DRAFT 1 Lesson Title: Vegetable Product Life Cycle Grade Level: 9-12 Subject Area: Science – Earth Science Setting: Classroom or Greenhouse if available Instructional Time: 2 - 50 min.

I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think. – Socrates

Vegetable Product Life Cycle Science, High School As a powerful science instructor, you want to teach this lesson because  First and foremost, you want your students to understand what they’re eating – where it came from, how it has been processed.  Your students will understand the connections that exist between science, packaging, transportation, business, textiles, and so on.  You want your students to understand the recycling is just one layer of the entire issue of waste, use, and reuse.  The next time your students walk through a grocery store or use the drive through of a fast food restaurant, they will look at products with new eyes.  One or more students in your class will begin to personalize the message that everything a person ingests is a choice, an important one.

Grade Level Expectation (s): E2.4d Describe the life cycle of a product, including the resources, production, packaging, transportation, disposal, and pollution. MNN Behavioral Outcomes: Eat fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk products every day. © 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Michigan Nutrition Network DRAFT -School Garden Nutrition Education

SNAP-Ed Core Nutrition Messages: Eat Smart. Eat fruits and vegetables at meals and snacks. Drink milk at meals. Goal: The goal of this lesson is to realize (understand) the product life cycle of fruit, vegetable, grain, and dairy products. Learning Objectives: The students will… 1. Learn all stages of the food production chain and recognize product stages along the way. 2. Understand the cost analysis of the food marketing system. 3. Relate food production and product stages to healthy and sustainable choices. 4. Understand the transportation costs for products that can be produced locally (in the school garden). Vocabulary Input supplies Farm production Commodity Assemblers Manufacturers Wholesale Retail Consumer Pollution factor Local production Locovore Advanced Preparation  Make copies of student worksheet Supplies  Copies of student worksheet, one per student  MyPyramid Poster MyPyramid poster. http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/educators.html (Teacher note: MyPyramid for Kids is for children 6-11 years. If the majority of your class is over 11years of age use the adult MyPyramid.)  Store bought salsa  If practical, fresh salsa prepared from the garden (or a recipe)

Safety Notes Check with students to make sure there aren’t any food and/or insect allergies (depending on where you go)

Procedures Step 1 Introduction: Begin by bringing a potato to class. Ask the students to brainstorm how many food products they know of that are made from potatoes. Have the students share their answers. Review MyPyramid. Have students identify which potato products fall into the Vegetable Group, and when they fall into the Fats and Oils group. Discuss the concept of whole food versus processed food and the benefits of a garden to provide fresh and healthy foods. Even favorites like homemade salsa from the garden are healthier than store-bought salsa. Compare a recipe for salsa from the garden and the ingredients of a store bought example. Note the difference in nutrition and flavor for each. Step 2 Take the students to the school garden or greenhouse or to a farmers’ market, and have students identify different processed food products by making a list of everything they see. (They can also categorize the degree of processing – may be two or three categories and find products in each category) Category 1; not processed, but required transportation – ie. Fresh produce in store vs. from school garden... Category 2: Moderate processing – ie. Packaged salad, Category 3: Highly processed – ie. Bread, pizza sauce, etc. Step 3 The teacher brings the class back into the classroom, and all of the students contribute to a master list. Utilizing the list made by the students (they may also use grains or dairy for the focus of the product assignment), have students pick one of items for the focus of their research and assignment. Step 4 Pass out the student food production worksheet to each student, and using the example provided, facilitate students in researching their products online. Step 5 Upon the conclusion of the assignment, ask 4-5 students to volunteer to present their diagrams to the class and post them around the room. Discuss with the students the health benefits of eating less-processed foods and more whole foods. Also discuss how their findings of the effects of buying local food may reduce transportation costs and pollution. Discuss how growing a garden provides physical activity and fresh, healthy produce at a low cost. Refer to MyPyramid throughout the discussion.

Assessment

Students can be assessed based on their accuracy and completion of their student worksheet. Extra credit points could be rewarded for those who present their diagrams.

