Modern food production uses 19% of the fossil fuels consumed in this country, annually, yet many students never consider the environmental and energetic impacts of their personal food consumption choices. Agricultural production, which requires fossil fuels for fertilizers, pesticides, and mechanical treatments, is often surpassed by the high energy required for transportation, packaging, and refrigeration or freezing. We have developed an EXCEL-based in-class exercise for a non-science major, interdisciplinary survey course, TESC236 Plants and People: The Science of Agriculture. This exercise allows students to calculate the amount of fossil fuel inputs required for production and processing, transportation, packaging, and preservation of the food they eat during a one week period. The exercise combines in-class lecture modules, a scaffolded series of mini-exercises designed to introduce students to science writing, and an introduction to the scientific method, allowing students to formulate, test, and analyze individual and group hypotheses.
Results/Conclusions
After analyzing their individual data and the pooled class data, students present their results in an individual term paper. Special emphasis is given to the peer-review process and the importance of detailed analysis for science and non-science disciplines. Based on confidential and anonymous survey results, use of their own personally collected data engaged students while encouraging personal reflection, ultimately leading to greater insight into the scientific process and the importance of individual action. Instructional materials will be provided on request.
