It seems like more and more companies, organizations and individuals are taking the initiative to help educate our young people today about where their food comes from. Alpharma has joined the effort with it’s new Reach Teach Learn program. Their goal is to “provide youth with the information they need to ensure that honest, educated decisions are made.” Of course you can find them on Twitter.
Alpharma Inc. Animal Health announced the launch of Reach Teach Learn, a grassroots educational program, at the 2009 Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. The program supports local school districts and colleges through initiatives that encourage students to learn more about agriculture and how their food is produced, and to share their insights and knowledge about what they learned.
“There has never been a better time to familiarize students with current agricultural trends and how their decisions affect society,” says Jeff Mellinger, Global Leader, Sales & Marketing for Alpharma Inc., Animal Health. “These initiatives are small steps towards better, more informed and educated students.”
Reach Teach Learn consists of two main initiatives, a student video contest and an essay contest. The video contest gives college students enrolled in agriculture coursework the opportunity to display their passion for agriculture by creating a video depicting current, ethical agriculture practices. The essay contest, which will be launched for the first time this fall, was created in collaboration with “Ag in the Classroom,” a grassroots program coordinated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In this initiative high school students are asked to provide their perspective writing of an essay on agriculture based on a lesson plan based on a selected book.
The contests will begin in September and will run through the middle of December. To learn more about Reach Teach Learn, specific initiatives and official contest rules, please visit the program Web site at www.ReachTeachLearn.com.