Is the world's population too high?

Click HERE to read an article from the BBC!

Malala

Seventeen-year-old Malala Yousafzai becomes the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner for her work in furthering education for children.

> A WORLD AT SCHOOL

> Millennium Development Goals

Questions:

1. Who is Malala Yousafzai?
2. What is the Nobel Peace Prize (list the people you know who have won it)?
3. Why has Malala been awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize?
4. Do you think such a young person should have won this very prestigious prize?
5. What does the charity A WORLD AT SCHOOL do (what does it have to do with Malala)?
6. What are the Millennium Development Goals?
7. Which of the Millennium Development Goals are Malala and A WORLD AT SCHOOL trying to reach?
8. Do you think these two goals will be achieved (why/not)?
9. How can YOU contribute to the actions of A WORLD AT SCHOOL?
10. Who do you think should win next year's Nobel Peace Prize?

How much food can you buy with 5$?

Click HERE!

Save the oceans... feed the world!

Click HERE to view the TED talk!

Are WE pests?!

Click HERE!

You are what you...

WFD 2013 is on 16th October: click HERE!
Click HERE to read an article in La Croix on French people's perceptions of world hunger!

Questions:

1. What is the FAO?
2. What is "food security"?
3. What is meant by a "sustainable food system" (give an example from the video on Vietnam)?
4. Why are the French pessimistic about the problem of hunger in the world (cf. La Croix article)?
5. Is there anything YOU can do to help solve the problem of hunger in the world?

WORLD CHOCOLATE DAY is on 1st of October every year!

Click HERE to read some interesting things on CHOCOLATE!

School meals for Primary school children to be made free in England

Click HERE to view the BBC News video!

To do/questions:

1. View the BBC News video (click on the link above).
2. Who is Nick Clegg?
3. Who is going to give young children free school meals?
4. What are the two reasons Nick Clegg gives to explain why free school meals is "really good news"?
5. Do YOU think free school meals for every child would be a good thing in YOUR country (list your reasons for or against)?

Sweet New Year! Rosh Hashana 2013-2014 is on 5th and 6th of September...

Rosh Hashana food customs... Click HERE!

Questions:

1. Why are sweet foods favored during the Jewish New Year?
2. Where is the "land of milk and honey"?
3. What is the egg bread served on Shabbat called and why is it shaped into spirals during Rosh Hashana?
4. What does the pomegranate symbolize?
5. What is the fish a symbol of?
6. How do Jewish New Year's customs as regards food differ from YOUR New Year's eating traditions?

Would YOU eat lab-grown meat?

Click HERE to read the Guardian article!
Click HERE to watch the video!

Amazing on the inside...

Read the article from the Telegraph: click HERE!

Rubies in the rubble: click HERE to visit the website!

11th July is World Population Day

Questions:

1. What does "medium variant" mean?
2. What is the difference between "estimated" and "projected"?
3. Note the population of Africa in 1950, 2010, 2050, and 2100; how do you explain the rise in population of Africa?
4. Note the population of Asia in 1950, 2010, 2050, and 2100; why is the population of Asia predicted to fall after 2050?
5. Why is the population increase of Europe, the Americas, and Oceania so slow compared to Asia and Africa?

Click HERE to visit the UNFPA website!

Questions:

1. What are the missions of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities?
2. What is the focus of World Population Day 2013?
3. What percentage of women give birth by the age of 18 in developing countries?
4. How do you explain this figure?
5. What can be done about the problem?

Holy cow!

Watch the short pbs video on the sacred cow in Hinduism

Watch the video on how to manage a cattle farm!
Be cool, eat less meat!

Questions/to do:

1. Why is the cow sacred in the Hindu religion (cf. link above and research)?
2. How, according to the video (cf. link above) is the cow considered by the cattle industry? 
3. Why, according to the article (cf. link above) is climate change the cow's "fault"?
4. Find out in which country they eat the most beef.
5. Find out why the number of vegetarians in France is rising.
6. Have a best burger contest with friends!

