Media Constructions Of Sustainability: Food, Water & Agriculture

PowerPoint Slide Show, Lesson 1 Lesson Questions: 6-19 Media Constructions Of Sustainability: Food, Water & Agriculture

Self-Assessment Questions: Lesson 6

L1, Slide 3 Source: US Dept of Agriculture press release, April 18, 2011 “Since 1994, USDA has counted the number of operational U.S. farmers markets. During that time the number of farmers markets listed in the USDA National Farmers Market Directory has skyrocketed from 1,755 to 6,132.” Between 1994 and 2011 the number of farmers markets in the US... Remained about the same Doubled Tripled

L1, Slide 4 • $5 billion • $10 billion • $20 billion In 1997, retail sales of organic food in the U.S amounted to $3.6 billion. In 2008, retail sales of organic foods amounted to...

L1, Slide 5 How do these two fill-in-the-blanks point toward a bias on the part of the writer of the question? Between 1994 and 2011 the number of farmers markets in the US…tripled. In 2008, retail sales of organic foods amounted to…$20 billion.

L1: Slide 7 What percent of the U.S. workforce was engaged in farming in 1776? 75% What percent of the U.S. workforce was engaged in farming in 1914? 30% What percent of the U.S. workforce was engaged in farming in 2011? Less than 2% Do you think these statistics are accurate? Why or why not? How could you find out?

Read these quotes from magazine articles on economics and sustainability. Match each quote to the magazine it appeared in. L1, Slide 9 Magazine Mission Statements • Ode Magazine: our readers are “cultural creatives” and early adopters whose purchasing decisions are guided as much by ethical and environmental concerns as by economic considerations. • Orion Magazine: ourmission is to inform, inspire, and engage individuals and grassroots organizations in becoming a significant cultural force for healing nature and community. • Dollars & Sense Magazine:publishes economic news and analysis, reports on economic justice activism, primers on economic topics, and critiques of the mainstream media's coverage of the economy. Quotes “Nature will decide what is sustainable; it always has and always will.” - Eric Zencey “Innovators and entrepreneurs around the world are finding ways to use natural physics and bio-chemistry to cascade matter and energy in fully harmonious and renewable flows.” - Gunter Pauli “It takes no great stretch of the imagination to picture, within the next five to ten years, a "U.S. Solidarity Economy Summit" convening many of the thousands of democratic, grassroots economic projects in the United States to generate a stronger shared identity, build relationships, and lay the groundwork for a U.S. Solidarity Economy Alliance.” - Ethan Miller

L1, Slide 10 How do the mission statements and readership of magazines shape the ideas within the articles they print? Answers “Nature will decide what is sustainable; it always has and always will.” -Eric Zencey Orion Magazine: ourmission is to inform, inspire, and engage individuals and grassroots organizations in becoming a significant cultural force for healing nature and community. “Innovators and entrepreneurs around the world are finding ways to use natural physics and bio-chemistry to cascade matter and energy in fully harmonious and renewable flows.” -Gunter Paul Ode Magazine: our readers are “cultural creatives” and early adopters whose purchasing decisions are guided as much by ethical and environmental concerns as by economic considerations. “It takes no great stretch of the imagination to picture, within the next five to ten years, a "U.S. Solidarity Economy Summit" convening many of the thousands of democratic, grassroots economic projects in the United States to generate a stronger shared identity, build relationships, and lay the groundwork for a U.S. Solidarity Economy Alliance.” - Ethan Miller Dollars & Sense Magazine:publishes economic news and analysis, reports on economic justice activism, primers on economic topics, and critiques of the mainstream media's coverage of the economy.

L1, Slide 12 It depends… What are questions one should ask about this or any fact? What is the source and is it credible? When was this fact stated? Is it current? How was the fact determined? 420 million people do not have enough to eat. True or false?

L1: L9, Slide 13 “…at least420 million people do not have enough to eat.” - the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) Is this a credible source? Why or why not? This statistic is from 1981. Does the date matter? Why?

L1, Slide 14 What people were counted? How did they determine who has and does not have “enough to eat” and how is “enough to eat” defined? “at least420 million people do not have enough to eat” UNFAO, 1981 What is important to know about how UNFAO determined this fact?

