Eleventh International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

During the UK’s lockdown, a program was created to teach Food Studies to a mixed classroom from age 7-11. It used the potato as its main focus. It blended social science, history, anthropology, culture, geography, ecological studies to produce an interdisciplinary study of the potato from its earliest evolution to the food industry today to the cutting edge of scientific research in food production, sustainable packaging and the development of nutri-dense varieties as a response to climate change and malnutrition. It required a high level of student engagement in projects and original creative writing. This paper demonstrates the value of Food Studies as a standalone curriculum topic in both primary and secondary education, as well as its essential role in undergraduate and post graduate studies.