Regenerating for the Next Gen

• This 60-90 minute lesson plan discusses the differences between regenerative agriculture and factory farming livestock operations (also known as CAFOs), and how these different agricultural approaches affect climate change and our environment. 
  
• It provides a student worksheet, teacher guide, slide presentation, case study, and informative video. 
  

Positives

• This lesson challenges students to think critically about global food production, livestock production, and the role agriculture plays in climate change.
• The video is very informative and the case study focuses on solutions that improve carbon storage and reduce emissions.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should be familiar with the terms regenerative, livestock, and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). 
• Students should have some basic knowledge about the major greenhouse gases and climate change.
• Teachers will need to create a free account to access this resource.
  

Differentiation

• This is a great resource to tie into science lessons about the carbon cycle, deforestation, ethics, ecology, and the nitrogen cycle.
• Economics and social studies classes could discuss current government subsidies going to the agricultural sector and how they could be redirected to support regenerative or organic agriculture to achieve a reduction in emissions and address climate change.
  
• Students may be interested in starting a Meatless Mondays campaign at school or learning more about the connections between food and climate change using these resources: Plant Rich Diets, Environmental Impacts of Food Data Explorer, The Diet That Helps Fight Climate Change, and How to Change Your Diet to Fight Climate Change.