Hi Catherine, Sadie, Safiyah, and everybody else! I'm Jakori from Connecticut. I was so impressed by "What's on Your Plate?" because it reminded of me when I was 12 years old. That's when I decided to become a vegetarian. It's so nice to see young people interested in what goes into their bodies for food. If you guys ever need help with anything from editing, to desktop publishing, to promotion, and education spreading the word, you can get in touch with me, I'd love to volunteer my services. I work with the local cable station in in my county plus fairfield county in CT so I have alot of great connections. I also have a tv show that broadcasts on public television. Alright, you guys be good! See ya in the future

GREAT job. the kids learned a lot and it was a real conversation starter for us. we were talking throughout the whole movie and for once - talking during a movie was a good thing!

I’m the Program Coordinator for an Environmental Center in Miami, FL. This Saturday we’re having a “You Are What You Eat,” theme at our Center to teach families around the community about eating sustainably. I am creating an exhibit using a large globe that will show families where the ingredients from popular foods that they consume come from. Families will find where the ingredients from their pizza, for instance, come from and how far those foods travel to make it to Miami, FL. This information will translate into energy consumption and how many homes, schools, TVs (or whatever) could be powered if those ingredients were purchased locally. Problem is, I can’t find these statics anywhere! Can anyone point me in the right direction? I really think concrete numbers will drive this point home, and I’m hoping an organization such as yours has the answers. Please help! Thanks so much!

I think fruits and vegetables are good my favorite fruit is probably apples and strawberries. My favorite vegetables are carrots and broccoli. Even though sometimes I don't like to eat fruits and vegetables there good for you.

Fran and I thoroughly enjoyed What's on your Plate. The two girls were fabulous: funny, smart, earnest. The animations in between scenes were charming and informative at the same time. The folks the girls interviewed were diverse and interesting and represented many different elements of this topic. And the important messages were on the right level for kids but for adults, too. We spoke to the mother of two kids who were there and she reported that they loved the movies, as did she.

We took our kids to see the film in Northampton, MA along with a whole crowd from Jackson Street School and were really inspired. It renewed our commitment to eating locally grown food and supporting area farmers. Thanks for the inspiration and great job making the whole topic so interesting for adults and kids alike! The 4th graders in Susan Ebitz's class had a great time selling eggs in the lobby of the theatre, that came from chickens that hatched after being incubated in a 2nd grade classroom and had grown up on her farm.

McDonald’s Is...

by Rio Hope-Gund

McDonald’s is your

house catching fire on

Christmas Eve. McDonald’s is

a volcano erupting when you

are near. McDonald’s is

falling off of a really

tall horse. McDonald’s is

a scary clown that makes

you fat. McDonald’s is getting brainwashed.

McDonald’s is getting icicles sticking out

your nose. McDonald’s is just McDonald’s.

Farmers Market Shopping Cart

by Nellie Engle

Basil

a petunia and

a dozen eggs

Swiss chard

mint and

lemon balm

Pansies

radishes

tomato plants

Ronnybrook Farm milkshake

(yuck), asparagus, and our shopping

cart’s…

FULL!

I just viewed the film at the Tales from Planet Earth film festival in Madison, WI this morning. What a phenomenal addition to the growing body of research in food studies, politics and anthropology! I was so happy to see an audience full of kids, college students, chefs, parents and teachers. I hope this kind of enthusiasm for change isn't unique only to Madison - let's hope this message reaches beyond progressive little towns like ours.

Materials:

• Test Tube
• 20 mL water
• Test-tube tongs
• Thermometer
• Aluminum pan
• Metal Skewer
• Stopwatch
• Lighter or Matches
• Walnut (or any nut)
• Marshmallow (or any candy)
• Funyun (or any chip)
• Pencil

Procedure (As seen in Movie):

1. Place students in groups of 4
2. Assign each student in each group one of four jobs: test tube holder; food holder; time watcher; data recorder.
3. Once each job has been assigned, the test tube holder should go to the sink and fill the beaker with 20mL of water.
4. Tell the test tube holder to place the thermometer in the water. The data recorder should record the initial temperature of the water in degrees Celsius in the data sheet under “Initial Temperature.”
5. Once the initial temperature has been recorded, the test tube holder should hold the tube with the test tube tongs.
6. Next, tell the food holder to place the marshmallow on the metal skewer, and hold it over the aluminum pan (to prevent mess).
7. When the food holder is in position, the test tube should be held just above the marshmallow (See Film for Visual).
8. When all students are in position, the teacher can light the marshmallow using the lighter.
9. The time-watcher should start the stopwatch as soon as the marshmallow is lit.
10. The time-watcher should stop the watch when the fire goes out. If the marshmallow falls off of the skewer into the aluminum pan but is still burning, time is not up.
11. The data recorder should record in the data table the amount of time the marshmallow burned. The burning marsmallow will have caused the temperature of the water in the tube to rise, so the temperature of the water at the time the marshmallow stopped burning should also be recorded under “Temperature Two.”
12. Once all information has been recorded, spill the hot water out of the tube into the sink and get another fresh 20mL.
13. Repeat procedure for walnut and funyun.

Data Sheet:

Food Item	Initial Temperature of Water (°C)	Temperature Two (°C)	Time Item Burned
Marshmallow
Walnut
Funyun