This week the kindergarten chefs discussed why and how to eat for a healthy planet. We started with a circle where they were invited to share something they love about nature. In rooms 107 and 111, we love plants, flowers, pandas, bugs, trees, and the ocean! Many students have heard of climate change, and already had ideas about what we can do to fight it. Even though the most impactful decisions that affect the environment must come at the policy level for systemic change, food waste and emissions from livestock are two important sources of greenhouse gasses that we as consumers can do something about. One simple thing we can do is to replace animal protein with plant protein in our diets more often.
Protein helps us build strong muscles, repairs damaged tissue, and keeps us feeling full when we need energy during the day. Beans are a great way to get protein from plants, and in the spring in Northern California, we’re lucky to have fresh fava beans at our local farmers markets. In class, the kindergarteners each got two blanched fava beans to peel and taste. Then they spread fava bean hummus on a piece of bread and garnished their toast with edible flower petals.
One thing that has changed in how we teach sustainability and healthy eating over the years is a shift away from focusing on the individual to instead recognizing all the people in a community. When we talk about organic produce like the fava beans we worked with this week, we talk about what pesticides do to our bodies but must also talk about the effect exposure to pesticides has on farmworkers’ health and the impact on the soil and water. We also cannot ignore that organic produce remains more expensive and therefore inaccessible to many. What can children do? Learn, ask questions, and when it’s time, vote!
We read the book I Love the Earth by Todd Parr and then had a dance party to a song called “The 3 R’s” by Jack Johnson. By chance a friend of mine reached out and said she had lemons from her backyard tree to donate to our school, so every chef left class with a lemon of their own to cook and/or eat with. I’m not sure how many of them will actually make it home, but hope they brought a few moments of delight while they lasted.
