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who produces

our food?ThemePeople around you are involved in the production of food.

AimFor children to realise that a number of different people in the community produce and process food.

They should get an idea of the different work these people do and what foods they produce. The children

should appreciate that food does not just ‘arrive’ in the supermarket.

CURRICULUM CONTEXT SOCIAL, PERSONAL AND HEALTH EDUCATIONStrand: Myself and the wider world

Strand Unit: Developing citizenship

The child should be enabled to

Local and wider communities• become aware of his/her own culture and recognise traditions, festivals and celebrations that are unique to the locality,

region or country.

GEOGRAPHYStrand: Human Environments

Strand Unit: People living and working in the local area and people living and working in a contrasting part of Ireland

People at work• explore and investigate, especially through practical studies, a small number of the common economic activities of

people in the locality and in a contrasting part of Ireland – food and farming.

Strand: Natural Environments

Strand Unit: The local natural environment

• investigate and become familiar with some natural features in the local environment.

GETTING STARTED

This is the menu screen.

Click on ‘Classroom Slides’ to begin the session or click on

‘Extension Activities’ for some additional ideas.

Print the Teacher’s Notes for this session by clicking on the

‘Teacher’s Notes’ button.

MENU SCREEN

Taste Buds | Notes Who produces our food?

KEY MESSAGE

A variety of people are involved in bringing the food we eat to

our tables.

This screen gives some introductory information about the people

who produce and prepare our food.

Suggested Approach

Encourage a class discussion on the different people who produce

food. Ask the children if somebody in their family or anybody they

know is involved in any way in producing or making food.

KEY MESSAGE

A variety of people are involved in bringing the food we eat to

our tables.

This screen consists of a ‘drag and drop’ game based around some

people who are involved in producing food. It shows a series of foods

along the top and some people involved in the production of food

along the bottom. The child must drag each food item to the correct

person responsible for producing it. If the child makes a correct match

the food item snaps into place, if incorrect the item returns to its

original location.

Suggested Approach

Get the class involved by inviting the children to try this game. Talk

about some examples and ask the class to suggest others.

Some examples:

• Pork Sausages/Bacon/Black Pudding – Pig Farmer

• Fruit – Fruit Pickers/Farmers

• Lamb/Beef – Sheep Farmer/Cattle Farmer

• Potatoes/Cabbage/Carrots/Apples – Farmer

SCREEN 1

SCREEN 2

Taste Buds | Notes Who produces our food?

KEY MESSAGE

There are different types of farming in the community.

In the centre of the screen is a food item. The children must click on the

farmer who produced it. If the child selects correctly the food appears

beside the farmer and the next food item is displayed in the centre.

Suggested Approach

Invite the children to get involved by trying this game. Encourage a

class discussion on the types of work different farmers do.

KEY MESSAGE

There are different types of food producers in our locality.

This screen shows a village where lots of different types of food are

produced. It invites you to meet a farmer, a bee-keeper, a baker and

a fisherman and to find out more about what they do. You can click

on each of the food producers in turn and when you have worked

through them all click the ‘Back’ button on the top right to return to

the village screen.

Suggested Approach

Work through each of the food producers and discuss their work.

KEY MESSAGE

Different types of farmers do different kinds of work.

When you click ‘Meet the Farmer’, you will get this screen with some

information about farmers in the community.

Suggested Approach

Encourage a class discussion on what work different types of farmers

do. Ask any child who comes from a farming family to share with the

class what their family or friends do on the farm.

You could organise a class visit to a local farmer to discuss what he or

she does during a typical day.

SCREEN 4

SCREEN 4 PART 1

SCREEN 3

Taste Buds | Notes Who produces our food?

KEY MESSAGE

There are a number of processes involved in making honey.

When you click on ‘The Bee Keeper’ this screen appears and shows a

short video on how honey is made. The video will start automatically,

and you can use the controls to pause/play it.

Suggested Approach

Encourage the children to discuss what they know about honey and

where it comes from before starting the video. After watching it they

should be encouraged to discuss what they learned.

