Eat insects at Xmas
As human population increases, our appetite for meat grows but very soon demand will outstrip supply. Farming large animals puts a strain on our natural resources and creates polluting waste. Scientists are proposing eating insects to help solve this problem. In this activity students are asked to plan a Christmas menu for the school canteen which contains tasty insect dishes alongside more familiar ones. Can they use persuasive communication, and their knowledge of natural resources, to get students to opt for the insect alternatives?
Learning objective
- Communicate an opinion using evidence, persuasive writing and scientific knowledge of Earth’s natural resources.
Blueprint curriculum link
- Unit: Using resources
- Concept: Product life-cycle: A product has an environmental impact during manufacture, use and disposal. Assessment of this impact allows changes to be made to reduce the impact
- Skills: Write: Choose the appropriate style
- Learning stage: Analyse
Activity contents
- Teachers guide
- PowerPoint file
The activity is delivered as a zip file. After you checkout, you will be sent an email with the link to download it.
Weblinks
Lovely grub: are insects the future of food?
A comprehensive article on eating insects for teacher background reading
The FAO report on eating insects
Most of the data in this activity came from this FAO report on edible insects
Why not eat insects? TEDx talk
Professor Marcel Dicke from Wageningen UR makes an appetizing case for adding insects to everyone's diet.
Why not offer your students some insects to try? Enter the code ENGAGEwithGRUB at the checkout for a 10% discount.
Eat insects at Xmas