Why did we choose potato chips?

We decided to use the potato chips as an example towards systemic thinking because we want to address a relevant and tangible topic for the learners’ daily lives. Also, we realised that in the four countries represented in the ESD Expert Net (South Africa, India, Mexico and Germany), potato chips are part of the daily nutrition of most learners.

‘Potato Chips’ is a relevant topic because one of the current and future challenges for young people worldwide are the health problems due to their daily diet. An increase in consumption of unhealthy snacks results in an impact on the environment due to an increase in the use of land resources in order to meet the demand for more, and different types of potato chips.

Most people see their pair of jeans as something of daily use or as a fashion item. Most people do not see their pair of jeans as a part of a global production system – which it is! Therefore, we chose ‘jeans’ as a familiar item of everyday use to open the world of systems thinking.

Why did we choose two different ways to analyse the potato chips?

While developing the material, we realised that we could address sustainability in relation to the topic of ‘chips’ from two different perspectives: that of the production of potato chips, and that of nutrition in relation to potato chips. The information and activities for these two perspectives are presented in different colours for easy navigation of the material: activities exploring potato chips production are in pink and those exploring nutrition are in blue.

In the beginning, these two perspectives appear to be separate systems. However, as we go deeper into exploring these aspects, we realise that these can be thought of as sub-systems that complement each other and belong to a larger system on the theme of potato chips.

You can choose one or both perspectives to work with your learners. Exploring both perspectives side by side allows you as a teacher to introduce systems thinking as an interdisciplinary approach with different subjects. Either way, you would help your learners to develop their systems thinking competence.

What can you expect of the 10 steps of potato chips?

The staircase model of developing systems thinking described in the generic Ten Steps is applied to the topic of potato chips in this section. The purpose of this example is to support you, the teacher, in developing the ability of your learners to address the complexity of reality in a creative and didactical way.

Learners will understand

• how potato chips are produced,
• how the human body processes them, and
• the impact on the production and consumption of potato chips on the environment; and
• how different perspectives and disciplines help us develop a systems understanding.

The learners will learn to value different drivers of change and the direct and indirect impact of their own decisions and actions along with the others.

Ten Steps towards Systems Thinking for Sustainable Development help users reflect on the significance and complexity of “act local, think global”.

We hope you enjoy using this material as much as we enjoyed developing it.

Nicola Pape, Wendy Morel.