Family meals and sharing food with friends can be enjoyable aspects of life. However, social change means that family meals are now far less common in the UK than they were in the past, and some people think they will die out entirely in the next century. Children can compare eating patterns in their own households and consider who tends to shop, prepare food, wash up, etc. The places where we buy our food have changed dramatically in the UK in the last 50, or even 20, years. Eighty five per cent of the money spent on food is now spent in supermarkets.
Food provides an important link with individuals and communities in other parts of the world.
Children may initially be surprised that common 'British' foods such as bananas, tea, potatoes, and chocolate are produced in the Caribbean, India, Egypt, and Ghana. The topic of food therefore provides an excellent learning opportunity for pupils, enabling them to explore the similarities and differences between their lives and those of people from producer countries. They can then go on to look at more complex development issues involved in the trade in foodstuffs. Although providing more variety and choice, and enabling us to eat fresh fruit and vegetables all year round, the presence of these goods on our supermarket shelves does not necessarily benefit the people who produced them, who may not be able to afford an adequate or healthy diet themselves. One reason is the need for countries to earn foreign currency to pay off large debts to the countries of the North, as well as to buy fuel, machinery, and other imported goods.