End of the "Old World" Parochialism: Around the World and Back Again http://www.globaled.org/curriculum/endofoldworld.html 
Lesson plan on the movement of flora and fauna from the Old World to the New World. From the American Forum for Global Education. 

Food and Foodways http://educate.si.edu/migrations/tiers/object/food.html
Information on the migration of specific food items from the Old World to the New World, from the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies. Covers black-eyed pea, cola nut, cotton, okra, peanut, sesame, surghum, and watermelon.

Food curricula on various topics http://www.globaled.org/curriculum/ffood.html
Seven activities covering such topics as the neolithic spread of food, the dissemination of food to and from the New World, nutritional issues of fast food, and fast food culture and its globalization. From the American Forum for Global Education.

Food in History http://www.nashville.k12.tn.us/CurriculumAwards/Cameron/FoodHistory.htm
Lesson plan for grades 6-8 by a teacher from Metro-Nashville-Davidson County Schools, Tennessee. Offered as a way to develop problem-solving skills relevant to current and future world problems is to food history.

Food Timeline http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food.html
Detailed timeline produced by the Morris County Library in New Jersey. This is compiled from the standard reference tools on food.

Food Timeline Teacher Resources http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food2.html
K-12 teacher resources produced by the Morris County Library in New Jersey.

Seeds of Change Garden http://www.mnh.si.edu/garden/welcome.html
Explore how the Columbian Exchange changed food in the Old World. From the Smithsonian Institution's Natural Partners Initiative

Seeds of Change Lesson Plan http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/curry/class/Museums/Teacher_Guide/General/Seeds.of.Change.html
Lesson plan for grades 9-12 on the Columbian Exchange, from the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. 

Specific Foods
vCacao/Chocolate 

Theobrama - Food of the Gods http://www.hawaii.edu/hga/ASGI99/joy.html 
A lesson plan for grades 4 and up on cacao and chocolate. Presented at a conference at the University of Hawaii that was sponsored by the Hawai'i Geographic Alliance. A good reference though it does not include the handouts and other appendices. 

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker http://www.scharffenberger.com/

The Scharffen Berger chocolate factory is a great local resource. They have a factory shop in Berkeley near the Ashby exit off 880 and conduct individual and group tours. They also have a nice shop with a collection of books and chocolate accessories enveloped in the sweet aroma of the factory. See their web site for information on tours and their own library on chocolate facts. 

vCoffee 

Fair Trade Coffee http://www.transfairusa.org/help/curriculum.html 
Curriculum ideas from TransFair USA, the organization that certifies Fair Trade coffee. 

International Coffee Organization http://www.ico.org/
Intergovernmental organization that administers the International Coffee Agreement; see site for statistics. 

vPistachios 

History of Pistachios http://www.pistachios.org/History/History.asp
From the California Pistachio Commission 

vRice 

History of Rice http://www.riceweb.org/History.htm
A history of the staple, produced by Riceweb, a consortium of international rice organizations.

Rice: The Global Crop http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/lessplan/l000008.htm 
Lesson Plan from the Ask Asia Society. Involves the identification of rice varieties, exploring rice production, and comparing rice production in Asia with California. 

vSalt

Importance of Salt http://www-geology.ucdavis.edu/~gel115/salt.html
Produced by Richard Cowen, Lecturer in the Department of Geology at UC Davis. Provides a brief history of salt and discusses the geology of salt with particular reference to Europe.

Religion and Salt http://www.cargillsalt.com/sfbay/AAS_hist_relig.html
From Cargill Salt, a commercial salt producer. This brief discussion of some religious uses of salt is one page from their "Salt World History"; see also "Salt Basics" and "The Role of Salt."

Salt Made the World Go Round http://salt.org.il/main.htm
A personal site on salt, produced by David Bloch of MRBLOCH SALT ARCHIVE. Includes information on such topics as production, archaeology, economics, and uses of salt. 

vSugar 

The Bee, the Reed, the Root: The History of Sugar http://www2.gasou.edu/gsufl/sugar/sugar-b.htm
Ray Burke, of Savannah Foods, presented this lecture at a conference at Georgia Southern University in 1997. He discusses the production of sugar from honey to sugarcane to the sugar beet. Includes a short list of reference books. 

