#524: Man

By Steve Cutts - made in 2012, but only just came across it... looks at our relationship with the natural world - dark humour, so don't watch if you're particularly sensitive.

#318: LEAP - our diet and the environment

LEAP was involved in the creation of the Meat the Future exhibition at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in 2022.

The LEAP project (Livestock, Environment and People) at Oxford University studies the health, environmental, social and economic impacts of meat and dairy production and consumption.

The LEAP website includes an excellent image... Check the tabs to see more. 

The proposed specification was originally down to include something on the impact of our dietary choices on the environment e.g. meat eating has a high carbon footprint.

Image copyright: LEAP 

#293: Our diet and Climate Change

Our food has a dramatic impact on natural history at both local and national scales... and global too...

Elon Musk tweets, "Farming has no material effect on climate change."

This is wrong. If you look at the data, you find that a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are due to food production, the majority of these from farming.https://t.co/D7X9tu5Pyg

— Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) February 12, 2024

How high our emissions from food production are depends primarily on what we eat.

If you would like to see the data on this, you can find it
— here: https://t.co/cdxtINqHzI
— and much more here: https://t.co/nxmzE3lAVK pic.twitter.com/yoXgrtyFUR

— Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) February 12, 2024

What we choose to eat has an impact because of the water and energy required to produce certain items, and the amount of land that is put aside for its production.

Food should be more of a priority than it is for the government - as should water... we can get by without most things, but not food and water. 

The original draft specification for the GCSE Natural History mentioned the impact of our diet on the countryside. Choices such as organic food, vegetarian diets and alternatives to milk from cows all have an impact on the landscape...

Image: Jersey Royals, Alan Parkinson - shared under CC license

#205: Chipping in for nature

You will perhaps have seen the current TV ads for McCain potato products.

Take a look at the company's logo...

Tree... rolling fields and terrain... and some bird in flight. They are trying to position the brand as being connected with the landscape and nature, and perhaps a rising or setting sun for the overall shape of the logo.

McCain was founded by two Canadian brothers in the early 1900s.

They are chipping in and moving over to regenerative / sustainable agriculture use from all their suppliers and this is prominently displayed on the packaging of their products.

When thinking about branding, you can see particular words often appearing on packaging.

Here's their work:

In 2020 they launched the McCain Potato Farmer Pledge, a £25 million investment designed to help ensure the long-term sustainability of British agriculture, in the face of increasing climatic events like droughts and floods. 

Since 2020, they have committed a further £50 million to British farming to safeguard the UK’s potato industry. This includes significant contract price increases for growers, as well as a supplementary energy support package.

As you can see, they are very active in East Anglia.

They also say:

As 80% of all potatoes eaten in the UK are home grown, they don’t need to travel far from the field to the plate, and this kind of local sourcing is great news for the environment. But for food retailers and consumers, local sourcing goes beyond simply decreasing emissions, it also supports hundreds of British farmers and farming communities.

When it comes to our supply chain, quality and traceability are key. 100% of our British potatoes come from certified Red Tractor growers –the UK’s leading farm and quality food production certification, that assures food safety and traceability.

There's plenty of interest in this website

This might make a good example of how decisions made by companies have the potential to have an impact on the countryside. 

#156: Fungi 4 Schools

I imagine that many people will be turning to a legacy website produced by the UK Mycological Society when it comes to learning about fungi. 

It was produced by David Moore and despite the 'old-fashioned' look, still has a wealth of information by following the links.

They have a GCSE age student resource page, which has a series of useful materials.

Explore the World of Fungi.

I discovered some really useful activities.

What's your Favourite Fungus? for example.

There's a Supermarket Challenge activity which I will probably update as well.

#68: WWF: Risky Seafood Business Report

'The ocean is the blue heart of our planet and we ignore its health at our peril. Protecting this precious resource should be the top priority of every single fishery around the world, yet for too long unsustainable practices have gone unchecked, draining the ocean of life.' 

Kate Norgrove, Executive Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at WWF 

My favourite meal is fish and chips (with mushy peas), from a decent chippy, of which there are several close to where I live in Norfolk.

We like fish and chips as a nation too.

A fairly recent WWF Risky Seafood Business report says that a total of 887,000 tonnes of seafood was eaten by people in 2019 - the equivalent to 5.2 billion portions of fish and chips. The report can be downloaded from this link (PDF)

It goes into detail on the impacts of seafood extraction on other aspects of marine ecosystems, including the impact on endangered species.

Image: Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license

There is also a good range of useful images that would find their way into lessons on the oceans, food production, fisheries and sustainability.

Image source: WWF Risky Seafood Business Report