About a year ago, I was absorbed in Barbara Kingsolver’s latest novel, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It is about the importance of sustainable agriculture. Barbara is one of my hometown heroes. I am thinking about the book now, as I look out my window to admire the lovely contrast of the golden maple leaves against the clear, brilliant tranquility of the autumn sky. I find it mind-boggling that Halloween has passed and we are now adjusting to daylight savings time. Nature is slowing its pace as plants succumb to their annual slumber, birds migrate to warmer destinations, and wildlife are readying themselves to either weather the cold or curl up for the winter. Teachers and students, however, are just as busy as ever. Learning never goes dormant.
Since I come from the farming community, I am reflecting upon that way of life and how hard we worked. The summers seemed endless. I can still feel what it was like to be surrounded by a sea of vegetables and biting into a sun-kissed tomato with its hot juice dripping down my dirty chin, arms, and hands to transform that dust into a sticky, sweaty, seedy, muddy membrane. I just can’t get away from my heritage. I don’t want to. I learned so much from that way of life. Each year, my family grows a small, backyard, organic garden. It has been fun to share in my son’s excitement each time we have found a ripened pepper, tomato, or a zucchini. He knows how wonderful it is to bite into the warm tomato fresh off the vine. He has learned so much from his gardening experiences.
It saddens me to realize how far our food now travels to reach us. Think about how much oil we are consuming to get these foods to our tables. According to the sources referenced in the book, the average distance each food item travels to our plate is 1500 miles. Many farmers, who put in the hardest labor and longest hours for our consumption, get a mere $0.19 to each dollar we spend on our food. That’s if they are lucky. We can help change all of this by eating locally grown, native plants and vegetables. We would also be much healthier. Consider how much starch and high fructose corn syrup goes into the manufactured foods we purchase at the supermarket. If we buy local foods, we are supporting our own farmers; getting fresher, more nutritious meals; and doing more to help our environment. I believe that students need to understand more about agriculture and local economies so that they can survive in this ever-changing, uncertain world.
KET’s website has many resources to assist in teaching the importance of agriculture and local economies. KET’s Raindrops to Rivers Professional Development and Electronic Field Trip to the Watershed are great places to start, since there are many helpful and engaging resources and activities in both of these websites. KET ED On Demand and KET EncycloMedia also have some excellent multimedia resources and articles to help incorporate these topics into your lessons. As these concerns become more and more urgent in today’s world, we can use what we are learning from our planet to teach the math, science, and economics curricula for all levels. This is an excellent opportunity for students to exercise problem solving and critical thinking skills.
Thanksgiving is fast approaching. The harvest has ended. It’s a great time to think about the future and necessary lifestyle changes that can bring our society back to the joys of family, community, living, and learning. Here’s to good health and prosperity.
Oh, and another great read is James Gustage Speth’s The Bridge at the End of the World. Let me know what you think. I like hearing from you.
