In celebration of World Environment Week and the end of the Tread Lightly Low Carbon Lunch Challenge, TakingITGlobal and the Centre for Global Education partnered to present two video conferences about how schools can reduce carbon footprints through sustainable food consumption.

Session 1 – Slow Food

Lilia Smelkova shared results from the work that Slow Food International is doing to introduce healthy eating in European schools, through the Slow Food in the Canteen Network.

Slow Food’s approach to healthy eating begins with taste education. The “Origins of Taste” kit guides students through exercises to compare the taste of whole foods versus processed foods. After tasting the difference, students begin to cultivate an appreciation for healthy foods, and choose those options over processed foods.

Encouraging schools to procure food from local sources, through local farmers and school food gardens, is another pillar of the Slow Food in the Canteen initiative.

At the end of her talk, Lilia invited schools from today’s conference to join the Terra Madre conference planned for October 21-24 in Turin, Italy.

Participating schools:
Ermitage International School, France
Marymount School Paris, France
Olds High School, Alberta, Canada
Quebec High School, Quebec, Canada

Session 2 – Fast Food

Margaret Sanchez discussed the making of her animated video, the Cheeseburger Footprint, which looks at the carbon footprint of a single fast food cheeseburger. She gave students an in-depth look into the process behind creating a digital animated short, and shared her sketches and story boards. Margaret also showed pictures her own edible gardens at home and the worm composter that turns food scraps and newspaper into natural fertilizer for her garden, completing the nutrient cycle and reducing her personal footprint.

As an Information Assistant / Digital Media & Design for the California Air Resources Board, Margaret was also able to shed some light on the policies in California that encourage people and business to adopt climate-friendly behaviors. In the United States, California climate legislation sets the standards for much of the rest of the nation.

During the Q&A, schools from Canada addressed the challenges of food growing in cold climates. Participants from Olds High School recommended making preserves and storing in root cellars, and growing in greenhouses as ways to eat local food beyond the short growing season.

Participating Schools:
Queen Elizabeth High School, Alberta, Canada
Big Valley School, Alberta, Canada
Bishop McNally High School, Alberta, Canada
Netagamiou School & CLC, Quebec, Canada
Olds High School, Alberta, Canada
Quebec High School, Quebec, Canada
S Bruce Smith School, Alberta, Canada

This Earth Day, TakingITGlobal launched our Tread Lightly Low Carbon Lunch Challenge, with a video conference for schools co-organized by the Centre for Global Education.

Over 18 schools and 700 students joined us for this interactive video conference, which was also streamed live on the web. High schools and middle schools from across Canada and the US listened to a thought provoking and informative presentation by Dr. Debra Davidson, from the Environmental Research and Studies Centre in Alberta, and also had a chance to participate in a lively Q&A and break-out session.

Dr. Davidson spoke about the impact of the food system on climate change and some practical ways that to reduce carbon footprints through more sustainable food production and consumption.

Many of the students in attendance were from food producing families and asked challenging questions about how to implement low carbon initiatives in agricultural communities.

Schools that attended the event as observers, also participated in online discussion forums, hosted in the Tread Lightly virtual classroom.

At the end of the conference, students were encouraged to rally other students to take on the Low Carbon Lunch Challenge at their schools.

A food blog is a great way to document your LOW Carbon Lunch. You can use this blog to post your LOW Carbon Lunch pictures and recipes. Anyone taking the LOW Carbon Lunch Challenge can post to this blog.