Lesson video

Hello, Mrs. Lomas here.

And I am a primary school teacher that is a little bit obsessed with geography, maybe a lot obsessed with geography.

So, I am super excited to be joining you for your geography lesson today.

So, shall we find out what we're going to do? So, today's lesson is sourcing our food, which is part of our farms and factories: where does our food come from unit.

And by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain the impact that climatic and seasonal differences have on food availability.

We have some key words in today's lesson.

They are imported, climate, harvested, out of season, hemisphere.

Let's do my turn, your turn.

Imported.

Climate.

Harvested.

Out of season.

Hemisphere.

Let's see what they mean, shall we? Goods that are imported are brought in from another country.

Climate is an average of weather conditions.

For example, rain, sun, wind in a place taken over a long period of time, usually 30 years or more.

When a crop is harvested, it is picked, cut or gathered ready for use.

Out of season, means the time of year when a food is not naturally ready for harvesting.

A hemisphere is half of Earth, usually divided into the northern or southern hemisphere by the equator or eastern and western hemispheres by a line that runs through the poles.

So, look out for those words in our lesson today.

Today's lesson is split into two parts.

How do seasons affect food availability? And where does our food come from? So, let's have a look at how do seasons affect food availability? The foods we eat today have origins from around the world.

Can you remember where these foods originate from? You have chocolate, wheat in the bread and apples.

So pause the video, see if you can remember and then come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? So, the cocoa beans that make the chocolate are from Central America.

The wheat in the bread is from West Asia and the apples are from Central Asia.

Some of the food we eat is imported from other countries and some of it can be grown in the UK.

Aisha wants to know what food can be grown in the UK and Jun is wondering, have you ever grown any food? So, pause the video, have a class discussion about those questions, and come back when you're ready.

So, which of these foods are widely grown in the UK? We have apples, bananas, rice and potatoes.

What do you think? Pause the video and then we'll have a little check.

If you had said apples and potatoes, you would be correct.

Jun wants to know why can't some of these foods be grown here? For example, bananas and rice.

Pause the video, have a class discussion and come back when you're ready.

So, different foods grow better in different climates and the UK has a temperate climate with moderate temperatures and rainfall.

And you can see that from our climate map there, can't you? The dark orange or equatorial climate zones, the light orange or tropical climate zones, yellow or desert climate zones, green or temperate climate zones.

And you can see the UK is green and the blue are arctic and polar the climate zones.

Can you remember what the climate is like in each of these climate zones? Pause the video, have a close discussion and come back when you're ready.

So, these foods are all widely grown in the UK.

We've got apples, potatoes, strawberries and tomatoes.

But Aisha is wondering, "Can they be grown all year round?" And Jun is wondering, "Why not if they can't?" Pause the video, have a discussion and come back when you're ready.

So, let's have a quick check.

Which of these foods are widely grown in the UK? Select two.

You can choose from oranges, pineapples, strawberries and tomatoes.

So which of these foods are widely grown in the UK? Select two.

Pause the video, come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? If you said strawberries and tomatoes, you'd be correct.

Well done.

So, temperate climates such as the UK, have four seasons each year; spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Average temperature and rainfall all vary across the seasons.

And these seasonal changes affect when crops can be grown and harvested.

Different foods are harvested in the UK at different times of the year.

Apples are harvested from late summer to early autumn.

Brussels sprouts are harvested from late summer to early spring.

Strawberries are harvested from early summer to early autumn.

Tomatoes are harvested from midsummer to early autumn.

Potatoes are harvested from early summer to mid autumn, and cabbages can be harvested all year round.

So, you can see that some can be harvested at the same time, some at different times from each other, but it does mean we have lots of different fruits and vegetables that are ready to be harvested all throughout the year.

So, time for a quick check.

True or false? Most crops in the UK are harvested all year round.

And once you've decided if that is true or false, I would like you to justify your answer with either A or B.

A, most crops in the UK are only harvested in the summer, or B, seasonal changes affect when different crops can be grown and harvested.

So, most crops in the UK are harvested all year round, true or false? And then justify your answer with either A, most crops in the UK are only harvested in the summer, or B, seasonal changes affect when different crops can be grown and harvested.

Pause the video, have a go.

Come back and check your answers when you're ready.

How did you get on? If you said that it was false, because B, seasonal changes affect when different crops can be grown and harvested.

You'd be correct.

Well done.

So, it is time for task A.

I want you to choose three foods that are widely grown in the UK and investigate when they are in season and use the table to record your findings.

So, that's three foods that are grown in the UK, investigate when they're in season and write your findings in the table.

Pause the video, come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? I chose apples which are harvested from late summer to early autumn.

Cabbages which are harvested all year round.

And tomatoes which are harvested from midsummer to early autumn.

You might have chosen different ones, however, if you didn't quite get three, now is your chance to pause the video and add any in or make any changes that you need to make.

So, we've had a look at how do seasons affect food availability.

Now, let's have a look at where does our food come from.

Most crops grown in the UK aren't in season all year round.

Aisha is wondering, does this mean we can only eat these crops at certain times of the year? Here we can see some strawberries and some tomatoes.

I want you to pause the video and have a discussion about when you eat strawberries and tomatoes.

Are their sometimes of the year you don't eat them or you can't get them or see them in the shops.

Pause the video and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? The growing season for crops can be lengthened by tricking plants into thinking that they live in a different climate.

This can be done using heated greenhouses, polytunnels or cold frames.

And you can see an example there in the photograph.

You might have a greenhouse in your back garden or someone you know might have.

The greenhouses that are used for crops, rather than just in your back garden are on a much bigger scale than the ones in your back garden.

But they work in exactly the same way.

