The Planet and Our Plates
Provided by: Educated Choices Program|Published on: October 16, 2023|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 11, 12, AP
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Biology, Geography, Health
Authors: Educated Choices Program
Location: Earth
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This video and lesson is about industrial agriculture, land use, ocean acidification, the use of plastic in food production and distribution, and the impact that food choices and agricultural practices have on climate change.
- Students will watch the video, write a letter, conduct a research project, and take part in class discussions.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This video highlights the effects of industrial agriculture on various communities that are disproportionately impacted by industrial agriculture facilities.
- It includes topics such as traditional ecological knowledge and mangroves as important carbon sinks.
- The many topics and subtopics are broken down by timestamp for the teacher or viewer to easily navigate.
Additional Prerequisites
- Those who want to use this resource need to answer questions and provide an email address to get an access link and password.
- Students may need the terms industrial, prevalent, aquaculture, biodiversity, land degradation, terrestrial, carbon sinks and others defined, prior to watching the lesson.
- Scrolling below the video will take you to the additional resources that can accompany this video.Of these resources, the quiz and homework answer keys are not accessible.
- Day two of the provided lesson plan includes a link to a climate change food calculator. This link isn't clickable, however a collection of climate change food calculators can be found on our site.
Differentiation
- This lesson introduces many topics that students may want to research either independently, or as a class, such as the industrial revolution, the westernization of diets across the globe, or genetically modified foods.
- Students may benefit from guided notes, provided at the bottom of the screen, to fill out while watching the lesson or frequent pausing to discuss, to increase student engagement.
- Students can discuss individual actions vs. larger-scale actions that can be taken in agriculture and personal food choices to decrease greenhouse gas emissions from food.
- Consider using this other resource on our site about the impacts of food production globally to have students further investigate the land, water, and resources used to produce various foods.
This video is an overview of how our food production and diet affect the environment. In the video, they step through the following topics: current environmental issues related to food production and consumption, the consequences of modern farming and agriculture practices, the conditions of farms for workers and animals, material needs and pollution, water use, land use, farming and sourcing sea animals, alternative practices, climate justice, how this all is related to climate change, and what we can do about it. The video is dense and includes a lot of statistics and facts presented at a quick pace. The topics do transition well, but it is a lot of information and may be overwhelming for some. The website does provide a breakdown of the subtopics covered in the video, along with time stamps if users want to break up the video. Related resources, discussion questions, and activities are also provided. The video and some of the activities have viewers briefly reflect on their diets, which can be a touchy subject for some, particularly those at a higher risk for disordered eating. Overall, this is a nice video that encompasses how our food system, humans interact and affect the Earth. The information is accurate and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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