Children discover the origin of food: action on the day of the world nutrition

Children discover the origin of food: action on the day of the world nutrition

This week, 7,638 pupils from 425 classes of the 265 elementary schools in Styria on the occasion of the World Nutrition Day on October 16 can take a look behind the scenes of domestic agriculture. The reason for this exciting action is the considerable catch -up requirement in awareness of the origin of food.

Educational cluster director Lukas Zagler reports of alarming examples from his schools in the Voitsberg district. Many children don't know where their food comes from. If you are supposed to draw cows or pigs, there are often colorful drawings of exotic animals such as monkeys or dinosaurs. This shows a clear misunderstanding about domestic animals and food.

Action week of the farmers

In order to counteract these knowledge gaps, the Styrian farmers organize an action week. Questions such as "What does the cow eat?" And "How are bread and butter made?" answered by committed farmers in two teaching units. This initiative primarily affects the second class and is supposed to bring the connections between agriculture and nutrition closer to the students in an entertaining way.

The farmers not only bring the production steps closer to the children, but also present local food such as bread, milk, potatoes, pumpkins, eggs or apples. In order to promote understanding and appreciation for healthy eating to the students, the children cost these foods in the form of a healthy snack. In Zagler's schools, butter and various spreads were made as an example, which offers children a practical experience.

New class creative competition

An additional highlight of the campaign is the new class creative competition on the subject of "Our farm of the future". Classes are invited to submit their creative approaches to the Styria Chamber of Agriculture by November 29. This initiative is intended to encourage children to think about sustainable agriculture and to deal with the origin of their food.

However, Lukas Zagler shows how challenging it is to establish a healthy and sustainable diet at school. One example is the desire to replace packer juice with regional apple juice. Despite the interests of the farmers, logistics is a problem. Zagler emphasizes how important it is that the children have the opportunity to experience sustainable food from the region.

"It is crucial that our kids understand how food is produced and that apples grow on trees and are not easy to find in the supermarket," he adds. The current action week aims to create a new generation of awareness of healthy, regional and seasonal nutrition.

The farmers are tirelessly committed to improving their level of knowledge among the children. This is not only a step to promote regional agriculture, but also a contribution to the health of future generations.