New
New
Year 6

Making our food

I can describe how cocoa is grown and the processes involved in manufacturing chocolate, and identify some of the challenges facing small-scale cocoa farmers.

New
New
Year 6

Making our food

I can describe how cocoa is grown and the processes involved in manufacturing chocolate, and identify some of the challenges facing small-scale cocoa farmers.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Most cocoa trees grow in a narrow belt between a latitude of ten degrees north and ten degrees south of the Equator.
  2. Various stages are involved in chocolate production, from growing and harvesting cocoa beans to manufacturing chocolate.
  3. Small-scale cocoa farmers face challenges with growing their crops and are adapting to these in different ways.
  4. The challenges facing small-scale cocoa farmers, and the solutions to these, have direct and indirect consequences.

Keywords

  • Latitude - Lines of latitude are imaginary lines on Earth showing position north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees

  • Supply chain - A supply chain is every step a product goes through to be made and delivered to the customer

  • Retailer - Retailers are people or businesses that sell goods

  • Manufacturer - A manufacturer is a person or company that makes goods to sell

  • Cooperative - A cooperative is a business or group that is run by the people who work for it

Common misconception

Limited understanding of what a supply chain is.

Refer back to the example of commercial bread production in Lesson 1. Investigate the supply chain of other common food products.

The Fairtrade Foundation has lots of teaching resources and ideas to support learning about Fairtrade.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Put these foods in order of distance travelled to get to your supermarket, closest first...
1 - Potatoes
2 - Oranges
3 - Bananas
Q2.
What factors affect the carbon footprint of food?
Correct answer: the distance it travels to get to us
Correct answer: the transport used to get it to us
Correct answer: the way it is grown
how popular the food is
Q3.
What does 'buy local' mean?
Correct answer: buy food grown near to your home
grow your own food
buy food from your local supermarket
Correct answer: reduce your food miles
Q4.
What are the disadvantages of buying local?
Correct answer: jobs may be lost of farms and factories in other countries
it supports British farmers
Correct answer: food miles only form part of a foods carbon footprint
greenhouse gas emissions are not important
Q5.
Which food types have the highest carbon footprint?
Correct answer: meat
fruit
Correct answer: dairy
vegetables
Q6.
Which of these is true of intensive agriculture?
Correct answer: uses machines
Correct answer: uses chemicals and fertilizers
happens on small farms
Correct answer: aims to grow as many crops as possible

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the key word to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:lines of longitude,imaginary lines on Earth showing how far east or west a place is

imaginary lines on Earth showing how far east or west a place is

Correct Answer:lines of latitude,imaginary lines on Earth showing how far north or south a place is

imaginary lines on Earth showing how far north or south a place is

Correct Answer:the equator,the line of latitude at 0 degrees.

the line of latitude at 0 degrees.

Q2.
What type of climate does cocoa grow in?
temperate
polar
Correct answer: tropical
desert
Q3.
Put these parts of the chocolate making process in the correct order.
1 - Harvesting
2 - Fermenting
3 - Roasting
4 - Grinding
5 - Tempering
6 - Moulding
Q4.
Who gets the biggest proportion of the value of a chocolate bar?
farmers
transporters
Correct answer: retailers
Correct answer: manufacturers
processors
Q5.
What challenges do farmers on cocoa farms face?
people don't like chocolate
Correct answer: low salary
Correct answer: climate change
Q6.
Why do farmers join cooperatives?
Correct answer: they are paid a better salary
Correct answer: they get better working conditions
to gain more friends
Correct answer: to improve investment into schools in their local area