Is it possible to live one day without utilizing what agriculture has to offer - food, fiber, and energy? Can you think of all the ways you use agriculture from the beginning to the end of your day? Agriculture is everywhere and without it we can't survive. In the morning you wake from sleeping on sheets that were made from cotton and sleep in a bed made from oak or pine wood. The fibers in the rug you step on may have come from the wool of sheep and the soap you use in the shower may consist of cottonseed oil or lanolin. Perhaps, your breakfast consisted of corn or wheat in your cereal and a glass of milk which was produced by a dairy cow. We have farmers to thank for producing these items we need each day.
This small list of items come from the industry of agriculture grown, produced, or raised by farmers to help sustain us all. No one can go about their day without touching or using agriculture. For this lesson student's experience for eating meals would be required for helping them gain an understanding for the decision process in selecting healthy foods to place on their plates. Teachers should be familiar with the MyPlate graphic organizer, including food categories. If not, please review the information at www.myplate.gov.
Agriculture provides us with the foods found in the five food groups of MyPlate. These five food groups include protein, dairy, vegetables, grains, and fruits. The protein group is an important part of our daily diet that helps build muscle. Dairy food items are made from milk such as cheese and yogurt that provide calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein. The dairy group helps build strong bones. The vegetable group come from herbaceous plants whose fruits, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, and breakfast cereals are a few foods found in the grains group made from a small, hard seed of the food plants such as wheat, corn, rye, oats, rice, and millet. The last food group identified as fruits is any product of vegetable growth such as strawberries, bananas, watermelon, or oranges.
MyPlate is a color-coded image of a plate illustrating these five food groups as a place setting for a meal. This graphic organizer can be found on the website www.myplate.gov that was developed and maintained by USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Overweight Americans and the rate of obesity has become an alarming epidemic in the nation. As a resource to help reduce this problem, the MyPlate program offers nutritional information in helping consumers create healthier diets while thinking about what goes on one's plate when food is eaten as a meal. Before sitting down to a meal at home or viewing the menu choices in your favorite restaurant, the MyPlate campaign will help guide students in making better decisions about the foods they eat.
