Discussion Questions and Activity Ideas

Use these questions and activities in conjunction with Eat Here as jumping off points for classroom or community discussions about sustainable food.

Discussion Questions

1. What does "food democracy" mean?
2. Why does Halweil call local food movements "revolutions?"
3. What are some of the hidden costs of low priced foods bought at commercial supermarkets?
4. How has technology and mechanization affected farmers for good and for bad? (Page 38)
5. What does Halweil mean by "food Cartel?" Give an example of this from your life. (Page 39)
6. What are some psychological, economic, and social advantages of local food systems?
7. Why has it become so difficult to make a living as a farmer?
8. What does Halweil mean by the phrase "marginalization of farmers" on page 62?
9. Why were farming costs so much lower in the 18th and 19th centuries?
10. What factors after WWII led to changes in the farming practices?
11. Farmers typically receive less than 10 cents from every dollar spent on food. Where does the rest of this money go?
12. What does Halweil mean in Chapter 4 when he asserts that "the company store has gone global?"
13. How has crop diversity been threatened by the disappearance of small farms?
14. How does the farming crisis affect national and global security?
15. What is "polyculture" and what role does it play in the difference between small and large farming operations?
16. What is bio-intensive farming?
17. How can the concepts presented in Eat Here help farmers and farming communities weather changes in the global economy and fluctuations in the value of their local currency?
18. How has the consolidation of the food chain and reduced crop diversity in the field affected the nutritional health of rural communities?
19. What is a "food desert?"
20. What are some of the nutritional benefits of eating locally?
21. What is a "greenbelt city?" How are greenbelt cities similar to medieval cities?
22. What economic factors might lead to a resurgence of urban farming?
23. How is eating local linked to issues of security?

Activity Ideas

1. Take a shop walk. Visit your local grocery store. Go to the produce section and try to determine all the places the fruits and vegetables come from. What is the closest place? What is the farthest?
2. How does the price of a given basket of produce from the supermarket compare to the price of a similar basket from your local farmer's market? Shop and compare!
3. The next time you have a party at home or at the office make it an "Eat Here" potluck. Each guest must bring a dish made from locally available foods. Serve local beer, wine, or cider and give a prize for the most creative recipe.
4. Make a seasonal cookbook. Work with your friends to develop a list of fruits and vegetables that are in season for each month, and then come up with a recipe that uses each of these seasonal ingredients.