answers will vary ~1-5Mayonnaise Hellmans New Jersey->Boston ~247

Potato Chips Washington-> Boston~ 2,431, Colorado ->

Boston~ 1,816,Idaho-> Boston~ 2,135

Milk Horizon Organic Colorado-> Boston~ 1,816

Fruit Salad - Banana Costa Rica -> Boston ~2,373

Fruit Salad Orange Sunkist South Africa -> Boston~ 7,784

8/6/2019 M3_L6_Final

9/9


Fruit Salad Kiwi Zespri New Zealand-> Boston ~9,111

Fruit Salad Grapes California-> Boston ~2,556

Fruit Salad Strawberries Mexico-> Boston ~2,214

Total Distance Traveled ~39,000 miles



Total distance traveled is greater than the circumference of the earth.

Total Distance 39,000 = ~1.7 Answers will vary, but somewhere between 1-2 is expectedCircumference 24,900

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 differenttypes 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.

m3_l6_final

Documents