Rational Food project
The Rational Food project was started by Dr Sue Bird based at the Rowett Research Institute, in the University of Aberdeen, and primary teacher Lorna Saunders. The Rowett Institute is home to a remarkable archive of material gathered by John Boyd Orr, one of the creators of the rationing system for World War II. The archive includes fascinating food diaries from the 1930s, and evidence of John Boyd Orr’s ideas about nutrition that influenced the decisions he made about the World War II rations.
Sue and Lorna wondered if it was possible to use their exclusive access to this unique archive material to inspire children to think about nutrition in a non-threatening manner. They were concerned that too many projects about healthy eating were based on making children feel guilty about their food intake, and did not necessarily influence the food choices that they made. They found that setting the project in a historical context, combining the use of John Boyd Orr’s archive materials with an Active Assessment approach, helped learners to understand more about life in the 1930s and 40s as well as motivating them to make more informed decisions about healthy eating.
Millgate House Education was delighted to support the development of the project and to publish the resources that make the outcomes of the project available to other teachers.
The Rational Food project resources are centered around John Boyd Orr’s ‘video diaries’, where he shares his thinking about diet and the need for rationing in World War II. A wide range of Active Assessment strategies, and extracts from his original archive material, engage learners in thinking and talking about the impact of diet on health in a depersonalised and highly effective way. The project resources also capture the outcomes of research carried out in schools, including video clips of learners engaging in the project.
Brenda Keogh, Stuart Naylor, Sue Bird and Lorna Saunders have provided workshops for teachers to share the project more widely.
