1. Environmental Issues
Food Choices

2. Objectives Understand the role of fair trade
Identify advantages and disadvantages of purchasing fair trade ingredients
Knowledge of fair trade food ingredients
Define seasonal foods
Awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of seasonal foods/ organic food
Identify seasonal foods
Understand how organic foods are grown

3. Fair Trade
What is it?
This is when farmers receive fair prices for their products and ensuring they work in safe conditions
Examples of foods: chocolate, honey, bananas and other fruit, beverages tea, coffee, fruit juice.

4. FAIR TRADE Advantages Better working conditions for farmers etc
Local sustainability for workers and for farmers in poorer countries
Disadvantages
Expensive
Food Miles impact on the environment

5. Food Miles
This is the measure of distance that a food ingredient travels from field to plate

6. Why do foods travel so far? Brainstorm in groups (2 minutes)
Cheaper labour abroad
Permanent supply of ingredients
Foods travel miles to be packaged and then sent back again to be sold
Supermarkets have taken over local shops and are outside of towns and villages

7. What can be done? Buy foods from local food markets
Buy foods with little packaging
Buy foods from within a 20 mile radius
Buy seasonal foods
Ensure organic food comes from British sources ( a typical basket of 26 imported organic foods may have travelled six times around the equator)

8. Facts 95% of fruit and 50% of vegetables in the UK are imported!
Each year the average UK adult drives 135 miles by car to shop for food!
The amount of food being flown into the UK since 1990’s has doubled!
Animals are transported long distances to large central abattoirs

9. Questions…. Discuss in groups
Organic Foods
Questions…. Discuss in groups
What is it?
Why does it cost more?
Is it better for you?
This is food that is free from pesticides, herbicides, additives and also animals that are fed on organically sourced food

10. Advantages and Disadvantages
What are they?
Advantages
Free from chemicals and pesticides
Natural
Nutritious
Disadvantages
Expensive
Difficult to get hold of/not always a range of ingredients available
A large amount are imported from abroad

11. SEASONAL FOODS
This is when food is bought at a time when it is abundant and at its best.
Goats Cheese - all year round
Strawberries - early summer
Asparagus & tomatoes - late spring

12. SEASONAL FOODS Advantages Disadvantages
Reduce the amount of carbon emissions
2. Avoid paying for expensive ingredients as they have not travelled so far
3. Support the local economy
4. Fresher, tastier and more nutritious
5. Good quality
6. Cheaper
Disadvantages
Limited range of ingredients available throughout the year
2. Negative effect on poorer countries (less demand)

13. GM Foods
The copying of genes (DNA) from one organism and transferring it to another
This can be between different plants and species
Advantages
Increases pest resistance so less chemicals pesticides are used
Quicker than breeding programmes which can take up to 20 years
Good accuracy when identifying a specific characteristic
Crops can grow in inhospitable areas such as land susceptible to drought
Improve sensory characteristics
Increase nutrition
Reduce wastage
Feed an increasing population

14. Disadvantages Takes generations for problems to become apparent
Allergic properties can be transferred
Genes transferred for bacteria growth
Toxic substances from the GM Foods

15. Pesticides and herbicides
Research the pro’s and con’s and produce a factsheet/revision sheet

16. Extending shelf life in transportation
Un ripe food (time of harvesting)
Travelling as a raw product e.g. milk
Liners in food boxes
Pasteurisation

17. Pesticides help us manage pests such as harmful insects, arachnids (e
Pesticides help us manage pests such as harmful insects, arachnids (e.g., spiders, ticks and lice), rodents (e.g., rats and mice) and weeds
Pro’s
crops safe from insects, plants, and invasive plants.
A farmer could lose his entire livelihood if these elements get into his fields and destroy his crops, and the follow on effect of that are higher prices at the stores on produce for everyone.
Con’s
Harmful to developing babies
Run into water ways
Build up a resistance

18. Alternative sources of energy
An alternative of energy source other than fossil fuels
Solar Power: Prevents the need to burn coal, prevent carbon dioxide emissions (you need a lot and they don’t pay for themselves) Greenhouses
Wind Power: affordable, free, readily available (large amount are necessary and expensive investment)
Wave Energy: produced when electricity generators are placed on the surface of the ocean. (only experimental) Power plants and water pumps
Nuclear power: Nuclear power is an alternative power source that uses the nuclear fission of uranium to create heat and, thereby, through a heat transfer mechanism and turbines, create electricity.