22 May : International Day for Biological Diversity

International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May

IDB theme 2013: Water and Biodiversity

The Green Wave

To do:

1. Comment the cartoon above.
2. Define "biodiversity"; what is the degree of biodiversity in the area you live in?
3. List the ways YOU could save water in your home (and, if your parents agree, act to do so!).
4. Plant a tree TODAY (the bigger the better!), take a picture of it, then send the photo to this blog via ortisbateau@gmail.com
5. Why is it so important to plant trees (cf. The Green Wave)?

A green "tree" planted by Julien...

A walnut tree about to be transplanted by Leïla!

Stéphane's tall tree... Beautiful!

Suzan's tree has sweet-smelling bloom!

Romain G planted not one but EIGHT trees!

Describe and comment the pictures below; imagine a link between them...

This agricultural worker is using a grub hoe

Person trapped behind a barcode...

Not enough...

Too much...

To do:

1. How do you explain the differences in levels of obesity in the USA?
2. Describe and comment the cartoon.
3. Research: is obesity also a problem in other parts of the world (what is it due to)?

May 17, 2013 is FOOD REVOLUTION DAY!

Watch Jamie Oliver give his TED talk!

What is FOOD REVOLUTION?
HUNTINGTON'S KITCHEN

Q&A on Jamie Oliver’s TED talk:

What proportion of the US population is overweight or obese?

Two thirds of the US population is obese.

Is the life expectancy of children in the USA greater than that of their parents?

No, the life expectancy of children in the USA is shorter than that of their parents (they will die ten years younger on average than their parents).

What kills the greatest number of Americans every year?

Every year, it is the diet-related diseases which kill the greatest number of Americans.

How much do Americans spend, per year, on health problems related to being overweight?

Americans spend $150 billion dollars a year on health problems related to being overweight.

What is peculiar about Huntington?

Huntington is the place where there is the biggest proportion of overweight people in the USA.

What, as regards eating, are the problems in the HOME context?

In the home context, the problem is that the parents do not know how to cook properly and so do not teach their children how to cook. Families eat really badly (mostly pizza, hamburgers, French fries, etc.) and in huge quantities.

What, as regards eating, are the problems in the SCHOOL context?

In the school context, there are several problems regarding nutrition:

• the pupils are fed junk food rather than fresh food;
• the dinner ladies are told what to do by accountants rather than by nutritionists (the aim is not to feed the children correctly but to feed them as cheaply as possible);
• there is inadequate food education (the children do not even recognize fruit and vegetables).

What, as regards eating, are the problems in the MAIN STREET (i.e. work and social) context?

People also eat badly in the main street context. The problems are:

• the domination of fast food restaurants (portion sizes are too big and it is very poor quality), of supermarkets (they supposedly “just sell us what we want”), and of the major food companies (who sell food products that are largely processed and full of additives);
• misleading labelling of products;
• work canteens do not encourage healthy eating habits.

What, for Jamie Oliver, are the solutions to the problem of increasing obesity?

For him, there are several solutions:

• Children have to be taught about food at school (learning ten recipes is part of “life skills”);
• children have to be fed properly at school (to convert school canteens over to making proper food is not so expensive);
• supermarkets should have “food ambassadors” to explain to their clients how to feed themselves correctly;
• families have to learn to cook and pass on their knowledge to their children;
• brands should put food education at the heart of their businesses;
• the Government has to put pressure on fast food restaurants to change what they do so that we change our eating habits (this will take several years);
• labelling has to be “sorted out”, i.e. be transparent;
• corporate America has to feed its staff properly;
• the people (“angels”) who are already fighting against obesity (including Mrs Obama) have to be helped to do their job;
• community canteens like Huntington's Kitchen need to be set up to educate people about good food and provide healthy meals made from local products at reasonable cost;
• a strong, sustainable movement to educate, inspire, and empower people to eat better.

Do you think this "Food Revolution" could work in France?

Only 10% of the population is obese in our country so we do not (yet) need a “revolution” in our eating habits... Don't you agree?

Do you shop till you drop?

Don't go shopping on an empty stomach!

Shopping quiz

How do YOU shop?