How Sugar is Made http://www.sucrose.com/learn.html 
Describes the history of sugar, sources of sugar, types of sugar, and the refining process. From Sugar Knowledge International, a commercial sugar producer. 

Nutrition
Educational resources http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/cwh/resources/educationtools.shtml#schools 
List of resources for educators on nutrition. From the Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources. 

Ethnic/Cultural variations on the traditional European "Food Pyramid" by the USDA.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/000023.html#xtocid2381818

Contemporary Issues
Factory Food: Are the Alternatives Viable? Complete webcast of U.C. Berkeley conference sponsored by the Graduate School of Journalism on 2002-09-23. Experts on food and the environment gathered at the University of California, Berkeley, to address whether organic, community-scale agriculture and food production can replace conventional, large-scale agribusiness, and the likely costs of such a dramatic shift.
Speakers include food heavyweights Alice Waters, Eric Schlosser, Michael Pollan, Mark Hertsgaard, Corby Kummer, and moderator Orville Schell.

A Better Way to Feed the Hungry? http://www.zmag.org/content/Economy/lappefeed.cfm 
An article by Frances Moore Lappé (founder of Food First) and Anna Lappé debunking the notion of fighting malnutrition abroad by fortifying food. 

The Case of the Vanishing Farmland http://indianaintheworld.indiana.edu/theme.html 
Lesson plan from Indiana University's International Resource Center. See Theme IV and select lesson 2 for this topic. See also Theme II, lesson 2 for "Farming around the World." 

Fair Trade Coffee http://www.transfairusa.org/help/curriculum.html 
Curriculum ideas from TransFair USA, the organization that certifies Fair Trade coffee. 

Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger http://www.feedingminds.org/ 
Lesson plans for exploring the problems of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. From A World Without Hunger. 

Food for Thought http://www.humboldt.edu/~cga/pages/lesson_plan_pages/lesson_plan_3.html 
Lesson plan from the California Geographic Alliance about the unequal distribution of resources. 

How Much is There to Eat? http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/lessplan/l000018.htm 
"Population Density and Food Production: A Comparison of India and the Southern United States" 
Lesson Plan from the Ask Asia Society to explore the pressures that population places on food supplies through a simple math activity. 

A Taste of Slavery: How Your Chocolate May be Tainted http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/taste_of_slavery/ 
In-depth investigation in the use of slave and child labor in cacao farming published in the Knight Ridder Newspapers. Addresses 

INCOME, WEALTH, AND THE ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF FARM HOUSEHOLDS
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer812/ 
Agricultural policy is rooted in the 1930's notion that providing transfers of money to the farm sector translates into increased economic well-being of farm families. This report shows that neither change in income for the farm sector nor for any particular group of farm business can be presumed to reflect changes confronting farm households. Farm households draw income from various sources, including off-farm work, other businesses operated and, increasingly, nonfarm investments. Likewise, focus on a single indicator of well-being, such as income, overlooks other indicators such as the wealth held by the household and the level of consumption expenditures for health care, food, housing, and other items. Using an expanded definition of economic well-being, we show that farm households as a whole are better off than the average U.S household, but that 6 percent remain economically disadvantaged. (Released Monday, July 29, 2002.) 

Our speaker Kathy Baylis keeps readings and resouces for her course on Agricultural and Environmental Policy (Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics) on-line at http://are.berkeley.edu/~baylis/EEP%20141_files/EEP%20141.htm

Culture

Religious Food Practices http://www.eatethnic.com/Religious%20Foods.htm
Annotated links on the food practices of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. From EatEthnic.com, a site produced by a team of nutritionists. 

Gender

Gender and Food Security http://www.fao.org/Gender/en/agri-e.htm 
In-depth exploration of gender issues in food production from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Includes statistics, fact files on specific countries, and reports. 

Women in Rice http://www.riceworld.org/special/women/onavwice.html 
A feature on women in the production and consumption of rice, from Riceworld, a production of the International Rice Research Institute. 