Some foods can be stored so that they can be eaten all year round.

Many British varieties of apples store well, so we could eat apples from the UK throughout the year and some foods can be preserved so that they can be eaten all year round.

Tomatoes can be dried, pureed, tinned, cooked, boiled or even made into ketchup.

Can you think of another way to make some foods last longer? Have a little think.

Freezing is another way to make food last longer.

Many of the fruits and vegetables grown in the UK are available in frozen form, so that people can buy them all year round.

Some foods are harvested at different times in different parts of the world, because of the seasonal differences in the northern and southern hemispheres.

When food is outta season in the UK, it can be imported from other countries where it is in season.

What months of the year do you think apples are in season in Chile? Pause the video, have a class discussion and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? Hopefully you realise that it would be the opposite months of the year in Chile than in the UK.

So, let's do a quick check, shall we? I want you to suggest one way in which seasonal crops that'll grown in the UK can be eaten all year round.

So, just one way in which seasonal that are grown in the UK can be eaten all year round.

Pause the video, collect your answers and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? If you said any of the following, you would've been correct.

So, you could have said using artificial growing conditions, storing food, preserving food, freezing food and importing food from other parts of the world.

Foods that can be sourced in the UK might be imported from other countries even when they are in season or available in this country.

What might be the reasons for this? Pause the video.

Have a class discussion and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? Some reasons for this are lower food production costs and demand for particular varieties or types of food.

Many of the fruit and vegetables that can be grown in the UK are imported from southern Spain.

The climate in southern Spain is warmer, so the growing seasons for these crops are longer.

Food production costs are also lower in southern Spain than the UK.

This means that these foods might be imported, even when they are in season in the UK.

Some food is imported because people want to buy and eat particular varieties or types of food.

Pink Lady is a popular variety of apple eaten in the UK.

This variety doesn't grow well in the British climate.

So, Pink Lady apples are imported from other countries, such as South Africa and New Zealand.

Let's do a quick check.

True or false? Foods that can be grown in the UK are only imported when they are outta season.

Once you've decided if this is true or false, you're going to justify your answer with either A or B.

A, some foods might be imported, because they are cheaper to produce in other countries, or B, some foods might be imported, because they are more expensive to produce in other countries.

So, decide whether foods that can be grown in the UK are only imported when they are outta season is true or false, then justify your answer with either A, some foods might be imported, because they are cheaper to produce in other countries, or B, some foods might be imported, because they are more expensive to produce in other countries.

Pause the video, have a go and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? If you said that it was false because A, some foods might be imported, because they're cheaper to produce in other countries.

You'd be correct.

Well done.

Many of the foods we eat can't easily be grown in the UK as they aren't suited to our temperate climate.

Different foods grow best in different types of climates.

Some foods grow best in a tropical climate.

This climate is hot and humid with high rainfall.

Can you name a country with a tropical climate? Pause the video and have a go.

Come back when you're ready.

Here are some examples of foods that grow best in a tropical climate.

Bananas, pineapples, rice and cocoa pods.

Can you think of any other examples? Pause the video and have a go.

And now let's have a quick check.

Which of these foods grow best in a tropical climate? Select two.

So, you have apples, rice, pineapples and strawberries.

I want you to select the two that grow best in a tropical climate.

Pause the video, have a go and come back when you're ready to check your answers.

How did you get on? If you said rice and pineapples grow best in a tropical climate, you'd be correct.

Well done.

So it is time for task B.

You are going to first of all, use an atlas to mark on the world map where each food type from a meal comes from.

And then secondly, work out the distance in kilometres that each food travels to reach where you live.

So, I'm going to do my example with a roast dinner, because I love a roast dinner.

So, I've gone for lamb from Auckland in New Zealand, peas from Cape Town in South Africa, potatoes from Cairo in Egypt, carrots from Groningen in the Netherlands and mint from Haifa in Israel.

And then for pudding, I'm going to have some ice cream from Rome in Italy.

You can do that meal as well if you want or you can choose your own favourite meal.

Once you've decided on your meal, use an atlas to mark on the world map where each food type comes from and then work out the distancing kilometres that each food travels to reach where you live.

You may want to have your school as your final destination or the town or city that you are closest to.

Pause the video, have a go and then we'll have a look at one that I did.

How did you get on? So, I did to a school that I know in Sheffield as my example for the distances.

So, the peas from Cape Town, South Africa, travelled 9,900 kilometres.

The lamb from Auckland New Zealand, travelled 18,700 kilometres.

The potato is from Cairo, Egypt travelled 3,700 kilometres.

Carrots from Groningen in the Netherlands, travelled 530 kilometres.

The mint from Haifa in Israel travelled 3,700 kilometres and the ice cream from Rome in Italy, travelled 1,600 kilometres.

The total meal has travelled 38,130 kilometres.

What do you think this means for the environment if our food is travelling this far? I want you to pause the video and have a class discussion.

You may also want to have a look at who has the food from furthest away and closest, and who has the meal that has travelled the furthest in total.

And then have a think about the impact that this would have on the world.

Pause the video and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? I hope you had lots of interesting discussions.

So in summary, many food crops can only be grown in places with the right climatic conditions.

Some food crops grown in the UK are only in season for part of the year because of the UK's temperate climate.

Food can be eaten outta season by using artificial growing conditions or by preserving or freezing it.

And seasonal differences between the northern and southern hemispheres, mean that some crops are imported outta season.

Well done today, everybody.

You worked really hard and wasn't it interesting to find out where all our food comes from.

Quite a surprise that some of it comes from quite so far away, isn't it? So, hopefully you enjoyed today's lesson and I will see you for some more geography soon.

Bye.