Can high school teach future citizens about animal farming?

Abstract

In France, the gap between farmer’s reality and citizen’s expectations is increasing, with a decreasing level of knowledge and a progressive distancing of the public from the agricultural world. In this article, we wanted to study in particular the audience of young adults to see if high school can be a solution to improve students’ knowledge and understanding of animal farming. High school students have a perception similar to the rest of the population regarding animal farming, except that they are more sensitive to issues such as the preservation of animal welfare and the environment. They also tend more often to turn to vegetarian or vegan diets. Their level of knowledge is low, as it is for the rest of the population, and they indicate that education is their third source of information regarding animal farming. The high school programs applicable until the last school year indeed approach the agricultural subject in Biology and Geography general courses, but it is clear that this subject is particularly anecdotal. This was confirmed by teachers, who also said that this subject was sometimes difficult for them to deal with, and therefore often ignored. One of the difficulties mentioned is to find suitable teaching resources: textbooks are considered a reliable solution, but in our opinion, their content related to agriculture is not flawless, mostly because of the lack of sources for the data mentioned. This subject has appeared to us as important to correct, regardless of the opinions that one can have on agriculture and in particular on livestock farming. So we propose resource data adapted to teaching in high schools and with references, because they are important for objectivity and for building critical thinking among the citizens and decision-makers of tomorrow.