Food Studies Matter, Meaning, Movement Activity Classifying Food, Erin Sperling and Sara Scharf

ACTIVITY CLASSIFYING FOOD ERIN SPERLING AND SARA SCHARF ACTIVITY CLASSIFICATION OF FOOD AS A WAY TO STAND DIVERSITY AND HISTORY Erin , and Sara are freelance mics with deep and expertise . Erin , a sessional , has taught numerous elementary science methods and environmental education courses at institutions in and has a doctorate in justice tion . Sara , a professional academic editor and cybersecurity researcher , wrote her dissertation on the history and ment guides in botany . ERIN SPERLING AND SARA SCHARF 331

Learning Outcomes After reading and discussing this text , students should be able to Articulate their understanding of their personal and connections to food and begin to analyze these in relation to their own and others . Identify a variety of food products and understand their cultural or historical origins , including of colonization and globalization . Express multiple ways of knowing food and name the ious stakeholders in food systems , including ecological , medicinal , industrial , and agricultural interests . CLASSIFICATION OF FOOD This activity on the classification of food plants encourages to draw on their own cultural and historical grounds to explore development in an inclusive Way . The activity was developed by working with teacher candidates to encourage them to see food as an inclusive material for teaching across subject areas and supporting . In this activity , students explore and classify food plants as a way to highlight the importance of biodiversity and to examine the role of scientific study and classification as just one of several ways of understanding the world , including Indigenous and other localized approaches . An additional goal is to help pants recognize their own biases , as Well as the views and of others . Our biases have an impact on the way We View and encounter the world and the assumptions we may make . 332 CLASSIFYING FOOD

In particular , students may explore specific skills of observation , using inference , classification , and the practices of information organization used to represent knowledge . Participants will draw upon their own experiences with particular ing cultural practices and personal demonstrate that there are multiple useful ways of looking at our complex and varied world , that scientific classification grew out of local and works as a bridge among different local , and that these different ways of engaging continue to inform each other . This activity can be done with real food items , paper and pens or markers , paper towels and knives ( for cutting open fruits and vegetables ) It can be carried out in person , or through virtual delivery , using a Google Images search or the food sig , for example . The latter is helpful for selecting a variety of foods for students to consider , as opposed to having students preselect the food items , which may bring unconscious bias into the activity , and which also eliminates the possibility that dents may encounter new food items in the activity . However , it should be noted that a disadvantage to the food site is that its selection options are limited and already biased toward northern North American or European cuisine . If ing in person is not possible , the instructor can also a list of images without letting the students know the names of the items . Students will have their own preconceptions about what each item might be . These preconceptions should also be explored . For the virtual delivery of this activity , use the website ( selected to make a list including at least four fruits and four vegetables . Students may draw and colour in the objects as well , based on their own knowledge , or do some quick research online for images to print and cut out or copy . Be careful not to have them read too much detail about the use or origin of the item selected . ERIN SPERLING AND SARA SCHARF 333

Once you have a clear list of to 10 items , have the students low the directions below , making adjustments for virtual or person participation Arrange yourselves into groups of about four . Put away your phones and close your . Do not look anything up ! First , on your own , investigate the contents of the food Try not to discuss your thoughts and memories with others yet , but take note of them . On your own , decide how you will organize your items . Write out clusters and ( if appropriate ) of food items with clear categories . Label the categories . There are no wrong answers ! Write down a brief summary of why you organized your items the way you did . What guided your choices ?

Within your group of four , share and compare your and analysis . Respectfully discuss your results and consider how similar and different they are from each other . Consider both the categories you and your classmates have chosen as well as the way you have each organized the information . Come to a group consensus , if possible , about how to organize the items in your food Write down or illustrate your classification to share with class on big digitally . Some possible ways of classifying the food items include colour , connections to family or celebrations , cooking method , taste , geographic origins , texture , plant body part ( root , stem , fruit ) and others . Possible modes of representing the information could include a chart , matrix , pie chart , or graph . There are no limits and no 334 CLASSIFYING FOOD

answers . ERIN SPERLING AND SARA SCHARF 335 Figure One way to arrange the food in delivering this activity ( photo authors ) This activity highlights how to include other ways of viewing the world through diversifying modes of classification . The two and multiple ways of looking at our complex and varied world , and that science is just one way among many . Even whether a given item counts as a fruit or vegetable is open for discussion . Additional options include selecting a food or two from the lists and asking students to do further research to gather additional background information . This may include which of the foods are indigenous to the local site , which ones were introduced but can be grown locally , and which must be imported . It may also include learning which foods have cultural meaning to some groups and why , or which foods grow best in certain or climates , and why . Discussion Questions What did you notice about your connections to food compared to other members of your group ?

How did your group come to consensus about the final and organization that was displayed to the class ?

What factors did your group discuss that helped to determine individual and group of the food items ?

What do you notice about the overall class of their food items ?

What were the more and less common ways of organizing and categorizing food items ?

In what ways can we use ERIN SPERLING AND SARA SCHARF 337 this information to support food studies actions ?

Scientific classification came out of an effort to produce a common language that would bridge different local ways of knowing and ing about living things . In what ways is having a common scientific language useful ?

In what ways is it less useful ?

Note If this activity is to be held in person , tell the students ahead of time produce will be brought into the room and give them the opportunity to indicate there are any serious allergies that should be taken into account . 338 CLASSIFYING FOOD