Organizations

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) http://www.fao.org/

Food First/ Institute for Food and Development Policy http://www.foodfirst.org

TransFair USA is a non-profit certification organization for Fair Trade products consumed in the United States. http://www.transfairusa.org/index.html 

Lessons
Growing Concerns: type "agriculture" into the search box at the New York Times lesson site and you will find a series of good lessons including Growing Concerns (Grades  to 6-8, 9-12)
Examining the Role of Agriculture in Global Economics
In this lesson, students will define glossary words necessary for discussing global agricultural trade and explore the issues behind the Group of 21's walkout at the September 2003 World Trade Organization meeting. The y then research the agricultural economies of specific countries and synthesize their understanding of the actions of the Group of 21 through this lens.  (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20030917wednesday.html

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD?: Exploring International Perspectives on the Pros and Cons of Genetically Modified Foods New York Times Learning Network Lesson Plan. Based on the article: Consumers in Europe Resist Gene-Altered Foods, By LIZETTE ALVAREZ,February 12, 2003
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20030212wednesday.html
AUTHOR(S):
Tanya Yasmin Chin, The Bank Street College of Education in New York City
Deborah Lerman, The New York Times Learning Network
GRADES:
6-8
9-12

The Earth as an Apple (Adapted from the Council for Elementary Science International Newsletter: Winter
1987-1988) Our classmate Donna Kasprowicz passes this lesson along to the group. It is a vivid demonstration of what a small portion of the earth we cultivate and would make a good introduction to a unit on agriculture. 

The Case of the Vanishing Farmland http://indianaintheworld.indiana.edu/theme.html 
Lesson plan from Indiana University's International Resource Center. See Theme IV and select lesson 2 for this topic. See also Theme II, lesson 2 for "Farming Around the World." 

(Cacao/chocolate) Theobrama - Food of the Gods http://www.hawaii.edu/hga/ASGI99/joy.html
A lesson plan for grades 4 and up on cacao and chocolate. Presented at a conference at the University of Hawaii that was sponsored by the Hawai'i Geographic Alliance. A good reference though it does not include the handouts and other appendices.

(Coffee) Fair Trade Coffee http://www.transfairusa.org/help/curriculum.html
Curriculum ideas from TransFair USA, the organization that certifies Fair Trade coffee.

(Columbia Exchange) End of the "Old World" Parochialism: Around the World and Back Again http://www.globaled.org/curriculum/endofoldworld.html
Lesson plan on the movement of flora and fauna from the Old World to the New World. From the American Forum for Global Education.

(Columbian Exchange) Seeds of Change Lesson Plan http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/curry/class/Museums/Teacher_Guide/General/Seeds.of.Change.html
Lesson plan for grades 9-12 on the Columbian Exchange, from the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia.

(Distribution) Food for Thought http://www.humboldt.edu/~cga/pages/lesson_plan_pages/lesson_plan_3.html
Lesson plan from the California Geographic Alliance about the unequal distribution of resources.

(History) Consuming History: Investigating Foods from Different Times and Places around the World http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20020626wednesday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
Lesson plan from the New York Times' Learning Network. Research various foods and indigenous plants and animals from different eras around the world.

(History) Food in History http://www.nashville.k12.tn.us/CurriculumAwards/Cameron/FoodHistory.htm
Lesson plan for grades 6-8 by a teacher from Metro-Nashville-Davidson County Schools, Tennessee. Offered as a way to develop problem-solving skills relevant to current and future world problems is to food history.

(History) Food Timeline Teacher Resources http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food2.html
K-12 teacher resources produced by the Morris County Library in New Jersey.

(Hunger) Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger http://www.feedingminds.org/
Lesson plans for exploring the problems of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. From A World Without Hunger.

(Population) How Much is There to Eat? http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/lessplan/l000018.htm
Population Density and Food Production: A Comparison of India and the Southern United States"
Lesson Plan from the Ask Asia Society to explore the pressures that population places on food supplies through a simple math activity.

Rice: The Global Crop http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/lessplan/l000008.htm 
Lesson Plan from the Ask Asia Society. Involves the identification of rice varieties, exploring rice production, and comparing rice production in Asia with California.

(Various) Food curricula on various topics http://www.globaled.org/curriculum/ffood.html
Seven activities covering such topics as the neolithic spread of food, the dissemination of food to and from the New World, nutritional issues of fast food, and fast food culture and its globalization. From the American Forum for Global Education.