Colorado Agriscience Curriculum
Section Animal Science
Unit Unit 1: Introduction to Animal Science
Lesson Title Lesson 1: The World Hunger Challenge
Ag Ed Standards
Standard AGS 11/12.7
The student will understand the broad scope of science within the agriculture industry.
Enabler AGS 11/12.7.1
Understand how agriculture strives to meet the world hunger challenge.
Colorado Science Standards
Standard SCI 5.0
: Students know and understand interrelationships among science, technology and human activity and how they can affect the world.
Competency SCI 5.2
: Students will be able to analyze how the introduction of a new technology has affected or could affect human activity.
Student Learning Objectives
As a result of this lesson, the student will be able to:
1.
define “world hunger” and it’s main causes.
2.
estimate world population and list three trends in population.
3.
explain why animal science is a key factor in human nutrition and food availability.
Time Instruction time for this lesson: 50 minutes.
Resources
 http://www.worldhunger.org/
 www.prb.org 2002 & 2004 World Population Data Sheet of the Population Reference Bureau
 http://www.uen.org/utahlink/lp_res/nutri205.htm
lesson plan
Utah Educators Network, world hunger
 Agriscience Fundamentals & Applications, Third Edition, Elmer Cooper and Devere
Burton
 www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/Fpyr/pyramid.html Food Pyramid

Scientific Farm Animal Production, Robert E. Taylor, 4 th
edition
Tools, Equipment, and Supplies

Index cards
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
30 cookies

Copies of world map for notes (provided at the end of this document)

PowerPoint presentation or overheads for note-taking
Key Terms.
The following terms are presented in this lesson and appear in bold italics:
Harmful Society
Malnutrition
World Hunger
Interest Approach
Before class, create index cards with the following names in the following quantities:
U.S. – 2 cards
Brazil –1 card
India – 6 cards
Hungary – 1 card
China – 10 cards
Kenya – 1 card
As each two students enter the room, randomly give them a card; this indicates their ethnicity for the activity. Have the students in each “country” sit together.
Today we are going to spend some time thinking about food on a global basis. I have given each of you a card with a country listed on it and you are now sitting with other citizens of your country. The proportions you are broken into are roughly indicative of the proportions of population density in our world today. You’ll notice that the United States’ citizens only make up a small portion of that population. When I say, “go,” you will do a few things in your group. First, you’ll choose a leader. I will bring around some cookies to each country that represent food for that country. I will give the food to your leader, who will then distribute it to the other members in any manner they see fit. Do not eat the food yet, just distribute it, and then stop. What can I clarify? “Go.”
Give each country the appropriate amount of cookies:
U.S. – 9 cookies
Brazil – 3 cookies
India – 12 1/2 cookies
Hungary – 1 2/3 cookie
China – 3 1/2 cookies
Kenya – 1/8 cookie
Watch students as each group chooses how to distribute the cookies.
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Now, lets go around the room and see how each country divides their food. I want each country’s leader to tell us their country name, total amount of cookies and method of distribution. (After each group reports, lead discussion with the following questions.)
1.
What country has the most people? Most food? Why aren’t they the same country?
2.
Did some of the leaders distribute food differently? Why?
Students should discover through the discussion that there are two main issues: amount of available food and distribution.
I want you to keep this experience in mind as we discover some facts and figures about world hunger today.
Objective 1 The student will be able to define “world hunger” and it’s main causes.
In your notes, let’s include this definition of world hunger:
(Show PowerPoint presentation, and discuss the definitions of world hunger, malnutrition and harmful society.)
I. Defining World Hunger
A. World Hunger : Malnutrition that is caused by conflict and/or harmful societies.
B. Malnutrition : Poor nutrition because of an insufficient or poorly balanced diet or faulty digestion or utilization of foods.
C. Harmful Society : A society in which the benefits are directed to a small percentage of the population, leaving many involved in a cycle of illiteracy, disease, high infant mortality and low life expectancy.
Objective 2. The student will be able to estimate world population and list three trends in population.
Make sure each student has a copy of the world map on which to take these notes.
If I asked you to solve world hunger, what would be your response (ask one specific student)? Probably, you would need some current population information to do so. Let’s
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make a few notes on the world map each of you have.
Review the slides and have students write information on the map in the area the information refers to. General items can go anywhere.
II. World Population Statistics
1987 5 billion
1999 6 billion
? 7 billion
The United Nations project that our world population could reach 7 billion somewhere between 2011 and 2015. The exact year depends on several trends. ( Summarized from
Agriscience Fundamentals and Applications text, 3 rd
edition. Teacher may choose to read the Changing Population Patterns section aloud or study in any other way. Students should record the following notes on the reverse side of map that also contains notes )
III. Current Population Trends:
1.
More children are surviving to adulthood, adults are living longer.
2.
Modern health advancements are good, but only for those who can afford good nutrition and health care.
3.
Age profiles of the populations in different countries are very different depending on environment and social issues.
4.
Developing countries in Africa and Asia will account for about 90 percent of the increase in world population projected by 2050.
5.
In Europe and other developed countries, the population above age 60 is drastically rising, due to scientific and medical developments.
Now that you have the information, when I say, “Hypothesize,” you and a partner near you will have 2 minutes to determine from the information provided which year, 2011-2015, you believe world population will reach 7 billion. In addition to the year, you will need to provide a justification as to why you selected that year.
(Allow 2 minutes, benchmarking time along the way. Have 2 groups share their answers.)
Objective 3. Be able to explain why animal science is a key factor in human nutrition and food availability.
Depending on your class, you may choose to discuss the following information rather then include it in notes.
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Now, we need to determine how this world hunger problem is tied to animal science, and more specifically, you.
First, you should know;
1.
The number of hungry and malnourished people in the world continues to grow.
2.
2. The problem is not that some nations are over-populated; it is that some nations have inadequate food production.
Food production can be divided into two sections: plant and animal production. Cereal grains are the most important source of energy in developing countries but supply less protein. Meat, milk and eggs are important for two reasons:

