TOPIC SUBJECT:
What do we eat, where does it come from and how much does it cost
Managing food waste in relation to local and global food sources
Fair trading: how the transportation of commodities can be sustainable.
RATIONALE :
The aim of this unit is to provide an opportunity to think about the interaction between local and global trading and the impact that this might have on communities that are near-by and far away. Central to this topic is the opportunity to critique the central tenants of global capitalism and the influence of ‘big business’ alongside the call for more sustainable ‘local’ economies. This topic does not promote any particular economic model but rather it seeks to engage students with the complexity of providing products for willing consumers.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Understanding global and local challenges of the environment and their inter-relationship
2. Enhancing the awareness and the implications of human activity on the environment
3. To instill knowledge in which students develop civic values concerning environmental involvement and activity
4. To identify and develop critical thinking regarding future sustainability issues from different perspectives (political, social, ecological, cultural, economic, legal, etc.).
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will be able to appreciate the need for successful small scale and global businesses to support human activitiesand flourishing and to be able to critique their impact on the planet and others. Students should be aware of the potential positive role that cooperatives can play in wealth distribution. Students should understand the wide-ranging impacts of their consumer habits on local and global people, places and resources. It is also expect that students will begin to consider the role of money and wealth creation on what it means to be human and happy.
1. To acquire and apply knowledge relating to sustainability in the community
2. To analyze and suggest solutions to problems regarding sustainability
3. To enable students to integrate traditional and innovative knowledge in developing attitudes towards sustainability from different perspectives (political, social, ecological, cultural, economic, legal, etc.).
4. To develop a sense of responsibility towards sustainability on a global level
5. Applying the interactivactive relationships between local and global sustainability issues.
ACTIVITIES:
Activity 1: Guided group work - What do we eat, where does it come from and how much does it cost?
Interrogate pictures from Time Magazine To consider food origin, transportation and economic implications.
Porritt, J. (2013). The World We Made: Alex McKay’s story from 2050. London: Phaidon Press. (Travel and Transport sections)
Scoffham, S. Making Connections.
Activity 2: Research/survey - Managing food waste in relation to local and global food sources.
Researching how and where your family, friends, local shops and restaurants buy their food.Provide advice in a booklet for your local community about how to reduce food waste (think about how local and global implications).
National Geographic article Food waste quiz
Activity 3:Frontal teaching and discussion - Fair trading: how the transportation of commodities can be sustainable. Compare the advantages and disadvantages cheap of short lived commodities with expensive longer lasting ones.
Paradox of choice video
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Compulsory Literature:
English:
Food waste quiz
National Geographic article
Paradox of choice video
Porritt, J. (2013). The World We Made: Alex McKay’s story from 2050. London: Phaidon Press. (Economics and Finance sections)
Kemp, S. Fashion for the Planet HEA
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/fashion-planet-sustainability-consequences-clothing-material-and-supply-chain-decisions#sthash.ACkopils.dpuf
Stiglitz, J.E. and Charlton A. (2007). Fair Trade for All: How Trade can Promote Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
(Travel and Transport sections) Scoffham, S. Making Connections.
Yunus, M. (2003). Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty. Philadelphia, PA: Perseus Book Group.
Supporting Literature:
Mohin, T. (2012). Changing Business from Inside Out. Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing.
World Commission on Environment and Development (1991). Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press
