Transforming Cultures

Sigh. I think this video stands alone. Children in this class (and America in general, if this is any representation) don’t know their vegetables. This bodes poorly not only for the future of our children, but for our species and the planet.

Jamie Oliver has been a leading voice in the UK working to incorporate healthy eating and food awareness in our schools, so it’s good to see he’ll now be sharing this message on U.S. televisions. State of the World 2010 authors Kevin Morgan and Roberta Sonnino also draw attention to this issue in their article Rethinking School Food: The Power of the Public Plate. Take a look to see some of the schools leading this “food revolution.”

Here’s a great example of social marketing that I just learned about–playing off the classic scenario of parents catching kids doing bad things.  The organization that produced this–Miljoagentene (meaning Eco-Agents in English)–helps “license” children to become representatives of the planet and of their future.  It’s a clever idea and might empower children to work on modifying their parents and communities’ behavior.  Unless you read Norwegian, you can read a bit more about the organization here.