L1, Slide 15 According to Professor Thomas Poleman, there are ''three great unknowns'' in trying to estimate the extent of hunger. These are: • the actual availability of food • the exact amount of food people need for nourishment • how access to food varies among different income groups within a country. Because of these uncertainties, predictions of future global famines, or of the numbers of starvation deaths that will occur by the year 2000, are widely viewed as meaningless. Even the figures on existing hunger and malnutrition vary wildly. (as cited in Crittenden, 1981)

L1, Slide 17 T... Traditional Why is it important to hear the voices of traditional land-based people in the 21st century? E... Ecological K... Knowledge T.E.K.is an acronym It has to do with the ancient wisdom of indigenous peoples in relation to the natural world. What do you think the letters stand for?

L1,Slide 19 Access to safe drinking water is a human right, not a commodity to be bought and sold. True or false?

L1, Slide 20 Is this a fact or an opinion? Why? In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly declared “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.” Does this make the above statement a fact?Why or why not? Access to safe drinking water is a human right, not a commodity to be bought and sold. True

L1, Slide 21 • 500 million • One billion • One and a half billion Source: UN Fact Sheet on Water and Sanitation, 2005 1.1 billion people gained access to safe drinking water between 1990-2002. The greatest access gains were achieved in South Asia , where water access increased from 71 per cent in 1990 to 84 per cent in 2002. In sub-Saharan Africa , access grew minimally, from 49 percent in 1990 to 58 per cent in 2002. Is this source credible? Is this fact credible? How many people gained access to safe drinking water between 1990-2002?

L1, Slide 23 Match these quotes to their sources: • The private sector has made significant and lasting contributions to the delivery of reliable, safe water worldwide. By 2007, private water operators were delivering services to around 160 million people in emerging markets. These private-public partnerships have delivered water access to an estimated 24 million people since 1990. • Imagine a world where every single drop of water is the private property of a company, maybe a country foreign to your country Imagine a world where, if you collect rainwater or water from the river without paying a foreign company for it, you may be prosecuted by your own government…Sadly, we already live in such a world. “Water, Water Everywhere” from the journal Handshake of the International Finance Corporation: World Bank Group “The World Water Crisis: A Challenge to Social Justice” from the Faith and Society series published by Paulines Publications Africa “The World Water Crisis: A Challenge to Social Justice” from the Faith and Society series published by Paulines Publications Africa or “Water, Water Everywhere” from the journal Handshake of the International Finance Corporation: World Bank Group

Where does your water come from?Who controls your water source? L1, Slide 24 Are these important things to know? How can you find out if you don’t know?

Advances made in light-weighting bottled water containers reduce waste, preserve resources and deliver a sustainable product to consumers.True or false? L1, Slide 26 Despite these advances, the production, distribution and disposal of plastic water bottles requires the use of significant amounts of energy and materials.

Advances made in light-weighting bottled water containers reduce waste, preserve resources and deliver a more sustainable product to consumers.True or false? L1, Slide 27 These advances will lead to a MORE sustainable product than without these advances.

Advances made in light-weighting bottled water containers reduce waste, preserve resources and deliver a more sustainable product to consumers. L1, Slide 28 Which of these do you think is the probable source of this quote? Why? • Joseph Doss, president and CEO of the International Bottled Water Association • Charles Fishman, author of The Big Thirst, a book critical of the bottled water industry

L1, Slide 29 What questions should you ask about this fact? What is the source? What are the two costs? How did they calculate these costs? How current is the information? We spend almost as much on crushable plastic bottles of water as we do maintaining the U.S. water system. True or false?

L1, Slide 30 Which of these do you suspect is the source of this quote? Why? • Joseph Doss, president and CEO of the International Bottled Water Association • Charles Fishman, author of The Big Thirst, a book critical of the bottled water industry Would this fact be more credible if it came from Joseph Doss? We spend almost as much on crushable plastic bottles of water as we do maintaining the U.S. water system.

L1, Slide 31 “In the U.S., we spend $21 billion a year buying bottled water, and we spend $29 billion a year maintaining the entire water system: pipes, treatment plants, pumps.” Charles Fishman, The Big Thirst, 2011 Given this clarification, is Fishman’s statement at the top accurate? We spend almost as much on crushable plastic bottles of water as we do maintaining the U.S. water system. Charles Fishman, The Big Thirst, 2011

L1, Slide 33 Does this seem like a credible fact? Why? 4.4 million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf following the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout on April 11, 2010. from a study published in the journal Science in October 2010 by Columbia University scientists Timothy Crone and Maya Tolstoy

L1, Slide 34 No accurate estimate of the amount of oil spilled can be made without additional study and analysis. from the BP webpage, “Containing the Leak,” accessed in June, 2011 Does this seem like a credible fact? Why?