KEY MESSAGE

A large number of different people and steps are involved in

producing a simple food product.

When you click ‘Meet the Baker’ this screen appears which shows the

steps and people involved in producing an apple pie. They can be

revealed one at a time by clicking on the ‘Next Step’ button.

Suggested Approach

It should be emphasised that we are showing how an apple pie can be

produced both in a factory or at home in your kitchen.

Ask the class to guess what happens next before the next button is

clicked, to get them thinking about the process.

KEY MESSAGE

Many people make a living from the production of food, depending

on where they live and the types of food production possible in

their locality.

When you click ‘Visit the Fisherman’ this screen appears with

information on what a working day is like for a fisherman.

Suggested Approach

Go through the points with the class. Ask if any of them have ever

been fishing, know of any fishermen or have ever seen a fisherman

at work.

You could organise a class visit from a fisherman in your community

or from a local fish shop.

SCREEN 4 PART 3

SCREEN 4 PART 4

SCREEN 4 PART 2

Taste Buds | Notes Who produces our food?

KEY MESSAGE

There are a number of important steps involved in the process of

getting the food we eat to our tables.

When you click ‘The Fishing Process’ within the village, you will get

this screen which is a ‘drag and drop’ game based around the fishing

process. Children must drag the activities around the catching and

selling of fish into the correct order. If the child puts the event into the

correct place, it will snap into position, if incorrect it will return to its

original location.

Suggested Approach

Ask the class to participate in the ‘drag and drop’ game by inviting

children to try to put the stages in sequence.

SCREEN 4 PART 5

who?

Taste Buds | Extension Activities Who produces our food?

EXTENSION ACTIVITIESACTIVITY 1: WHO PRODUCES FOOD IN OUR LOCALITY?

ACTIVITY 2: WHAT’S MY JOB?

HOMEWORK ACTIVITIES

Taste Buds | Extension Activities

activity 1

who produces food in our

locality?

KEY MESSAGEMany foods can be grown on the island of Ireland because

of our climate. When these foods are not in season we

sometimes import them from other countries.

This screen shows a list of food products. The children are

asked to suggest a local producer for each of the foods which

can be entered on-screen beside the food.

Suggested Approach

Encourage a discussion on foods that we may need to import

because they are out of season here e.g. strawberries in

winter.

activity 2

what’s my job?

This is an Extension Activity. The screen shows Jo and Jay

playing the game. Jay is trying to guess what job Jo does by

asking her questions

‘What’s my job?’ is a guessing game.

Suggested Approach

Start by printing the food related job labels in your pack and

cutting them out. One child picks a job and looks at it. This

child goes to the top of the class and the other children ask

questions and try to guess the job. For example the children

might ask “Do you work outdoors?”. Each child can take a

turn asking a question.

Who produces our food?

HOMEWORK ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS

1:

Ask the children to find places where

they can get food locally - for example

the butcher’s shop, baker’s,

supermarket, corner shop, farmer’s

market, fruit and vegetable shop.

2:Ask the children to find out if there

are any people in their local area who

make food or work with food. Who

are these people? What kinds of foods

do they work with?

WHO AM I?

?? ?

!

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MEET THE FARMER

Taste Buds | Additional Teacher Information Who produces our food?

ADDITIONAL TEACHER INFORMATIONMEET THE FARMER

Taste Buds | Additional Teacher Information Who produces our food?

MEET THE FARMERThe countryside is a place of work for hundreds of thousands

of farmers.

Farmers work all year around to provide us with food. Some

of the work involved is detailed below:

• Cows, sheep, pigs and chickens must be fed, housed and

cared for.

• Cows must also be milked.

• The land must be ploughed, sown and sprayed to grow

cereals (wheat, oats and barley) to be harvested each year.

• The land must be ploughed, sown and sprayed to grow

potatoes to be harvested each year.

• The land must be ploughed, sown and sprayed for other

crops, including fruit and vegetables each year.

• The land must be maintained for growing grass. Grass is

used for grazing animals, cutting silage and making hay.