Stephanie Weiner is a California Credential Teacher teaching science in grades six through 12 in addition to being Chef Adam Weiner’s daughter. Besides working with Al Gore on his Climate Change Initiative, she teaches earth science to sixth and ninth grades. She also grew up in a commercial kitchen and is well-versed in FOH and BOH.

This month Stephanie is interviewing Adam.

(Stephanie) Last month, we ended by stating we were going to use tacos as a medium for teaching culinary students about climate change and other environmental issues. Do you remember how the idea of using tacos for this purpose came up?

(Adam) I certainly do. You called me toward the end of a school year and said you were at a loss on how to motivate your students for the next unit. You said they were only interested in two things: tacos and soccer. I replied, “I know a lot about tacos, but I don’t know anything about soccer. What is the next unit?”

(Stephanie) I told you the next unit was climate change and I was struggling to come up with a way to use tacos or soccer. I remember you thought for a few moments and started laughing at how easy it would be to link teaching climate change to tacos.

(Adam) I reminded you that carne asada comes from beef and raising cattle/beef production has large climate change discussions swirling from the methane released into the air by the animals to the fossil fuel used in getting the product to market. I then asked if there were environmental issues with monocropping such as corn and tomatoes.

(Stephanie) That’s when the light bulb flashed above my head. My premise was that I was going to teach climate change and other environmental issues using taco ingredients as the platform.

• Before we even started talking about tacos, we did some foundational work on the definition of climate change. We discussed greenhouse gases. I had the students calculate their carbon footprint and talk about the components of recipes.
• Next, we discussed corn tortillas. Although the kids thought of corn as a simple ingredient, corn itself is a very complex topic. Next month’s article will focus heavily on this issue. But, after discussing corn, my students and I transitioned to beef.
• Beef is the leading cause of methane in the atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas. We looked at the amount of methane released by beef cattle compared to other meat sources and compared it to what the cows are fed (corn vs grass). We looked at every step of the beef cycle from farm to taco and evaluated how much greenhouse gasses were produced.
• Next, we discussed the street taco toppings -- onion, tomato, cilantro, etc. In California where we live, droughts are frequent and becoming more frequent because of climate change, which is complicated by water rights arguments. My students learned what a drought was, where their water came from and how water is used in different parts of the state (i.e., industry, farming or residential). I put my students in the shoes of leaders and asked them how water should be used in our state since it is a limited resource here. (Again, doing this provides not only science lessons, but economic and government lessons. This is interdisciplinary learning at its best.)

(Adam) So, are you telling me that all levels of culinary instructors have an opening to teach environmental issues based on ingredients?

(Stephanie) I’m supposed to be asking the questions in this article, but YES. People, including culinary students, often think of environmental issues in terms of what they do: turning off the lights, not wasting water, saving gas by consolidating trips or carpooling, etc. But people don’t usually think of the environmental issues of the products involved. The damage to the environment must be considered in the ingredients and other products involved in food being made at home or professionally. The products that come into their home, their store, or the restaurants where they work, don’t magically appear at the back door of a kitchen. They had to be raised, produced, packaged, shipped, etc. All these things have environmental consequences. Some have more consequences than others, but they all have consequences.

(Adam) Since I have you answering my questions, why don’t you tell the instructors reading this article about the taco unit’s capstone project?

(Stephanie) At the end of the unit, students had to write a recipe for a more environmentally friendly taco. Since I don’t have a kitchen in my classroom, they were encouraged to make them at home and virtually share them with other students. Readers of this column can have students not only get practice reading and writing recipes but cooking as well. This gives a culinary teacher two projects out of one unit.

(Adam) I think that there are more units here. If the curriculum includes a standard on nutrition, students could also do a nutritional analysis on their new taco recipe versus a standard textbook version. Also, having students take a tried-and-true dish like tacos and make it their own plays into any curriculum which includes food trends (such as going green, vegan cuisine, vegetarian cuisine, etc.) and creativity.

(Stephanie) I teach in Southern California and tacos might not be as prevalent elsewhere as they are here. Do you think teachers can use this culinary classroom idea of tacos for other foods and still accomplish the same thing?

(Adam) I think the taco idea can be used anywhere in the United States, but like all good ideas, the beauty of the idea is how it can be adapted to the needs of each teacher.

(Stephanie) Can you please give some examples?

(Adam) Hamburgers have beef with the same environmental issues as tacos. They also share in the monocropping growing techniques for the buns (wheat), tomatoes and lettuce. Pizza has tomato sauce which could have been from Californian or Mexican tomatoes grown monocrop-style and then shipped to the classroom for many miles. Of course, the cheese on pizza is from cows.

(Stephanie) In summary, whatever food interests the teacher or students can be used as a foundation for teaching environmental issues. Pick a popular food item, even something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich or hot dog, and a culinary arts teacher can easily make a full environmental unit.

(Adam) The important thing is not what food is used, be it tacos or pizza or sushi or root beer floats. The important point is that the issues of climate change, sustainability, etc. need to be taught. So, with that said, what should we cover next month?

(Stephanie laughing) You did it again, you are asking the questions, which is my job! But I think next month we will dive deeper into the components of the taco unit-- starting with corn. And, since it is autumn, I will even provide a corn scavenger hunt and corn BINGO to play with your students.

Adam Weiner, JD, CFSE, has been a culinary instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 17 years.