When we think of ‘literacy,’ most people immediately think of reading and writing. Later in college I learned that ‘literacy’ is not limited to language arts, instead the term suggests competency in a range of fields. For example, if you are literate in math, you are competent in adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying (at the very least.) If you are literate in farming, you are knowledgeable of the various farming methods, what tools do what , and when to plant certain crops, etc. For the sake of the explanation, it is fair to claim that if you are competent in a particular field or discourse, you are “literate” in that field or discourse.

The third week of the “Healthy Eating and Meal Planning” class is determined to provide, at the most basic level, consumer literacy.  This lesson will teach families the importance of knowing what words means in the context of buying food, and thus improving one’s shopping skills.

Sadly, the simplicity of eating has become a massive marketing game. Since the majority of Americans do not grow their own food and rely on middle-men to provide the goods, we are subject to manipulation and constant frustration. Take for example, the word “healthy.” I’d like to believe that when we hear or see that word, we immediately visualize a fruit or vegetable. You or I may have that thought, but it seems we live in some sort of vacuum.

Months ago I wrote on the Smart Choices Program, a “program” developed by corporate food producers to deem certain processed foods ‘healthy.’ Soon after the program was released, there was a swarm of reports criticizing this pathetic attempt at marketing junk food as ‘healthy.’ Lucky for us, all of this hub-bub made a difference and the program was eventually dropped by the groups behind it. (Check out Marion Nestle’s post on the issue.) But this controversy in the food industry highlights the serious lack of transparency between the producer and the consumer. This inability to know what really is in our food, and whether or not these additives are healthy is clearly a problem. Therefore, we need to empower ourselves with some basic tools when we shop.

The main activity in this week’s lesson is an exercise in critical food literacy. Each family will be provided a handful of labels of various food items, roughly 5 or so. On the board I will write 10 key words:

1. Organic
2. Local
3. Seasonal
4. Free-range
5. Cage-free
6. Grass-fed
7. Hormone-free (rBGH-free)
8. Homogenized
9. Pasteurized
10. High-fructose corn syrup

(Note: These words are subject to change.)

After I read over the words on the board and the families receive the labels, they will have 10 minutes to figure out the meaning of the word. Using the known product and any other picture or description on the package, as well as their own understanding, the families will have to create a definition for each of the key words emphasized on the labels. Similar to the first lesson, I hope to show how little, we consumers, can glean from reading a key word on a label. Marketers don’t always want to explain the words they use; and when they do, one must consider the bias provided in the explanation.

In the second part of the lesson, I will facilitate a 10 minute discussion on the following questions,

1. Is it important to know the meaning of key words on food packaging?
2. Who benefits from the customer not knowing the meaning of key words?
3. When shopping, what are the consequences of knowing the meaning of these key words?

In the end there are two measures of success: one, participants know the meaning of words they did not know before; and two, students think critically about the food they buy, especially products that advertise with these words. I hope this will be a good way for students and parents to think critically about food. I have to admit, teaching anyone a word or many words is a challenging task, mostly because it can be so, not fun. In the end, this activity intends on making learning both tangible and relevant for the class participants.

The local food movement will not be fully realized if ordinary folks do not know what local, organic or seasonal means (as well as other buzz words in the movement.) To be a truly sustainable movement, the knowledge disparity must be overcome.

Related posts:

1. The Food Curriculum Project (part IV) “Lesson Plan 2″
2. The Food Curriculum Project (part III) “Lesson Plan 1″
3. The Food Curriculum Project (part VI) “Lesson Plan 4″
4. Critical Food Literacy and a Sustainable Food Movement
5. A Successful Cooking Class

Tags: food literacy, local food movement