Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 11/24/11


At a time when animal activist groups have made inroads into classrooms by providing lesson materials that promote their point of view, farm groups are providing teachers with some lesson plans of their own.
A new animated “Food for Thought” video was distributed in November to help Illinois fourth graders understand how soybeans turn into the pork on their plate.

The educational cartoon was produced with checkoff dollars from the Illinois Soybean Association through the United Soybean Board and the Illinois Pork Producers Association.

"The video explains connections between the pork and soybean industry, and is customized for Illinois with familiar geographic references.  Students can learn the truths and basic economics involved with a modern hog farm and how farmers care for their animals and the environment," says Doug Winter, soybean farmer from Mill Shoals, Ill., and vice chair of the ISA Imaging Building Committee.

The 22-minute DVD was distributed free to Illinois fourth grade teachers with an accompanying lesson plan and take-home sheet to cover Illinois core learning standards.

A seven-minute version of the video was also developed for use as a preview to pork and soybean farmers and for presentations to children.

More than 3,800 DVDs were shipped to all fourth grade classrooms (private and public) in November.
To help encourage use of the DVD and lesson plans IPPA has also developed a grant program. Fourth grade teachers who show the video to their students can apply for a grant for $200 for agricultural education materials for their classroom.  A grant application form was included in the DVD mailing.

For more information, contact Erin Cleary at IPPA at erin@ilpork.com or 217-529-3100.

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