DRAFT 1
Lesson Title: Vegetable Product Life Cycle
Grade Level: 9-12
Subject Area: Science – Earth Science
Setting: Classroom or Greenhouse if available
Instructional Time: 2 - 50 min.
I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think.
– Socrates
Vegetable Product Life Cycle
Science, High School
As a powerful science instructor, you want to teach this lesson
because
 First and foremost, you want your students to understand what they’re
eating – where it came from, how it has been processed.
 Your students will understand the connections that exist between
science, packaging, transportation, business, textiles, and so on.
 You want your students to understand the recycling is just one layer of
the entire issue of waste, use, and reuse.
 The next time your students walk through a grocery store or use the
drive through of a fast food restaurant, they will look at products with
new eyes.
 One or more students in your class will begin to personalize the
message that everything a person ingests is a choice, an important one.
Grade Level Expectation (s):
E2.4d Describe the life cycle of a product, including the resources, production, packaging,
transportation, disposal, and pollution.
MNN Behavioral Outcomes:
Eat fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk products every day.
© 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Michigan Nutrition Network
DRAFT -School Garden Nutrition Education
SNAP-Ed Core Nutrition Messages:
Eat Smart.
Eat fruits and vegetables at meals and snacks.
Drink milk at meals.
Goal:
The goal of this lesson is to realize (understand) the product life cycle of fruit, vegetable, grain,
and dairy products.
Learning Objectives:
The students will…
1. Learn all stages of the food production chain and recognize product stages along the
way.
2. Understand the cost analysis of the food marketing system.
3. Relate food production and product stages to healthy and sustainable choices.
4. Understand the transportation costs for products that can be produced locally (in the
school garden).
Vocabulary
Input supplies
Farm production
Commodity Assemblers
Manufacturers
Wholesale
Retail
Consumer
Pollution factor
Local production
Locovore
Advanced Preparation
 Make copies of student worksheet
Supplies
 Copies of student worksheet, one per student
 MyPyramid Poster MyPyramid poster. http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/educators.html
(Teacher note: MyPyramid for Kids is for children 6-11 years. If the majority of your
class is over 11years of age use the adult MyPyramid.)
 Store bought salsa
 If practical, fresh salsa prepared from the garden (or a recipe)
Safety Notes
Check with students to make sure there aren’t any food and/or insect allergies (depending on
where you go)
Procedures
Step 1
Introduction:
Begin by bringing a potato to class. Ask the students to brainstorm how many food products
they know of that are made from potatoes. Have the students share their answers. Review
MyPyramid. Have students identify which potato products fall into the Vegetable Group, and
when they fall into the Fats and Oils group. Discuss the concept of whole food versus
processed food and the benefits of a garden to provide fresh and healthy foods. Even favorites
like homemade salsa from the garden are healthier than store-bought salsa. Compare a recipe
for salsa from the garden and the ingredients of a store bought example. Note the difference in
nutrition and flavor for each.
Step 2
Take the students to the school garden or greenhouse or to a farmers’ market, and have
students identify different processed food products by making a list of everything they see.
(They can also categorize the degree of processing – may be two or three categories and find
products in each category)
Category 1; not processed, but required transportation – ie. Fresh produce in store vs. from
school garden...
Category 2: Moderate processing – ie. Packaged salad,
Category 3: Highly processed – ie. Bread, pizza sauce, etc.
Step 3
The teacher brings the class back into the classroom, and all of the students contribute to a
master list. Utilizing the list made by the students (they may also use grains or dairy for the
focus of the product assignment), have students pick one of items for the focus of their research
and assignment.
Step 4
Pass out the student food production worksheet to each student, and using the example
provided, facilitate students in researching their products online.
Step 5
Upon the conclusion of the assignment, ask 4-5 students to volunteer to present their diagrams
to the class and post them around the room. Discuss with the students the health benefits of
eating less-processed foods and more whole foods. Also discuss how their findings of the
effects of buying local food may reduce transportation costs and pollution. Discuss how growing
a garden provides physical activity and fresh, healthy produce at a low cost. Refer to
MyPyramid throughout the discussion.
Assessment
Students can be assessed based on their accuracy and completion of their student
worksheet. Extra credit points could be rewarded for those who present their diagrams.
