The NFB, in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation and Humber College invite Canadian students to get together—virtually—and talk about the impact that modern food systems might be having on our health, land and food security. Environmentalist and broadcaster Dr. David Suzuki is joined by J.B. MacKinnon, Utcha Sawyers, and Tanya Davis, whose compelling poem appears in the NFB film Island Green, a look at conventional and organic farming on Prince Edward Island. Co-hosted by the NFB, DSF and Humber College, this special event is geared towards high school seniors, student groups and college and university classes.
Brief “lesson launcher type” activity or a series of inquiry questions with a bit of context:
This “Virtual Classroom” is filmed as a live roundtable discussion between David Suzuki and several other experts in the field of food access/security. It is aired in its entirety and is not condensed in any way, so it may be useful to use certain clips as opposed to the whole session. The first 20 minutes are introductory, then specific questions are asked by high school and university students. At the beginning of the Virtual Classroom, the Indigenous perspective on food is introduced. Conduct research on the Tamarack trail and the Humber waterways that are mentioned. How were these passageways used by Indigenous people to acquire food? Do we still use them today? In the panel, they explore the link between wealth and consumption. In Canada, how does our consumption of food and resources compare to other countries? Does this consumption rate vary by province? What is the link between feminism and use of resources and access to food?