Your students will learn about industrial and sustainable agriculture and where their food comes from. So, the next time they want to eat a burger, munch on an apple, or drink a glass of milk, they’ll have more information to consider when choosing which burger, apple, or milk. Local or organic? Hormone-free? Grass-fed? Remind your students that changing one’s eating and buying habits takes time, and is a personal transition. Most important, enjoy your food!
GO TO TEACHING MATERIALS AND |
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:: READ MORE An Introduction to Sustainability
What does sustainable agriculture mean? Your students will become sustainable-literate with these useful tools.
- A sustainable dictionary covers basic vocabulary from A to Z.
- A well-researched chart compares sustainable and industrial agriculture on more than a dozen issues, including pesticides, animal rights, and water waste.
- An FAQ (frequently asked questions), suggestions for action, and more make a bundle of information and insights.
 | The Solution on our Dinner Plates What we can do about food and forests: Changes from the ground up. |
| Restoring the Range: Can Beef Be Earth Friendly? The Mortenson family is part of a growing number of ranchers who see healthy food production as part of an ecosystem, shared with plants, animals, and insects. |
| Why My Dad’s Going Green “My Republican dad saw the light. And it was green.” Kate Sheppard recounts how she found common ground with her father, a conservative farmer. |
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:: READ MORE 35 Sustainability Issues
Sustainable Table has identified 35 major issues related to sustainable and industrial meat farming.
For each issue there’s a brief, comprehensive overview, followed by links to more resources, detailed information from experts, and steps you can take to make a positive difference.
| Food to Stay How a local food system builds health and community wealth. |
| Food Revolution: Americans Lose their Appetite for Anonymous Food Why are farmers markets, community supported agriculture, direct farm-to-household marketing, organics, and humanely-raised meats all on the increase? |
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:: WATCH THE MOVIE The Meatrix
In 2003, Sustainable Table and Free Range Studios (producer of The Story of Stuff) teamed up to produce The Meatrix, an animated parody of The Matrix. Instead of Morpheus awakening Neo to the reality of The Matrix, Moopheus gives Leo the pig a slap of reality on factory farming.
Seven industry awards, incredible enthusiasm online, and thunderous applause from attendees at 30 film festivals inspiredThe Meatrix II: Revolting. This film looks at how dairy production has morphed from family farms into a gigantic industry.
In The Meatrix II-1/2, your students will go behind the scenes to a meat processing plant, where Moopheus, Leo, and Chickety explore working conditions, E. coli from manure, and more.
| Just the Facts: Corporate Food Hunger. Pollution. Instability. Obesity. The problem with corporate food—by the numbers. YES! Magazine #49, Food for Everyone |
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