What it’s all about
At the Royal Geographical Society in June, Michael Palin spoke of the importance of geography starting before we leave home in the morning: “Think of the geography of a breakfast table - where food comes from, how much we pay for it, how and where it is grown.”
Food geographies can start with the familiar, writes Alan Parkinson: mapping where food originates, considering the merits of fair trade, or mapping food miles. Pupils can then explore the issue of food security and the relationship between food production and water usage. They can also investigate “land grabs” that can result in the most productive land in less developed countries being owned by foreign firms.
Two free online CPD courses on food issues have been produced by the Geographical Association. They provide classroom resources and offer the chance to think about some of the key questions.
Food is also the subject of the fourth book in the Geography Collective’s Mission: Explore Food, in which 159 activities encourage children to learn about growing, harvesting, waste and soil - essential in appreciating that their choices affect people and places around the world. Creative Commons- licensed samplers of all six chapters can be downloaded from the TES Resources website. They include ideas for homework and fieldwork tasks.
What else?
The Geographical Association’s online CPD courses can be found at bit.lyGeogCPD
Find out more about Oxfam’s GROW campaign at bit.lyOxfamGROW and check out Oxfam’s teaching resources at bit.lyOxfamTES
The Geography Collective’s Mission:Explore Food is available in several formats. See bit.lyExploreFood and bit.lyTESMissionExplore.
