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Packaging and its
Contribution to the Curriculum
Summary of Keynote address:
HETTANZ Conference, Queenstown, 9.30 - 10.00 am, 28
September, 2002, by Tony Mander
This keynote focussed on packaging
as a topic and in particular referred to the 'PAC-IT'
resource kit. Page references are to the 'PAC-IT
Teacher guide'. The resource may be ordered from
the website (www.pac-it.org.nz)
which also has supporting resources. The PAC-IT resource
was jointly funded from the Minister for the Environment's
Sustainable Management Fund, which is administered by
the Ministry
for the Environment, and the Packaging
Council of New Zealand.
'Packaged' has a range of meanings:
physically wrapping one or more objects, bundling several
services together, or to present in a particular and
advantageous way (creating an image). Creating an image
is today an important aspect of the packaging of goods.
Is packaging of sufficient
significance to consider incorporating in the curriculum?
Packaged items were used to first
show some functions of packaging.
Natural products are 'packaged':
eggs, nuts, fruits, insect pupae, etc.
A fruit juice package was used
to illustrate that we use packaging to provide similar
functions: to contain, protect, maintain product qualities,
and also to ensure safety in food products, show evidence
of tampering, include product information, and provide
convenience of use, etc. Packaging can be defined as
a coordinated system for preparing goods for transport,
distribution, storage, sale and use.
Packaging of food is also a guarantee
of food safety, with obvious benefits in health.
Benefits of food packaging are
a longer shelf life, and the provision of out-of-season
food and a wider range of foods, allowing an improvement
in general nutrition.
Today, packaging must also sell
the product it contains.
Packaging is a major element of
our urban environment and provides a relevant context
for elements of food technology and food preparation
and handling.
A part of a video
clip of the traditional processing and packaging
of muttonbirds by Southland Maori for later consumption
and trade was shown. This is one of the videos included
in the PAC-IT resource.
The role of packaging in an urban
lifestyle is important, as most of our food and goods
are produced far from where they are consumed. While
packaging would not have happened without urbanisation,
would urbanisation have happened without packaging?
In what other ways does packaging
have sufficient significance to justify its inclusion
in the curriculum?
Our students often want to know
of job opportunities in curriculum topics. The packaging
industry is diverse and collectively significant in
size, perhaps as high as NZ's fourth largest industry.
It provides many job opportunities for our students.
This was illustrated by showing the graphic from page
10 of the PAC-IT resource.
A common criticism of packaging
is that it uses valuable resources and produces waste.
The reality was briefly examined: a short trip by car
to a supermarket uses more petroleum than would be used
in the various plastic packaging of the goods purchased;
the plastics could be recycled, but petroleum burnt
by a car is gone forever. One of our tasks as teachers
is to ensure that our students keep such issues in perspective.
The role of packaging in litter
was discussed. Litter is a human behaviour problem,
not a packaging problem. A quote from Thomas Hine: "The
affluent litter on places that they perceive to be poor
and powerless; the poor litter almost everywhere because
they feel little stake in the society as a whole".
Students who litter their school may be giving a message
of having little stake or pride in their school.
Packaging makes up only 12% by
weight of solid municipal waste, and about 40% of consumer
packaging in New Zealand is recycled. The collection,
recycling and disposal of solid waste are increasingly
important societal issues.
Home Economics teachers have two
curriculum areas to consider: Health and PE and Technology.
For technology several technological areas are especially
relevant. Consider materials and production and process.
Packaging materials in common
use by 1200 AD (PAC-IT p. 11) included leather, cloth,
wood, grass, stone, earthenware, metals and glass. A
'Tetra-Brik' aseptic package was discussed as an example
of the materials used in modern packaging, and none
of the materials in this package (paper, polyethylene,
aluminium) are on the 1200 AD list.
Part of the PAC-IT
video clip on packaging milk was shown to illustrate
the range of materials used in packaging a common commodity.
The reasons given so far for considering
packaging as a topic in a classroom programme includes
its contribution to food safety, nutrition and health,
its place in social customs, the recycling and disposal
of used packaging, the many materials used in packaging,
the wide range of job opportunities. The many amazing
packaging materials and technologies that are another
aspect of packaging have not been included (but see
PAC-IT p. 43-112).
There is also the challenge of
designing and making packaging with the requisite properties,
and the product development associated with them. There
are several methods to extend the shelf life of food,
and as each method requires packaging designed to complement
it (PAC-IT p. 20), it should be included in the food
topic.
There are many reasons to include
packaging in your various topics. It is a diverse area,
offers a wide range of jobs for students, and best of
all for you, there is a comprehensive resource available
to support you. (order the PAC-IT kit here)
Bibliography
Refer to
the bibliography in the 'PAC-IT Teacher Guide' p. 131,
132, and also to the many links on the PAC-IT website
(www.pac-it.org.nz).
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