The Savvy Citizen
Obtain
literature about the farming industry in Oregon from
a variety of sources, e.g. the Oregon Department of Agriculture,
the Oregon farm Bureau, the Oregon Department of Economic Development,
Oregon Tilth, Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, Oregon Dairy
Council, Oregon Cattlemen's Association, Willamette Filbert Growers,
and Agri-Business Council of Oregon. Identify how the different
groups present their viewpoints, and analyze the effectiveness
of their presentations.
Draw
a map of your county and plot the locations of major
land use activities. What percentage of these lands are agricultural?
Check the land use laws that apply to these areas and evaluate
the "climate for agriculture" that exists politically
and culturally in your county.
Every
minute, 27 people, mostly children, die from hunger
or hunger-related diseases in the world. This amounts to more
than 14 million people per year. Investigate the causes and possible
solutions of hunger in the world today and in your local community.
Contact your local Food bank to set up a food drive in your school.
Prepare policy recommendations to share with your local newspaper
about the relationship between farming policies, scarcity, undernourishment,
infant mortality rate, the distribution of resources, and economic
control over land and other resources needed to grow food.
Collect
articles about farming from current newspapers. What
are the most important issues affecting farming in Oregon today?
Conduct
a World Trade Conference in your classroom, with different
teams of students representing different countries. Each team
should study its country to learn what products they have available
to export and which products they need to import. Discuss equivalent
values and alternate suppliers.
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