11-14 Years (Key Stage 3)

Quest 10: Food for thought - a food study

Focus: Food for thought - a food study
To demonstrate an understanding of:

 food sources
 the impact of food production on the rainforest
 carbon footprints
Objective:
 alternative sourcing

To visit to a local supermarket or store and research how rainforest products

are used in products and whether it is easy for consumers to know what they
are buying.

Product Success Criteria:

 Students will identify 10 foods that are sourced from rainforest areas, eg. soy, beef, palm oil,
bananas, coffee, tea, cocoa, rice, brazil nuts
 They will research the process of production of these foods eg. is rainforest cleared to produce them
and is there an alternative sustainable production method?
 They will record the air miles involved in sourcing these commodities
 They will examine alternative food sources (if any) and record their location
 They will examine a range of food labels, recording product origin, presence of soy and palm oil and/
or derivatives, for example
1. Soy: soy protein, soy lecithin, soy meal, soy flour, textured vegetable protein, soy bean extract, tofu,
Glycine max (Latin name)
2. Palm oil: sodium palm kernelate (Palm kernel oil), sodium palmate, Elaeis guineensis (Latin name)

* They will research hidden rainforest ingredients in food which might not be identifiable on labels, for
example, meats (animals may be fed soy), palm oil (often listed on label as vegetable oil)

* They will look for sustainably produced versions of the foods, eg. Rainforest Alliance certified products,
Sainbury’s products made with sustainable palm oil (soap and fishfingers)

* They will demonstrate a knowledge of the relationship between water quantity and crop production, ie
1,000 tonnes of water to produce 1 tonne of grain (reference: http://www.earthpolicy.org/books/seg/PB3ch09-
ss3.htm).

Organisation:

 Individual study or paired/small group research project

Development:

 Present the research material in the form of an awareness-raising local exhibition

 Visit a local supermarket to research products. Ask supermarket management about labeling. Look
at the issues of food labeling - particularly for products that include palmitate, palmitamine and
palmitamide as these aren't solely derived from oil palm so may not be related to rainforest
destruction.
  Research the Marks and Spencer ‘Look Behind The Label’ clothing campaign and the Fair Trade
Foundation. Draw comparisons with food labeling issues and sustainably produced rainforest
products.
 In the case of pieces of work being deemed outstanding by teachers, submit to The Prince’s
Rainforests Project for possible national recognition
 How are consumer and trade issues which surround deforestation similar to those for coastal areas
such as mangrove forests in Brazil? Visit The Environmental Justice Foundation website -
http://www.ejfoundation.org/
 Visit http://www.storyofstuff.com/ and watch the video, The Story of Stuff, an entertaining and
educational look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns.

Key Points to Monitor:

 Venue for exhibition

 Health and safety
 Access/parking
 Management of numbers
 Public facilities
 Marketing: target audience
 Significance of key note address/opening for the exhibition
 Production of programmes/promotional material
 Operating costs/budget
 Sponsorship

This Study Quest could provide a very enriching learning experience for the students involved. It also
provides a wonderful opportunity to develop community links.