SAMPLE Student Page
Name: _____________________________ FOOD:
ORANGES
CONSUMER
Pollution Factors:
Waste Disposal
Fuel emissions
Retail and Wholesalers (different products created from
food):
Waste Disposal
Container Disposal
Fuel emissions
Waste Disposal
Container Disposal
Whole oranges, frozen OJ concentrate, fresh OJ,
processed flavors (popsicles, candies, pop), oil from peels,
canned fruit segments (Jello, etc.), cleaning supplies,
candles, bug sprays, perfume
Manufacturers (form in which the food is processed
into):
Fuel emissions
Whole oranges, orange juice, orange peels (rind), orange
segments
Container Disposal
Commodity Assembler (form in which is collected from
the farm to be shipped for processing):
Fuel emissions
Whole fruit
Fertilizer and pesticide run-off
Plastic containers
Fuel emissions
Disposal of synthetic materials
Plastic containers
Farm Production (form in which the food product takes
on the farm):
Whole fruit (oranges) on the tree
Fallen and rotten fruit used for compost, animal feed (hogs)
Input Supplies (items needed to be purchased by the
farmer to grow product):
Fertilizer, water, land, farm equipment, fuel for farm
equipment, labor, pesticides, herbicides, irrigation, crop
Fuel© emissions
2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities,
Nutrition
insurance,Michigan
orange
tree Network
stock, bees for pollination
DRAFT -School Garden Nutrition Education
Student Page
Name: _____________________________ FOOD: ___________________________________
Pollution Factors:
CONSUMER
Retail and Wholesalers (different products created from
food):
Manufacturers (form in which the food is processed
into):
Commodity Assembler (form in which is collected from
the farm to be shipped for processing):
Farm Production (form in which the food product takes
on the farm):
Input Supplies (items needed to be purchased by the
farmer to grow product):
A Step Further
The lesson you just completed focused on the environmental and economic impacts of food processing and distribution. It’s also
important to consider how food content and quality affect us internally. Explore this issue in the activity titled “A Tale of Two Menus.”
A Tale of Two Menus
Vegetable Product Life Cycle
Grade Levels 9-12
 Once upon a time, there were two teams of students who cooked
the same meal in two very different ways. They started with a
simple menu like the one to the right. Then they went their
separate ways.
 One team prepared the meal as if they were pulling items directly
from MyPyramid. The food was fresh, though perhaps packaged
or transported. The other team used highly processed food to
create their meal.
 When the food fixing was complete, the teams shared two things
with the class: samples of their food and a chart that summarized
the nutrition contents of the meal. Then the class members had a
thoughtful and productive discussion about benefits and
drawbacks of fresh food and highly processed foods.
Today’s
Menu
Apple
Chicken
Wheat
Milk
Cheese
Green
Beans
 The nutrition chart looked something like the ones shown on the following pages.
 If you decide to do this, start by organizing your two teams
o Pick the basic menu.
o Decide who will be on the fresh team and who will be on the processed team. Then make up your new menus.
o Find a way to report your data so that both teams are using the same method to determine one portion of a type of
food.
o Determine whether you will just do this exercise on paper or go the distance and prepare two meals.
o If you’re really going to cook, you have to tackle more issues: money, shopping, where to cook, when to share in
class, and so forth.
© 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Michigan Nutrition Network
DRAFT -School Garden Nutrition Education
The nutrition chart looked something like this:
Members: ________________________________________________________
Team Name: The Green Team
Amount per serving
Food
Calorie Total
item
s
fat
Sliced
apples
Baked
chicken
Whole
wheat
rolls
Milk
Cottage
cheese
Steame
d green
beans
Choles
-terol
Sodiu
m
Carbohydrat
e
% Vit A
%Vit C
%Cal
-cium
%Iron
Preservatives, additives,
stabilizers, texturizers, flavors –
Anything added
Members: ________________________________________________________
Team Name: The Supreme Team
Amount per serving
Food item
CaloTotal
ries
fat
Apple
cookies
BBQ wings
Garlic
bread
Chocolate
shake
Mozzarella
poppers
Green
bean
casserole
Choles
-terol
Sodiu
m
Carbohydrat
e
% Vit A
%Vit C
%Cal
-cium
%Iron
Preservatives, additives,
stabilizers, texturizers, flavors –
Anything added to the natural
food.
Extension Ideas




Have all students bring in a whole vs. packaged form of their product and research and compare the nutritional and health
information for both.
Visit a company that is on any of the levels of the food production systems diagram. (Jiffy Food Mill in Chelsea, MI has
excellent tours for schools.)
Create a food production survey to take to a farmers’ market to gain different perspectives of food production (i.e.
transportation, growing practices, pollution factors)
Have the students find the processed foods served in the cafeteria for school lunch. Determine which could be grown in a
school garden. Make calculations of savings that could occur if foods were grown at school / purchased locally. Then have
students make recommendations for what could be grown in the school garden and used in the school cafeteria.
Teacher Resources
The Garden Grocery - http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/farmar.shtml
Food Marketing Institute - http://www.fmi.org/
Michigan Department o f Agriculture – http://www.michigan.gov/mda
USDA Nutrition – http://www.nutrition.gov
Health Risks Associated with Processed Food - http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/10/19/all-the-health-risks-ofprocessed-foods----in-just-a-few-quick-convenient-bites.htm