Fostering Food Literacy and Food Citizenship through Farm-School Cooperation and beyond: Theoretical Perspectives and Case Studies on Farm-School Cooperation and Food and Agriculture Education

Adults and children are becoming more and more removed from agriculture, food production and knowing about the process from farm to table. This includes the complexity of how, where and when food is produced and understanding the impact of production, processing, packaging, transport, distribution and consumption choices on the environment, health and farm economy. This has an impact on eating habits and choices, affecting health, the environment, agriculture and other ethical dilemmas such as animal welfare and fair trade. Cooperation between farmers and teachers can enable children to get a direct understanding and potential interest in how their food is produced, the nature of agriculture and a relationship with the farmer, as an authentic teacher and expert. In my PhD project I investigated various farm-school cooperation arrangements and the motivation, learning goals and values among farmers and teachers. The Ph.D. study is based on four case studies and a review of Danish educational materials on food, agriculture and sustainability. Results show that what motivates farmers and teachers to collaborate is the ability to give students a closer connection to nature and agriculture, as well as an understanding of and interest in food, agriculture and ecology, ideally qualifying their future consumption choices. Farm visits and other on-farm activities are intended to influence students’ food literacy and ecological and agricultural understanding. Other important learning goals are about developing children’s social skills, life skills and academic understanding of complex theoretical terms through hands-on real life activities. Farm visits are most effective if followed up in the classroom before and after. Although there are a number of barriers, e.g. time and transportation, the benefits are significant according to teachers, farmers and students themselves. International studies and practice show that there are many opportunities in teaching about sustainable development, sustainability and food systems in combination with garden-based and farm-based activities. This is, however, largely neglected in the Danish cases and in the educational materials available here.