The Disinformation Games

Your safe space for games and challenges related to misinformation and disinformation!

Case study: All Things Food

As any biological species, we humans need food to survive. Food delivers nutrients such as carbs, amino acids, fibers, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Througout the human history food was hunted, collected, cooked in a variety of ways, preserved, selected and grown to improve certain qualities and properties. At the same time taste, personal preferences, access to food and cost of food are all factors which influence what we eat and how we eat it. This case study revolves around issues related to the production and consumption of food such as: healthy eating and healing foods, superfoods, organic food, junk food and GMO-based foods. We adopt different perspectives - from individual choice of food to global implications of food growing.

All Things Food

Recommended for: high school students, university students, adults

Available building blocks7

Tags: food production, economics, environment, sustainable development, health, personal choices, diets

Tips for educators

Building block 1. Can food cure?

The problem that we acknowledge and will be adressed is how superfoods or food in general can be used as an alternative treatment for serious diseases such as cancer etc. Internet, TV shows, commercials are full of advantages and positive affects of superfoods. Superfood or super-nutrition has become more and more constant in recent years when it comes to healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. The most likely reason is that people are becoming more and more aware that choosing a healthy and balanced diet can really affect our well-being and health. Superfoods, in spite of their own name, are not foods with supernatural powers, but they are simply for more or less known foods that have high levels of ingredients that are vital for maintaining health.

Suggested resources

1. Wiki definition about superfood
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfood [Open from webarchive if link broken/inactive]

2. A list of 50 best superfoods in 2019
https://guidedoc.com/best-superfoods-list [Open from webarchive if link broken/inactive]

3. Article about effect of superfoods on health, curing disease, preventing disease
https://www.dana-farber.org/health-library/articles/cancer-mythbusters-superfoods-and-cancer/  [Open from webarchive if link broken/inactive]

4. The article about kale`s substances that have been shown to help fight cancer in test-tube and animal studies, but the human evidence is mixed
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-proven-benefits-of-kale#section6 [Open from webarchive if link broken/inactive]

5. Health benefits and potential harmful effects of some superfoods
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/29/truth-about-superfoods-seaweed-avocado-goji-berries-the-evidence [Open from webarchive if link broken/inactive]

Video

1. Why Celery Juice Is Healing Millions

Tweets

Twitter hashtag #FoodIsNotMedicine live feed:
https://twitter.com/hashtag/FoodIsNotMedicine?src=hash

Memes

kale
anti-cancer-superfoods

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes represent the competences which learners are expected to develop as a result of the training intervention:

1. The learner will be able to explain the term superfoods (and/or derivatives).
2. The learner will be able to Identify superfood in daily nutrition.
3. The learner will be able to recognize the health aspects of the food.
4. The learner will be aware of, and be able to list several examples, marketing frauds about miraculous effects of superfoods.

Suggested teaching methods

> Data searching
> Data comparison
> Self-reflection
> Present arguments (pro/con)
> Debate
> Present findings

Suggested learning activities

> Icebreaker: List superfoods you know.

> Internet search for the definiton of superfood and present it to the class

> Discussion which food is known or considered as healthy. Listing examples

> Discussion: Do superfoods have super powers? (using meme #1)

> Discussion: Can food cure cancer? (using meme #2)

> Internet search for different information about food and its health benefits

> Division classroom into 3 groups; 1st group defend positive effects, 2nd group defends negative effects of superfoods, 3rd group listens their arguments and select (vote) the winner

> Reading articles #3 and #4

> Watching the video

> Discussion about opposing opininons in presented resources above

> Learning about motivation for making and propagating dis- and misinformation

> Evaluation, summarizing conclusions

> Test your 'superfood' knowledge. Do you know which foods are really the best for us?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/are_you_fooled_by_superfoods

De Facto pillars

Frames and Framing: Discussion which food is known or considered as healthy.

Warning

You have selected a topic from the Disinformation Games area. Please be advised that this area hosts, or links to, resources that contain misinformation or disinformation. The presence of such materials is to assist in developing and sustaining skills for navigating and detecting disinformation. To achieve this goal – and with clear intent – none of the materials are explicitly marked as true or not true.