Should Children Be Taught How To Grow Food As Part of Their Schooling?

If you are a parent, you should probably think about one good question: should your children be taught to grow food at school?

The modern era is marked by the constant advancements in technology, and the new inventions have provided the comfort and conveniences that we never even imagined to live in.

However, we lost a large part of the needed real-world knowledge and skills to survive and take care of our families on our own.  This poses a question: If the current system suddenly collapses, do we know the basics of life in order to survive? (H/T)

Natural disasters happen all the time, so this is not that unreal as we believe.  Therefore, teaching our children to grow their own food would be a priceless lesson. According to The Journal:

“Research shows us that when children grow some of their own food they develop what we call “food empathy”, a deeper connection with food, which is proven to lead to a healthier life.

Food empathetic children have better diets, eat more fruit and vegetables and have a better understanding of food and nutrition. At a time when Ireland still has among the highest rates of childhood obesity in the EU, establishing a deeper connection with food is more important than ever.”

Moreover, the Better Health Channel writes:

“People of all ages can enjoy gardening, but children, in particular, will have lots of fun and gain special benefits. Gardening is educational and develops new skills including:

• Responsibility – from caring for plants
• Understanding – as they learn about cause and effect (for example, plants die without water, weeds compete with plants)
• Self-confidence – from achieving their goals and enjoying the food they have grown
• Love of nature – a chance to learn about the outdoor environment in a safe and pleasant place
• Reasoning and discovery – learning about the science of plants, animals, weather, the environment, nutrition, and simple construction
• Physical activity – doing something fun and productive
• Cooperation – including shared play activity and teamwork
• Creativity – finding new and exciting ways to grow food
• Nutrition – learning about where fresh food comes from.”

The Independent reports:

“The chef Raymond Blanc has called for gardening lessons to be made compulsory in schools to help children learn the importance of fresh ingredients and healthy eating.

“We have a wonderful opportunity to truly reconnect with food. We need to engage with the outside world, with our gardens and the life within them,” Blanc said. “Children need to learn the simple magic of taking food from the seed, from the earth or from the rivers and then to transform it into something simple and delicious.”

“We have a multi-billion dollar problem with heart disease, diabetes, and obesity because of intensive farming and heavily processed food. We could learn to eat carrot soup produced from our gardens.”

What do you think of this idea?

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