Exploring Global Food Security through Drama

Contents (go to):     Positioning    ¦    Why these frames?    ¦    Planning    ¦    Approach, action, artefacts    ¦    Pictures    ¦    Appendix

 
Title image: Global food security: Exploring global food security through drama. Image of the Earth as a globe on a background of rice. In addition, three pictures of the group presenting a dramatisation of the subject.

 

“Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, (social) and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”

(Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO])

According to article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948:

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food”

(United Nations [UN])

 

BUT

“30.4 million people were suffering moderate to severe food insecurity in the world in 2020”

(FAO)

 

Positioning

 

Sustainability

Meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundland Commission).

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Seventeen goals set up by the UN to be achieved by 2030 for a better and more sustainable future for all.

Ecofeminism

Theoretical framework and social movement that seeks to combine the feminist and environmental movements: It examines the connection between the oppression of women and the destruction of the environment by human activity.

 

Why these frames?

Sustainability

Deals with the 3 essential pillars of the food system: social, economical and environmental. In the current context of growing world’s population and climate change, the system has to adapt, to be resilient and efficient for future generations.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDGs are essential to reach sustainability. Goal 2: Zero Hunger is direclty linked to our topic.

Ecofeminism

There are profound gender issues at play within our global food and agriculture systems. Despite the major role women play in the agricultural sector, according to the UN and FAO, women still remain more likely to live in extreme poverty, be less educated, and lack access to basic needs. Empowering women in agriculture through fair labour rights, wages and high quality education would allow women working in agriculture to gain access to basic income and food. This would make entire communities wealthier and safer and allow them to thrive.

 

Planning

Project ideas

Group project on Food Security through drama
Members of the group :
Qian Zhao, Colm Doyle, Louise O’Connor, Tebibu Solomon, Kutemwa Munyenyembe, Maeve Kirrkamm, Clara Lemétayer, Anthony Goodings and Mojabeng Mashale.

Brainstorming

Arran Towers and Fionn Woodhouse introduced us to the vast topic of Food Security and to various drama techniques. As a group, we discussed and narrowed our topic to availability of food, access to food and utilisation of food. The article “10 myths about hunger” (World Food Day: 10 myths about hunger) helped us for the presentation and its content.

Action plan

The project aimed to raise awareness of Food Security to our audience and promote further learning by presenting Food Security in a Drama production. Representation of four myths with our bodies:

  • There is not enough food to currently feed everyone on Earth.
  • Plant-based alternatives are always good for the environment.
  • The majority of food producers are men.
  • Poor local farmers are responsible for cutting down the world’s tropical forests.

And requiring the audience to participate and think by asking them “What do you see?” and discuss about it. It makes the presentation more interesting and stimulating.

Reality

Globally, women have more responsibility for food production but their conditions are unequal: unpaid, seasonal/part-time job, paid less than men.

 

Myth Reality
Graphic: Myth 1 - There is not enough food to currently feed everyone on Earth - Fiction. There is enough food being produced today to feed everyone on the planet, yet by 2020 over 820 million people were considered “chronically undernourished”.

Global hunger is on the rise, despite the world producing 17% more food per person today than 30 years ago as reported by Oxfam.

Graphic: The number of undernourished people in the world continued to rise in 2020. In 2005 there were 810 million or 12.4% of undernourished people in the world, decresed to 615 million or 8.2% by 2015 and since 2019 it has increased again to a current 790 million or 9.9%.
Source: FAO website at https://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals/goals/goal-2/en/; There is enough food to feed the world by Oxfam, at https://www.oxfam. ca/publication/there-is-enough-food-to-feed-the-world/
Graphic: Myth 2 - Plant-based alternatives are always goof for the environment - Fiction. Despite the undeniable benefits of reducing global consumption of meat and dairy, not all plant-based alternatives are created equal.

The production of some plant-based milks, for example, which have been gaining popularity in recent years, is not very sustainable. One common milk substitute is almond milk. Almonds, the majority of which are grown in California, are very water-intensive crops, making their environmental impact disproportionately large. A study funded by the Almond Board of California in the journal Ecological Indicators found in 2019 that the average almond grown in the US state requires 12 litres of water. That’s over 10,000 litres for a kilogram of nuts.

