As these kids get hands-on with food, they're also learning about climate change

Jaela Villalobos originally signed onto the after-school cooking class she's currently taking to spend time with a friend, but the 10-year-old says the experience has been enriching and eye-opening. 

"Whatever we eat can also affect the planet," said the Vancouver student, who's enrolled in an eight-week workshop with EcoCooks in Vancouver. "I had no idea that agriculture could actually release greenhouse gasses, so that was surprising."

The meals she and the other preteen participants cook are all plant-based. She hadn't really tried plant-based dishes much before, but has become a fan, especially after making yummy breakfast burritos, lentil-filled tacos and a colourful veggie-and-tofu stir-fry.

"It tastes delicious," said Villalobos, who has occasionally brought what she's learned, both food and information, home to family and friends.

Taking hands-on lessons about food — cooked or grown by students themselves — and mixing in environmental education, has been a recipe for success for some Canadian educators and advocates. It helps spark valuable connections, they say, and offers young people practical, personal steps for tackling climate change.

EcoCooks grew from a desire to teach students about the link between food and climate change, while also building their cooking skills and empowering them to take action, according to Laura Bamsey, manager of the EcoCooks Club program in Metro Vancouver. 

Organizers with the non-profit run after-school club programs in Vancouver and Kelowna, B.C., as well as in-school sessions with elementary and secondary students in Vancouver and Calgary. 

Instructors teach topics like food systems, land use, biodiversity, water usage and food waste. Then, students dig into plant-based cooking that focusses on whole foods — as well as affordable, commonly found ingredients — to make it easier for youngsters to bring their budding skills and new knowledge home. 

"When kids feel empowered or excited about something, their parents often follow their lead, so it's a really great way for them to say 'I want to help out or I want to do this…' and maybe influence their parents to make some changes or try something new," Bamsey said. 

"We often get pictures and [notes] saying that they made some of the meals with their family and they've really enjoyed them."

Zahira Tasabehji, one of the program's Vancouver instructors, says though students may not start out knowing how their food choices impact the environment, it's not long before they're linking the climate lessons — about the carbon footprint of different foods, for instance — to the recipes they whip up.

"They're starting to bring it together and understand that all of those activities... are actually tied to the cooking," she noted. 

"Last week, we [made] a veggie burger... One kid, I remember, was like 'Oh, I know why we're eating veggie burgers. Because this actually helps the environment.'" 

Experiential learning involving food indeed opens the door for a wide range of learning, says Michael Classens, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto's School of the Environment. Climate change, economics, politics, inequity or countless other topics can be explored, he says.