The assortment of essential amino acids for the human body matches animal tissue better than plant tissue
 Vitamin B12 and iron aren’t available from the grains

Most of the land in underdeveloped countries is better suited for grazing rather than crop production.
Your job as a world citizen is to work towards providing the right food, nutritionally, to all people to help them lead healthier lives. Take a look at this food pyramid. (in PowerPoint presentation) Can you meet the needs of a human without animals? (Discuss as a class) If you don’t have some of these food groups available in your diet, what effect do you think it has?
(Discuss the cycle of poverty: malnutrition leads to poor health, leads to lack of job / abilities, leads to no money for food, etc.)
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Review/Summary.
You may use the following activity to write a quiz to be used for the day’s assessment or include the appropriate questions at the end of the unit in a quiz.
To review what we covered today, I’m going to give you as a class an opportunity to write a quiz over the content as a class. Out of the questions we write as a class today, I will choose 5 to be included on your next quiz. In the next three minutes, I want you to read back through your notes and pick one important point from the content today. Then on a piece of paper, write a quiz question and its answer. You may use any type of question.
Depending on time, this activity can be altered. You may want each student to read their question to the class and have another person answer it; or you may only focus on a few questions. However, the questions should include review of the following information.
You may have to add some questions of your own.
What is world hunger? o World Hunger: Malnutrition that is caused by conflict and/or harmful societies.
What is the current world population? o Between 6 and 7 billion.
What are three current population trends? o More children are surviving to adulthood, adults are living longer. o Modern health advancements are good, but only for those who can afford good nutrition and health care. o Age profiles of the populations in different countries are very different depending on environment and social issues. o Developing countries in Africa and Asia will account for about 90 percent of the increase in world population projected by 2050. o In Europe and other developed countries, the population above age 60 is drastically rising, due to scientific and medical developments.
Why are animals important in human nutrition? o They provide much of the dairy and protein requirements that ensure proper development. Because of similarities in amino acids, our bodies can readily benefit from the vitamins and minerals.
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Application
Extended classroom activity: o Have students work in teams to brainstorm ways to “solve” or improve the status of world hunger through agriculture and present them to the class orally, by poster, or in a PowerPoint presentation. o Contact a representative from the Peace Corps, or other worldwide service organization to share his/her perspective on the issues at hand. o Lead a class discussion or assign the following topics as research project. Look at how technology has increased agricultural production. How have Round-Up ready crops affected yields? Can our technology keep up with demand? Will cloning increase availability of top genetic stock to improve breeding programs and increase meat and milk yields? Was BST a success for increasing milk o production?
FFA activity:
Encourage the chapter to analyze hunger in their community and possibly donate to the local food bank.
SAE activity:
Evaluation.
Use the following quiz to test retention of the above knowledge or add the questions to a more comprehensive quiz. You may choose to use similar questions that are student generated from the review activity.
Answers to Assessment:
World Hunger Quiz Answers
1.
C
2.
E
3.
B
4.
A
5.
D
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World Hunger Quiz
Name ______________________________________________ Date ______________
Match the following phrases to the terms that are most appropriate.
1. _____Malnutrition caused by conflict and harmful societies. A. Animal products
B. A population trend 2. _____The current world population
3. _____ More children surviving to adulthood
4. _____Meeting dairy and protein requirements
5. _____An important area to develop in all countries
C. World Hunger
D. Animal Science
E. 6-7 billion
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World Map
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