Subversive Food Plots–Then and Now

A small kitchen garden. Photo by Heidi Rader.

Throughout history, food production has been a driving force
for change and a source of power. Power in the energy it gives our bodies;
power in the hands of those who control production; and now even power in the
form of biofuels. American history has seen many ‘food movements’ –  the traditional use of commons; the fraternal
& political Grange Movement; the empowering Victory Gardens of the 20th
century — all focused on the production of food. Roger Doiron, founder of the
nonprofit Kitchen Gardens International, says that, “Over the past 30 years,
we’ve seen food power become concentrated in fewer and fewer corporate hands.’
In a country like ours, whose government was designed in fear of power being
consolidated into fewer hands, it’s no wonder that the strains of public outcry
are being heard. Think back through history & look to the future — food
WAS, IS and ALWAYS WILL BE vital to our individual & national success.

Subject Area: Social Studies
Grade Level: 11-12
Ideal season for lesson: Any or post-WWII
in the US History curriculum.
Time to complete lesson: 2 class periods

Materials Required:

Paper clips
Food For Thought Worksheet
Internet access & digital projector “Global Grocer” Food Import Data from Food & Water Watch
Victory Garden Leaders Handbook — (particularly page 18)
Average Crop Yields, Planted Intensively Table
Per-Person Yearly Food Requirement Table
2006 USDA Food Pyramid Recommended Servings Table
Graph paper
Optional: Kitchen Garden Planner program (available for free 30 day trial )

At the end of this lesson, students will:

Initiation:
Pass out the Food For Thought Worksheet with a paper clip attached to each
student’s copy.  Ask students how much they think the paper clip weighs. The answer is approximately 1g or the same as an average raisin. Would they be surprised to know that in 2007 the United States imported 64 million pounds of raisins? That would equal about 29,029,911,680 paper clips! Transition to sharing the rest of the startling food facts on the Food For Thought worksheet. Ask students to take notes.

1. After the discussion of the Food For Thought information, you can also let students know that only four huge companies now control over 75% of beef production and fewer than ten agrochemical companies control 91% of the $31 Billion global pesticide market. Today, however, we are only going to talk about foods that we could produce in a household garden — our very own ‘Subversive Plot’.

2. If available, share the Tedx Talk of Roger Doiron on Subversive Gardening (approximately 20 minutes)

3. Remind students of connections to prior learning in American history — traditional use of common pasture lands in New England, the Grange Movement of the mid-19th century, and the Victory Gardens of WWI and WWII. Focus primarily on Victory Gardens. Develop the idea that, with government support, American citizens produced 8 MILLION TONS of produce — 41% of their needs, compared to the abysmal 2% that American gardens produce now (from available statistics). Why the decrease? Encourage students to question why the government does not promote self-sufficiency & household gardens more actively. Prompt them to consider the agro industrial lobby and the issues that
arise from the consolidation of power. (Activate prior knowledge here as well — consolidation of power in government.)

4. Hand out “Global Grocer” Food Import Data from Food & Water Watch table. Ask students to take 2-3 minutes to review the table and make a note/circle the three most surprising pieces of information. Ask students to share what they were surprised to learn. Discuss as a class. Inform students that according to The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill), the 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act (2002 Appropriations), and the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (Act) to require retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of covered commodities. Covered commodities include
muscle cuts of beef (including veal), lamb, chicken, goat, and pork; ground beef, ground lamb, ground chicken, ground goat, and ground pork; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; perishable agricultural commodities; macadamia nuts; pecans; ginseng; and peanuts. The term perishable agricultural commodity means fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.

Closure: Ask students to take the information they have received about food imports and survey their kitchen at home to see where their foods come from. (Perhaps offer incentive to the person who finds the food product that has traveled furthest, or least?) Also, ask students to make a list of items their family enjoys that might be grown in a household garden.

Rice grains at a Market in Laos. Photo by Heidi Rader.

Day Two

Initiation:
Ask students to share some of the
foods they found & discuss the results of their kitchen inventory.

1. Pass out:

Heidi Rader’s garden in Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo By Heidi Rader.

