IELTS, ESP, EAP and CALL
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IELTS, ESP, EAP and CALL
Interesting links and articles related to IELTS, ESP, EAP and E-learning.  Available to teach ESP, EAP, Research Skills, IELTS, TOEFL and General English.
Curated by Dot MacKenzie
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The Global Food Waste Scandal

TED Talks Western countries throw out nearly half of their food, not because it’s inedible -- but because it doesn’t look appealing. Tristram Stuart delves into the shocking data of wasted food, calling for a more responsible use of global resources.

 

No one should be surprised that more developed societies are more wasteful societies.  It is not just personal wasting of food at the house and restaurants that are the problem.  Perfectly edible food is thrown out due to size (smaller than standards but perfectly normal), cosmetics (Bananas that are shaped 'funny') and costumer preference (discarded bread crust).  This is an intriguing perpective on our consumptive culture, but it also is helpful in framing issues such as sustainability and human and environmental interactions in a technologically advanced societies that are often removed form the land where the food they eat originates. 

 

Tags: food, agriculture, consumption, sustainability, TED, video, unit 5 agriculture.


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Shelby Porter's curator insight, November 4, 2013 10:39 AM

It isn't surprising that the more a country has developed, the more wasteful they are. I just think that we need to change this standard. We can not keep this up if we want to sustain ourselves for centuries to come. If we are going to change our consumption culture, we need to look at why it has become the way it is. Why do we see food as unappealing? This is an interesting video and certaintly makes you think twice about throwing anything away. 

Kenny Dominguez's curator insight, November 29, 2013 6:13 PM

Ted explains it well how we all waste perfectly good food that people would like to eat. Also it was amazing how much food was in the dumpsters that was just a day or week old. That meat could feed hundreds of people that are struggling to eat and all that meet to waste. 

megan b clement's curator insight, December 16, 2013 1:51 AM

Ted talks about just how wasteful our planet is. How we just ignore the issue and act like it will  not affect us in the future. When he shows you video and pictures of massive piles of the ends of a loaf of bread or all the food that Stop and Shop throws out because it does not "look" good for the customer. How every little bit of help counts you can try to make a little bit of an effort to be less wasteful. We have so much unnecessary waste. Like when he uses the example of how many people throw away the ends of a loaf of bread then he shows the waste of the ends of bread in massive piles it makes you sick. Especially with all of the hungry people in the world we need to be more resourceful.

 

 

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If the world’s population lived in one city…

If the world’s population lived in one city… | IELTS, ESP, EAP and CALL | Scoop.it

This is an very intriguing map that shows different urban layouts and applies the concept of population density at the city scale and compares it to the global population.  What is everyone lived in the city of New York (at New York's population density)?  How big would that city be? 

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Our Dwindling Food Variety

Our Dwindling Food Variety | IELTS, ESP, EAP and CALL | Scoop.it

"As we've come to depend on a handful of commercial varieties of fruits and vegetables, thousands of heirloom varieties have disappeared. It's hard to know exactly how many have been lost over the past century, but a study conducted in 1983 by the Rural Advancement Foundation International gave a clue to the scope of the problem. It compared USDA listings of seed varieties sold by commercial U.S. seed houses in 1903 with those in the U.S. National Seed Storage Laboratory in 1983. The survey, which included 66 crops, found that about 93 percent of the varieties had gone extinct. More up-to-date studies are needed." 

 

To show the other side of the issue, include this minor, yet crucial part of the article: "A 30-year-old plant pathologist named Norman Borlaug traveled to Mexico in 1944 to help fight a stem rust epidemic that had caused widespread famine. Crossing different wheat varieties from all over the world, he arrived at a rust-resistant, high-yield hybrid that helped India and Pakistan nearly double their wheat production—and saved a billion people from starvation. This so-called green revolution helped introduce modern industrialized agriculture to the developing world." 