Source: Why the vegan diet is not always green on BBC News (Feb 13, 2020), https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200211-why-the-vegan-diet-is-not-always-green World Wildlife Foundation ‘soy’ industry overview, https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/soy ‘Like sending bees to war’: the deadly truth behind your almond milk obsession, The Guardian (Jan 2020), https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/07/honeybees-deaths-almonds-hives-aoe
Graphic: Myth 3 - The majority of food producers are men - Fiction. Globally, women have more responsibility for food production. In general, more women are in unpaid, seasonal and in part-time work, and are often paid less for the same work as men.

The amount of food produced by women cannot be completely measured or verified.

Graphic: Labour - the share of women working in agriculture by region. Agriculture remains the most important employment sector for women in developing countries and rural areas. A sector that largerly falls within the informal economy with little or no social protection and labour rights (data as of 2017). Circular bars show percentage of women working in agriculture: South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa 60%; Rest of Asia, Pacific and NOrth Africa 30%; Arab States 20%; Latin America, Caribbean and East Europe 10%; Rest of Europe and North America 2%.
Source: State of Food and Agriculture, 2011, at http://www.fao.org/family-farming/detail/en/c/273446/. Graphic adapted from: UN Women 2018, http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/multimedia/2018/2/infographic-rural-women
Graphic: Myth 4 - Poor local farmers are responsible for cutting down the World's tropical forest - Fiction. Deforestation is mainly caused by huge companies.

Amazon forest: Degraded by commercial agriculture and global demand for meat.

Brazil meat giant JBS: Export beef all over the world.
=> potentially responsible for the destruction of between 28,000 and 32,000 hectares of forest each year.
=> linked to illegal deforestation.

Other wolrdwide companies: IKEA, Mc Donald’s, Starbucks…
=> beef production, palm oil, packaging…

Source: 12 Major Companies Responsible for Deforestation, Earth.org, Aug 17, 2021, at https://earth.org/major-companies-responsible-for-deforestation/. Revealed: new evidence links Brazil meat giant JBS to Amazon deforestation, The Guardian (27 July 2020), at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/27/revealed-new-evidence-links-brazil-meat-giant-jbs-to-amazon-deforestation

 

Project management

Goal Steps needed to achieve goals Tasks Resources Responsible Deadline
Raise awareness of food security 1. Learn about food security Research subject Internet, library All 16 March
2. Decide area of focus group Group discussion on materials presented Sourced material from previous step All 22 March
3. Split the group inton two to present two Myths Group 1 and 2: Practice and perform Myths Reference material: 10 Myths about food hunger All 30 March
4. Decide and practice drama production Walk through and practice drama production Fionn and Arran, group participation All 30 March
Presentation 5. Present drama production Create PowerPoint PowerPoint, material discussed Colm 6 April
6. Lights Camera Action Set stage. Narrators Tables, chairs, group PowerPoint presentation All 6 April

 

Approach, action, artefacts

Impact

  • Removing preconceived ideas that we may have (ourselves and the public).
  • Deepening our knowledge of issues surrounding our global food systems.
  • Allowing us to reflect upon the decisions we make as individuals in terms of the products we buy (considering factors such as country of origin, organic, and fair trade).

Next steps

  • Improving our food comsuption.
  • Continue improving our knowledge on this subject.
  • Share our knowledge with relatives.

 

Possible challenges Solutions
Group unable to agree on topic Group discussion and use the resources of Fionn and Arron if needed to steer group
Possible unwilling participant Find a role within the production that a participant is comfortable to carry out
Communication within classes Setup the app WhatsApp group to discuss and move project on between weekly class
Technology issues Discover within the group who has the various skills needed to overcome issues

 

Pictures

 
Group presentation of Exploring global food security through drama

Photo of members of the group presenting a dramatisation of Myth 1, there is not enough food for everyone on Earth and the reality. First scene: One member holding food while others are begging on their knees. Second scene: Members standing surrounding food table.

Photo of members of the group presenting a dramatisation of Myth 3, most farmers are men. Female members dramatise working the land in front of a graphic showing up to 60% of farm workers maybe women.

Photo of members of the group presenting a dramatisation of Myth 4, poor famers responsible of cutting down the forest. Female member pretends to use an axe to cuts down a tree represented by another member standing with arms over his head. Others watch and ask why.

 

Appendix

Documents

PDFs open in a new tab or right-click and “Save link as” to download:

 
Group Presentation (PDF): “Global Food Security: Exploring global food security through drama“.

Group Poster (PDF): “Food Security Poster“.