Overview

An art project that involves the students in researching and analysing fast foot/junk food campaigns against the reality of such food, and concurrently reflecting upon the beauty of locally sourced fruit in its taste and natural appearance, and its benefit as a health food choice.

Art and Design

Minimum of two 45 minute lessons

13 – 21 years old

Groups of up to 25

Objectives

Behavioural competences

To value sustainable grown products
To reduce overconsumption
To consume and respect local and natural products

Reflections

To reflect upon the value/supply chain of the product purchased
To reflect upon overconsumption and ways of reducing it
To reflect upon the advantages of consuming naturally and locally grown products

Lifelong learning key competences

Social and civic competences

Materials

Large wall/board for exhibition/collage
Scissors
Glue/tape
Fast food
Locally grown fruit

Various art materials depending upon availability:

• Paints
• Pencils
• Clay
• Paper

Preparation

Lesson one Preparation

1)Set a homework task for students to:

• collect advertisements for fast food and junk food

2)Collect advertisements yourself to contribute to what the students collect
3)Buy some burgers/fries from a fast food outlet as still life for the students to paint/draw/sculpture

Lesson two Preparation

Set a homework task for students to:

• research fruit that is indigenous to the region/country, select one piece of fruit, research how it grows and bring a piece to the next class

Instructions

Lesson one

At the beginning of the class, ask the students to cut out the fast food advertisements that they collected and put them on the wall/board. You could make a template so that the advertisements make a collage, for example, spelling the word ’JUNK’

Ask the class to look at the different advertisements, and to discuss different adjectives to describe how the food is being presented.

Present the ’real’ fast food you have purchased, placing one example in front of a group of students. Ask the students to discuss the difference in how the fast food is presented in the advertisement and how it is in reality, and what adjectives they may use to describe the ’real’ fast food.

Give the task to the students to make art work depicting the fast food. You could decide upon the type of art/media that the students use (paint, pencil, clay sculpture).

Remind the students that when creating their art, they should create art that represents the fast food in its real form, as they see it in front of them, and according to the adjectives they discussed.

Lesson two

At the beginning of the class, ask the students to present the fruit they brought to their peers, briefly describing what it is, why they chose it, and how it grows.

Ask the students to study their piece of fruit, its colour and form, texture, markings.

Ask the students to take a bite from the fruit, to observe its taste and texture

Give the task to the students to make art work depicting the beauty of the fruit. You could decide upon the type of art/media that the students use (paint, pencil, clay sculpture).

Remind the students that when creating their art, they should create art that represents the fruit in its beauty, as they see it in front of them, and according to how it tastes and how it was grown naturally.

Debriefing

To conclude on the activity, have a short discussion with the students in plenary.

Ask the students what they felt about fast food and fruit before the task, ask them if their preference in choosing a snack has changed as a result of the activity.

As a homework task, ask the participants to reflect upon their choices when choosing snacks over the next week, and to explore and take note of the variety of locally sourced options available.

Suggestions and Alternatives to the Method

The times indicated are indicative, you may wish to extend the activity over further lessons, giving the students more time to reflect and work on their art. The art could form part of the students course work/ exam work

Languages/Creative Writing alternative– An alternative to this method could be to do the activity as described but instead of giving the students the task to create pieces of art, they could instead compose poems about the junk food and fruit.

Students could be asked to research upon the health issues related to fast-food for a short presentation or discussion before the beginning of the lesson 1. Similarly, before lesson 2, the students should be asked to research upon the benefits of eating healthy.

As a follow-up activity, you could ask the students to consider the global impact on importing food. Set the students to research upon the effects of transporting fruits and vegetables across the globe. Ask them questions such as: what is the impact on the environment to transport fruits and vegetables across the globe (e.g. from Latin America to Europe)? How is the quality of the product (fruit or vegetable) affected by the travel?

Ideas for actions

School Fruit and Vegetable Garden – You could support the students in their own initiate to create a fruit and vegetable garden in the school to grow their own beautiful produce

School Healthy Eating Campaign– You could support the students in their own initiate in creating a healthy eating campaign for the school, advocating for the school kitchen to promote healthy, and locally sourced options, to make posters, and presentations in school assembly

Further information

The sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) targets: http://globalresponsibility.eu/goal-2-zero-hunger/

UK Children’s Food Campaign – a resource for for protecting children from junk food marketing, better school food and food skills, and reducing children’s sugar consumption: http://www.sustainweb.org/childrensfoodcampaign/

BBC, “What does junk food do to your body?” http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/32017582

BBC, “Half of kids don’t eat veg each day,” http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/32009740

Healthy Schools Campaign, https://healthyschoolscampaign.org/policy/food/

Erin Brodwin, “15 of the healthiest fast-food menu items,” Business Insider, http://nordic.businessinsider.com/healthy-meals-at-chipotle-panera-shake-shack-2016-4?r=US&IR=T

Jo Lewin, “Healthy eating: What school children need,” BBC https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/nutrition-middle-years-5-13-years

Information on short food supply chains:

European Parliament, “Short food supply chains and local food systems in the EU,”

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2016)586650

Campaign to Protect Rural England, “Why you should buy and eat local food”:http://www.cpre.org.uk/magazine/opinion/item/4204-why-you-should-buy-and-eat-local-food

GRACE Communications Foundation, “Local and Regional Food Systems”: http://www.sustainabletable.org/254/local-regional-food-systems