Classroom Questions

Questions for ‘Cool Jobs: Finding foods for the future’

plate of crickets

Insects are common foods in some areas of the world. These crickets are from Thailand. But eating bugs is a harder sell in places like Europe and the United States.

Takeaway/Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA 3.0)

By Science News Explores

To accompany feature ‘Cool Jobs:  Finding foods for the future’

SCIENCE

Before reading:

1.    Think about farms today. Why do you think it might be harder in the future for farmers to feed everyone on Earth?

2.    Would you ever eat an insect? Why or why not?

During reading:

1.    How many people could live on Earth by the year 2100?

2.    How will climate change make farming more difficult?

3.    What is dulse?

4.    List the features that could make dulse a good food option.

5.    What are some benefits of eating insects?

6.    Name some foods that can be made using crickets.

7.    What part of an animal do we usually call the “meat”?

8.    Define “gene editing.”

9.    How did researchers make pigs that look like bodybuilders?

10.  Can you buy meat from gene-edited animals at the grocery store?

After reading:

1.    Do you think editing animals’ genes to create more meat is a good idea? Explain the pros and cons.

2.    Why do we need “future foods”?

MATHEMATICS

1.    Look up the size of the United States in square miles (or acres). If crops cover roughly one fifth of the land in the United States, how big is that crop cover in square miles (or acres). Show your calculations.

2.    Two of the original 32 cloned super-pigs are still alive. Convert that share of survivors into a percentage of the original. Show your calculations