The Environment and Modern Agriculture

Lesson Plans

Grades7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Biology, Economics

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Educated Choices Program

Open Resource

What it is

In this video-based lesson, students will learn about current agricultural practices and the impact they have on the environment, demonstrate their learning through an online quiz, and extend their learning by looking at food advertisements and practicing sustainable food swaps.
Students will learn about deforestation, waste management, resource use, and other aspects of food production that are contributing to climate change, as well as a few changes people and communities can make to produce and consume food more sustainably.

Teaching tips

Positives

This video does an excellent job of defining unfamiliar terms in context, making it easy for students to acquire new vocabulary.
The lesson activities are presented in a way that allows students to participate independently, which is great for virtual learning or a flipped classroom model.

Additional Prerequisites

To use this resource in the classroom, teachers need to answer a few questions and provide an email address to receive an access link and password.
The answer key for the quiz is not accessible with the given password.

Differentiation

The provided quiz can be used as a post-video assessment or as a form of guided notes for students to use while watching the video.
Students can create infographics showing others the environmental impact of certain foods.
Students in civics classes can draft bills to encourage a shift in local agriculture and diets towards more sustainable options.
Have students investigate the Environmental Impacts of Food using this data-filled resource and then present the resources required to produce the food of their choice.

From the scientist review

This website from the Educated Choices Program provides a comprehensive resource for teachers covering how the environment is affected by modern agriculture. A ~43 minute video is provided that discusses the environmental concerns surrounding the American diet and its effects on the environment. Topics covered include: the standard American diet, worldwide demand for food, and modern animal agriculture. These topics are then related to environmental concerns surrounding waste management, natural resources allocation and use, deforestation, and the distribution of biomass. These subtopics are then related to climate change with a discussion at the end of the video that covers choices that can be made by individuals in order to lessen the impacts of climate change. Lesson plans and a post-video quiz are also provided. This is a very well-researched resource that would be a great addition to a classroom discussion about the effects of agriculture and food choices on climate change.

How we review resources

Ready to use it?

Hosted on ecprogram.org

Open Resource

Want this to fit your class?

Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.

At a glance

Grades: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Biology, Economics
Other types: Articles/Websites, Videos, Assessments, Activity - Classroom
Format: PDF
Language: English, Spanish
Location: Earth
Provider: Educated Choices Program
Authors: Educated Choices Program
Published: October 16, 2023
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D2.Eco.15.6-8 + 14 more

Core

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D2.Eco.15.6-8Explain the benefits and the costs of trade policies to individuals, businesses, and society.
D2.Eco.1.9-12Analyze how incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.3Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

National Health Education Standards

1.12.1Predict how healthy behaviors can affect health status.
1.12.7Compare and contrast the benefits of and barriers to practicing a variety of healthy behaviors.

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

MS-ESS3-4.Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.

Maine Climate Education Hub

English Language Arts

SL.9-12.1Prepare for and participate in conversations across a range of topics, types, and forums, building on others' ideas and expressing their own.
SL.9-12.2Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

Health Education

1.4.6-8Students determine how the environment and other factors impact personal health.
4.1.9-DStudents evaluate positive and negative influences on health practices and behaviors including peers, family, media, culture, community, perception of norms, government, technology, and social platforms.
6.1.6-8Students apply decision-making skills to enhance health as an individual and through collaboration.

Science and Engineering

MS-LS2-4Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
HS-LS4-5Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.
HS-ESS3-1Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
HS-ETS1-1Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.

Cookie Preferences

What it is

Teaching tips

From the scientist review

Ready to use it?

Want this to fit your class?

Related Teaching Resources