SAMPLE Student Page Name: _____________________________ FOOD:

ORANGES CONSUMER

Pollution Factors: Waste Disposal Fuel emissions

Retail and Wholesalers (different products created from food): Waste Disposal Container Disposal Fuel emissions

Waste Disposal Container Disposal

Whole oranges, frozen OJ concentrate, fresh OJ, processed flavors (popsicles, candies, pop), oil from peels, canned fruit segments (Jello, etc.), cleaning supplies, candles, bug sprays, perfume

Manufacturers (form in which the food is processed into):

Fuel emissions

Whole oranges, orange juice, orange peels (rind), orange segments

Container Disposal

Commodity Assembler (form in which is collected from the farm to be shipped for processing):

Fuel emissions

Whole fruit

Fertilizer and pesticide run-off Plastic containers Fuel emissions

Disposal of synthetic materials Plastic containers

Farm Production (form in which the food product takes on the farm): Whole fruit (oranges) on the tree Fallen and rotten fruit used for compost, animal feed (hogs)

Input Supplies (items needed to be purchased by the farmer to grow product):

Fertilizer, water, land, farm equipment, fuel for farm equipment, labor, pesticides, herbicides, irrigation, crop Fuel© emissions 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Nutrition insurance,Michigan orange tree Network stock, bees for pollination DRAFT -School Garden Nutrition Education

Student Page Name: _____________________________ FOOD: ___________________________________ Pollution Factors:

CONSUMER

Retail and Wholesalers (different products created from food):

Manufacturers (form in which the food is processed into):

Commodity Assembler (form in which is collected from the farm to be shipped for processing):

Farm Production (form in which the food product takes on the farm):

Input Supplies (items needed to be purchased by the farmer to grow product):

A Step Further The lesson you just completed focused on the environmental and economic impacts of food processing and distribution. It’s also important to consider how food content and quality affect us internally. Explore this issue in the activity titled “A Tale of Two Menus.” A Tale of Two Menus

Vegetable Product Life Cycle Grade Levels 9-12

 Once upon a time, there were two teams of students who cooked the same meal in two very different ways. They started with a simple menu like the one to the right. Then they went their separate ways.  One team prepared the meal as if they were pulling items directly from MyPyramid. The food was fresh, though perhaps packaged or transported. The other team used highly processed food to create their meal.  When the food fixing was complete, the teams shared two things with the class: samples of their food and a chart that summarized the nutrition contents of the meal. Then the class members had a thoughtful and productive discussion about benefits and drawbacks of fresh food and highly processed foods.

Today’s Menu Apple Chicken Wheat Milk Cheese Green Beans

 The nutrition chart looked something like the ones shown on the following pages.  If you decide to do this, start by organizing your two teams o Pick the basic menu. o Decide who will be on the fresh team and who will be on the processed team. Then make up your new menus. o Find a way to report your data so that both teams are using the same method to determine one portion of a type of food. o Determine whether you will just do this exercise on paper or go the distance and prepare two meals. o If you’re really going to cook, you have to tackle more issues: money, shopping, where to cook, when to share in class, and so forth. © 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Michigan Nutrition Network DRAFT -School Garden Nutrition Education

The nutrition chart looked something like this: Members: ________________________________________________________

Team Name: The Green Team

Amount per serving Food Calorie Total item s fat Sliced apples

Baked chicken

Whole wheat rolls Milk

Cottage cheese

Steame d green beans

Choles -terol

Sodiu m

Carbohydrat e

% Vit A

%Vit C

%Cal -cium

%Iron

Preservatives, additives, stabilizers, texturizers, flavors – Anything added

Members: ________________________________________________________

Team Name: The Supreme Team

Amount per serving Food item CaloTotal ries fat

Apple cookies

BBQ wings

Garlic bread

Chocolate shake

Mozzarella poppers

Green bean casserole

Choles -terol

Sodiu m

Carbohydrat e

% Vit A

%Vit C

%Cal -cium

%Iron

Preservatives, additives, stabilizers, texturizers, flavors – Anything added to the natural food.

Extension Ideas    

Have all students bring in a whole vs. packaged form of their product and research and compare the nutritional and health information for both. Visit a company that is on any of the levels of the food production systems diagram. (Jiffy Food Mill in Chelsea, MI has excellent tours for schools.) Create a food production survey to take to a farmers’ market to gain different perspectives of food production (i.e. transportation, growing practices, pollution factors) Have the students find the processed foods served in the cafeteria for school lunch. Determine which could be grown in a school garden. Make calculations of savings that could occur if foods were grown at school / purchased locally. Then have students make recommendations for what could be grown in the school garden and used in the school cafeteria.

Teacher Resources The Garden Grocery - http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/farmar.shtml Food Marketing Institute - http://www.fmi.org/ Michigan Department o f Agriculture – http://www.michigan.gov/mda USDA Nutrition – http://www.nutrition.gov Health Risks Associated with Processed Food - http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/10/19/all-the-health-risks-ofprocessed-foods----in-just-a-few-quick-convenient-bites.htm