Crossword on the theme of markets

To do/questions:

1. Do you like going shopping (why/not)?
2. Write a shopping list (in English!) and go shopping with the person or people in charge of the shopping in your family!
3. Take a photo of your shopping trolley/basket with everything you have bought!
4. List the things you bought that were NOT on your shopping list!
5. Where do you go shopping most often, why do you go there, and how many times a week does your family shop?
6. What type of Fair Trade products do you buy?
7. How much organic food do you buy?
8. What percentage of your family budget goes on food per month?
9. Who usually takes care of the shopping in your household, and how much time do they spend on that activity?
10. List the different ways you can purchase food in your area other than going shopping in a supermarket.

Feeding the world...

Agriculture was invented about 10,000 years ago. It was a revolution (the Neolithic Revolution): people went from a nomadic way of life (hunting and gathering roots, fruit and berries) to a sedentary one dependent on farming. The population started to increase because life expectancy rose (mothers were better fed and so healthier and therefore lived longer and had more babies) and the infant mortality rate fell (children were better fed and healthier and survived better).

How do you feed correctly a population of seven billion? Is food security guaranteed for a population likely to reach nine billion by 2050? Can it be done without over-exploiting land and animals or damaging the environment? Are there "too many" people in the world? Can and should the intensive agricultural methods used in the North be used in the South (where the rise in population is strongest)?

After WW2, the priority was to guarantee food security. In the developed countries, mechanization, and the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides increased yield per hectare (100mX100m=10,000m²) considerably. The surface area used in agriculture increased. Monoculture  (of rice, wheat, maze, soybean, etc.) replaced polyculture. The aim of industrial agriculture is to feed a growing population (cheaply) and to maximize profits.

The problem with intensive agriculture and industrial livestock rearing is that it:

• pollutes the water;
• makes the soil poor (there is environmental degradation);
• goes against biodiversity;
• creates dependency on the use of certain seeds, artificial fertilizers and pesticides;
• makes us dependent on monocultures (these are susceptible to diseases);
• involves transport over long distances (pollution);
• is highly mechanized (dependent on petrol);
• can be dangerous for human health;
• compromises animal well-being.

The use of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) means that farmers become more dependent on agrochemical and seed companies (GMO seeds are infertile and so the farmers have to buy seeds each year). The long-term effects on health and on the environment of GMOs are not known.

Organic farming is an alternative to productivist agricultural methods. It does not use artificial fertilizers or pesticides and respects animal welfare. The drawback is that it is more labor intensive and therefore costs more to the consumer. Also, is it possible to guarantee food security for 9 billion people with sustainable agriculture? About 4% of farms are organic in France (in the Puy-de-Dôme,  out of a total of about 8000 farms, there are only about 170 organic farms); in Austria, about 20% of farms are organic. Why, despite the increasing demand for organic produce, the benefits of organic farming methods to the environment and to human health, and the potential for employment, is organic farming still a marginal practice?

In the South, farming methods are more traditional, but do not necessarily meet the needs of a growing urban population. Monocultures in the South (e.g. cotton) are subject to fluctuating world market prices and to unfair competition from subsidized farms in the North. Farmers’ livelihood in the South is also undermined by cheap agricultural products from wealthier countries being dumped on local markets.

It would cost about $30 billion to feed the world’s nearly 1 billion hungry for one year. Spending on pet food reached $19 billion in 2012. The USA military budget in 2012 was $682 billion. Judging from these figures, it would appear that food security for all is not a priority...

Questions

1. When was agriculture invented?
2. Why was it a revolution?
3. Why did life expectancy rise?
4. What is "food security"?
5. What is the population likely to be in 2050?
6. What are "intensive agricultural methods"?
7. What is the "North"?
8. What is the "South"?
9. What is "yield"?
10. What is the difference between monoculture and polyculture?
11. What is the aim of industrial agriculture?
12. List three problems with intensive agriculture.
13. What is organic farming?
14. How many farms are organic in France?
15. How does this compare with Austria?
16. Why do traditional farming methods in the South not always meet the needs of the people?
17. Are farms in the South successful businesses (why/not)?
18. What is "dumping"?
19. How many hungry people are there in the world?
20. How much would it cost to feed the world's hungry?