Food — Siqi Song, 2014
WARNING: Please note that this film content that some younger pupils may find upsetting. We suggest it is most suitable for older primary school pupils.
A short animated documentary about food and the way we see, eat and think about it.
Personified food items talk about their favourite foods. The burger states that everyone loves cheeseburgers - why wouldn’t they? The other foods talk about why they are vegetarian/pescatarian – they mention watching programmes about how chicken aren’t treated well on some farms. It moves on to discuss how culture and geography can affect wheat you eat. Lifestyles have also affected diets, there is a lack of space/time to grow food or keep animals. The issue of quantity over quality is raised with one voice suggesting that eating healthily doesn’t necessarily mean he is happier.
Classroom Activities
Print All- Critical
- Cultural
- Creative
- Clip Details
Critical
- Foods are given voices: which type of eater does each food represent? Sort and label these.
- Would you have chosen these foods to represent each choice? Explain your reasons.
- Where are the different foods set? Is there a reason for this?
- Why do you think the filmmaker has chosen this kind of animation for the film? Is it the best way to get their message across?
Cultural
- Research the differences between vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian and meat eaters. Create a similarities/differences Venn diagram.
- Research then debate the advantages and disadvantages of at least two of the choices. Consider health, nutritional content, wealth, eco system, climate change… Present and persuade your audience why being a particular type of eater is best. Is any one option correct? Why/why not?
- Discuss programmes mentioned. Has anyone seen these documentaries?
- Would seeing the animal before eating dissuade you from having a certain meal?
- One voice suggests that eating healthily doesn’t necessarily mean he is happier, so he doesn’t eat vegetables: does this approach apply elsewhere? What are the consequences of this approach?
Creative
WRITE
- The film introduces the word VEGETARIAN – play with the word. Grow/shrink it, rhyme with it, find the definition, draw it, find syllables, use it. What does this word link to (e.g. vegan)?
FILMMAKING
- Personify a food on the iPad or with a model, then create an animation. Add a voice over using iMovie where the food describes its favourite food and why.
DRAW
- Design, describe and name your own new meal – would it be vegetarian? Why (not)?
SOCIAL STUDIES
- Mapping: plot places around the world with diets high in meat or veg etc. Find out why they have these diets (climate, topography etc.)
- Plan a journey around the world visiting the places you would eat. Which would you avoid and why?
STEM
- Burger states, “Everyone loves a cheeseburger”. Create and carry out a survey – is this true or false? Record your findings in an appropriate table or diagram.
- Conduct a survey into people’s favourite foods. Make a pictograph with follow up questions.
HFT
- Carry out a blind taste testing of vegetables.
- Plant and grow vegetables of your own.
- Plan a vegetarian menu for one meal/day/week.
- Sort a variety of photos of foods into categories – meat eaters/vegetarian etc. Are any suitable for more than one? (These could be simple photos for lower primaries but more complex for upper who could investigate the ingredients in popular foods to discover if they are vegetarian/vegan friendly – e.g. some gummy sweets which use animal fat.)
Clip Details
| Year of Production | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary, Comedy, Animation |
| Curriculum Areas | Health and Wellbeing, Literacy and English, Sciences, Technologies |
| Director | Siqi Song |
| Country of Origin | USA |
| Medium / Content | 3D Animation, Non-Fiction, Colour, Sound |
| Themes | Health, Food / Environment |
| Clip Length | 03:31 |
| Clip Length | 03:31 |
| Age Group | P5-P7, S1-S3 |