Alyssa Dorr's curator insight, December 16, 2014 9:13 AM

This article is based on a study done by the Rural Advancement Foundation in 1983. Over the past century, it is hard to know what foods were lost and how many of each. But this study done by RAF gave us some information to solve the problem. It compared USDA listings of seed varieties sold by commercial U.S. seed houses in 1903 with those in the U.S. National Seed Storage Laboratory in 1983. The survey, which included 66 crops, found that about 93 percent of the varieties had gone extinct. 93 percent of these crops have gone extinct. That is a huge chunk that could be used as resources. This tree starts off with ten crops on it. The tree included: beet, cabbage, sweet corn, lettuce, muskmelon, peas, radish, squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes. In 1903, all these numbers were up, up, up. The lowest starting with beet at 288 ranging up to the highest with lettuce at 497. However, 80 years later in 1983, numbers dropped. The highest then shifted to tomatoes at 79 and the lowest shifted to sweet corn at 12.

Alex Smiga's curator insight, February 13, 2016 12:18 PM

From a scientific view point it almost seems like we are making ourselves into specialists in an ecological / dietary way.  Limiting our available food resources and hoping against the odds that we don't suffer the same fate as other specialist species of the past.

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Seeds of A Revolution » 21st Century African Land Rush

Seeds of A Revolution » 21st Century African Land Rush | IELTS, ESP, EAP and CALL | Scoop.it

Interesting map about farming land lending to other countries in Africa. Impossible to find the original source, but is attricuted to the Financial Times. 

 

Here is a link to the image (in low res) without political content (UN related): http://new.uneca.org/lpi/africanlandrush.aspx ;

 

Tags: Africa, agriculture, unit 5 agriculture.

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NYTimes: The Geography of Food

NYTimes: The Geography of Food | IELTS, ESP, EAP and CALL | Scoop.it
It’s a myth that chips are cheaper than broccoli. They’re not. So what’s stopping people from eating more healthfully?

 

Is junk food really cheaper?  Is that economic factor the only one that has led to increasingly obesity rates in the Unites States?  What about cultural changes to families' division of labor within the house?  Agricultural changes in production as well as urban systems of consumption all play a role in this complex system.  Economics, culture, urban and agriculture are all interconnected in this article.    

Liam Michelsohn's curator insight, December 4, 2013 2:31 PM

A great article about the food chrsis going on in america. When looking at this fast food trend as a whole its effects extend greatly across the ecnomy. First off the fact that there are 15 fast food resturants to every grochary store is so obsured beacuse studys have proven it cost less to buy food at the store and cook it at home then to eat out at fast food resturants, but who are the poeple eating out at BK the low income familys. Also the fact that such a large amount of food i need to prodce the deamand it has effeced the agrucltual ecnomy beacuse if farmes want to be able to sell there potatos in bulk to these restuansts, they have to  be grown a certain way. So it not just one cheep meal here and there it consistant meals at places like these that has begun to reshape the ecnomy and agruclutral market.

megan b clement's curator insight, December 16, 2013 2:10 AM

The biggest excuse for obese Americans today is that junk food is cheaper than healthy food. This is actually false now that i read this article. They even use the example that if you go to McDonalds for dinner and got burgers, chicken nuggest, fries, and sodas it would cost 28.00. Or you can serve a roasted chicken, vegetables, salad, and milk for 14.00. So there is one example of how that stereotype is false. I understand there are things that you can buy that are healthy that are expensive but that is what comes with everything.

 

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Food, Nutrition and Geography

Peter Menzel's beautiful photography and our Hungry Planet...

 

This video is a fascinating portal into global food systems and how globalization is impacting local foods.  He traveled around the world to see what families eat in a given week, and how much all the food cost and where it can from.  Many wealthy countries exhibit poor nutritional habits (eating food high in fat, sugar and salt) while some in poorer people have a very balanced diet.  This leads him to describe the 'Nutritional Transition.'  Warning before showing in class: there are brief instances of non-sexualized nudity in the video. 

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Learn about your Food

Learn about your Food | IELTS, ESP, EAP and CALL | Scoop.it

Many consumers don't know much about the production of their food.  Is your food Genetically modified?  Organically produced?  Learn how to know.   

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