2. Inform students that they are going to use the
information they gathered last night and the data within the following tables
to design a household garden. They are to keep in mind the nutritional needs
& preferences of their families and should be able to support their design
choices with information from the tables. (Optional — suggest that students can
work together in small groups to collaborate and make larger gardens or share
crops.) (Optional technology extension — Use the KGI garden planning program to
design the gardens.) Give students the remainder of the class period to work on
their designs. Check for understanding and progress. Give students time
reminders. If it seems like the class is working well, but slowly, consider
extending the assignment and allowing students to complete as homework or in
class the next day.

Closure: Ask students to quickly write down on a piece of paper : 1) the most interesting thing they learned in the past two days and 2) what they might do differently now that they possess this information.

A-2,4,5: 2) know that the interpretation of history may change as new evidence is discovered; 4) understand that history relies on the interpretation of evidence;5) understand that history is a narrative told in many voices and expresses various perspectives of historical experience; B-2: understand the people and the political, geographic, economic, cultural, social, and environmental events that have shaped the history of the state, the United States, and the world;

C-4: use historical perspective to solve problems, make decisions, and understand other traditions. D-3,4,5,6: 3) define a personal position on issues while understanding the historical aspects of the positions and roles assumed by others; 4) recognize and demonstrate that various issues may require an understanding of different positions, jobs, and personal roles depending on place, time, and context; 5) base personal citizenship action on reasoned historical judgment with recognition of responsibility for self and others; and 6) create new approaches to issues by incorporating history with other disciplines, including economics, geography, literature, the arts, science, and technology.

Kitchen Gardeners International — Roger Doiron’s TedxTalk on
“Subversive Plots”

64 million pounds

1.7 Billion pounds

30,000

1 Billion

10:1

90 days

30 minutes/day

$9,630/year

8 million tons

64 million pounds

The United States imported 64 million pounds of raisins in
2007. Each raisin weighs approximately as much as a paperclip. From 1993 — 2007
the quantity of imported raisins increase 330%[1].

1.7 Billion pounds

In 2007, 1.7 Billion pounds of processed tomatoes were
imported. [2]
That equals roughly 771,107 metric tons or 8 Nimitz class aircraft carriers (@97,000
metric tons each). Since the tomatoes are processed they are exempt from COOL —
Country of Origin Labeling.

30,000

“In the average grocery store, a shopper has access to nearly
30,000 products. The majority of these are produced by very large companies,
often with help from their high-ranking regulatory friends.’[3]

1 Billion

“According to the United Nations Food & Agriculture
Organization, the number of hungry people in the world stands at nearly 1
Billion.’[4]

10:1

“Professor David Pimentel, a food & energy researcher at
Cornell University, estimates that the US burns 10 calories of fossil fuel for
every calorie of food energy produced. If the entire world were to eat in the
same energy-hungry way as the US, humanity would exhaust all known global fuel
reserves in just over 7 years.’[5]

90 days

“In 2011, a Detroit-area mother faced a possible 90-day jail
sentence for planting a vegetable garden in her front yard. Although gardening
may be socially subversive in the context of today’s food system, it shouldn’t
be against the law.’[6]

30 minutes/day

“The American family averages about 30 minutes a day for
cooking & cleanup.’[7]

$9,630/year

“…the cost of feeding a family of 3 now amounts to $3,210 per
person, or $9,630 per year. A mini-farm that supplied 85% of those needs would
produce a yearly economic benefit of $8,185
per year — the same as a pretax income of $12,200, except it can’t be
taxed. That would require 2,100 square feet of space and 10 hours a week from
April through September — a total of 240 hours. This works out to the
equivalent of nearly $51 per hour.’[8]

8 million tons

In May of 1943 Life Magazine called gardening for the war
effort “the greatest outdoor fad since miniature golf.’ Every “unprotected
piece of ground was being dug up for victory gardens’. 20 million gardens were
producing 8 million TONS of food — 41% of the vegetable produce consumed in the
nation.

*Crop yields are average & not specifically adjusted for
Alaska