Food Systems Interventions (Discussion)
Summary
Students participate in small-group discussions, followed by full-class discussion to apply some of their learning from the BASICS module to our exploration of food systems. Students are given readings and videos to introduce them to two interventions that aim to improve food systems, cheekily summarized as removing oil and adding bugs. They then use guiding questions to help them analyze how these proposed interventions could impact the sustainability and equity of our society's food system and how such interventions could actually take hold and become "sticky."
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Learning Goals
In sharing their small-group ideas with the larger class, students gain skills in oral communication.
Context for Use
This activity is a follow-on to the Wicked Problem of an Equitable Zero-Waste Circular Economy module.
Prior to this exercise, students hear an introductory lecture on the commodity food system that covers production, distribution, consumption, and waste and encourages students to think about food in terms of interwoven human and natural systems.
This exercise occurs near the end of a semester in which students have had frequent small- and large-group discussions. They have already discussed climate change as a wicked problem and have brainstormed interventions well-suited to this "wickedness."
Description and Teaching Materials
As pre-class work, students read and watch the following:
- NOVA. 2021. Edible Insects. 53 min. Documentary.
- McKibben, Bill. 2005. "The Cuba Diet." Harper's Magazine, April 2005.
- [A clip on Cuba (from 37:55 to end) in the following film can also be a helpful supplement: Aguilar, N. (Director). 2012. Voices of Transition.]
As a full class, we discuss Cuba's agricultural transition away from fossil fuels and clarify any confusion students have about McKibben's essay. In small groups, students are asked to discuss the following questions. They then report back their analyses to the full class:
o Which, if any, problems within our current food system would be addressed by removing/reducing fossil fuels from agriculture? (Impacts on ecological sustainability? On equity?)
- What lessons can we learn from Cuba's agricultural transition that would be usefully applied in the U.S?
- What differences between Cuba and the US, or between the 1990s and today would we need to attend to, and how?
- What problems of our current food system are NOT addressed by removing oil?
We then briefly discuss insect consumption and clarify questions regarding the NOVA documentary. In small groups, students are asked to discuss the following questions. They then report back their analyses to the full class:
– Which, if any, problems within our current food system would be addressed by substituting insects for meat? (Impacts on ecological sustainability? On equity?)
– What do you think would be the main impediments/challenges?
– What problems of our current food system are NOT addressed by substituting bugs?
Finally, students work in groups to brainstorm interventions involving either insects or agroecology that acknowledge the "wickedness" of the challenge of achieving sustainable and just food systems. They are given a reminder of slides from past classes that outline the characteristics of wicked problems and advice for addressing them. Half of the small groups work on strategies for removing fossil fuels from production and shifting to agroecology, and half work on substituting bugs for much of our meat consumption. Each group has a note-taker, who may be listing/writing or diagramming the group's ideas, and a reporter. Notes are handed in at the end of class period, and the reporter shares the group's ideas with the larger class.
Slide for wicked interventions discussion (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 60kB May23 23)
Teaching Notes and Tips
Assessment
References and Resources
NOVA. 2021. Edible Insects. 53 min. Documentary.
Aguilar, N. (Director). 2012. Voices of Transition.
McKibben, Bill. 2005. "The Cuba Diet." Harper's Magazine, April 2005.
Pdf of McKibben essay