L1, Slide 35 What questions do you need to ask about these statements to determine their credibility? Which statement do you believe to be more accurate? Why? What does your answer you about your own biases? 4.4 million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf following the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout on April 11, 2010. from a study published in the journal Science in October 2010 by Columbia University scientists Timothy Crone and Maya Tolstoy No accurate estimate of the amount of oil spilled can be made without additional study and analysis. from the BP webpage, “Containing the Leak,” accessed in June, 2011

The amount of corn products eaten by U.S. consumers increased dramatically between 1970 and 1993.True or false? L1, Slide 37 USDA report on “Major foods: U.S. per capita consumption” reported consumption of corn sweeteners and other corn products:1970: 30.2 lbs per person each year 1993: 100.3 lbs per person each year Are these figures credible? Why?

L1, Slide 38 According to Berkeley professor Miguel Altieri and Food First executive director Eric Holt-Gimene , the percentage of the U.S. corn crop that was genetically modified in 2007 was... 25% 50%75% 100% News Analysis: UC's Biotech Benefactors, by Miguel Altieri and Eric Holtz-Gimenez, Berkeley Daily Planet, February 6, 2007. Are these figures credible? Why?

L1, Slide 39 These are examples of dozens of varieties of traditional or heirloom corn grown by Native Americans. From “Heirloom Seeds: Our Cultural Past” by Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservationist E. John Rogers What does this list refer to? Black Aztec Long Ear Pop Hopi Blue Bear Island Hopi Pink Flour Chippewa Flint Mandan Bride Seneca Red Stalker Hominy Cherokee White Flint

L1, Slide 41 What was the green revolution? a. A social movement to overturn governments in the Soviet bloc during the late 1990s b. Agricultural research and technology leading to large crop yields in the mid-20th century c. 21st century campaign urging investment in environmentally conscious “green companies

L1, Slide 42 Who was Norman Borlaug? A primary critic of green revolution initiatives A Swedish farmer who invented DDT U.S. scientist named as the “father of the green revolution”

L1, Slide 42 They were all asserted in media articles. Justin Gillis in the New York Times Leo Hickman in The Guardian Alexander Cockburn in Counterpunch Gregg Easterbrook in The Wall Street Journal How can we distinguish fact from opinion in media articles? Which of these statements about Norman Borlaug are true? He did more than anyone else in the 20th century to teach the world to feed itself. b. He planted the seed for future environmental woes. c. His "green revolution” led to the death of peasants by the million. d. He was arguably the greatest American of the 20th century.

L1, Slide 45 What are food miles? the distance food travels from where it is grown to where it is ultimately purchased or consumed by the end user. b. the distance one can run per calorie of food intake. c. a term used in a McDonald’s advertising campaign comparing the average distance between fast food franchises in the U.S.

L1, Slide 46 In 2003, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University released a study entitled Checking the food odometer: Comparing food miles for local versus conventional produce sales to Iowa institutions. It stated: Fresh produce arriving by truck at the Chicago Terminal Market from within the continental United States traveled an average one-way distance of _____ miles in 1998, a 22 percent increase over the miles traveled in 1981. 15 151 1,518 15,180

Where does your food come from? L1, Slide 47 Is this important to know? How can you find out if you don’t know?

L1, Slide 49 What is ethanol? a waste product of natural gas b. a type of rubbing alcohol a biofuel made from corn used in gasoline.

L1, Slide 50 1. It is a good alternative to fossil fuels. 2. Producing it creates jobs for the unemployed. 3. It contributes to the destruction of rainforests. 4. It is a good investment opportunity. 5. It causes hunger by raising grain prices. 6. It is responsible for the huge dead zone in the Gulf. 7. It burns cleaner than gasoline. 8. It accelerates global warming. 9. It enriches lobbyists and agribusiness. 10. It helps to protect our national security Raise your hand if you think the following statements about ethanol are true:

Media Constructions Of Sustainability: Food, Water & Agriculture