As we wrap up our coverage of the 2015 JBF Food Conference, we turn our eyes to the possibilities of tomorrow's farms, restaurants, grocery stores, and kitchens. We've partnered with the Future Market for a multi-part series exploring some of the visions of the future discussed at the conference, in the form of the Future Chronicle, a newspaper snapshot of 2065. Read the full issue here, and stay tuned for more dispatches from the mid-twenty-first century.
K-12 Cooking Core to Launch in 2066
Department of Education to Require Cooking Training and Exams for Students
Mike Lee
Education Editor
Students nationwide will soon be required to receive core cooking and food education training from kindergarten to twelfth grade, with regular examinations to ensure culinary competency.
The new requirements formally codify what public opinion has leaned towards for the past decade: that food and cooking knowledge is on par with math, English, and science as keys to success in life for our children.
Culinary curricula will begin to roll out in the fall 2066 semester. School lunch periods will be extended by 60 minutes and will deliver training in nutrition, ingredients, farming practices, and cooking, followed by lunch that will often be prepared by the students themselves.
Nationwide culinary testing will begin in the fifth grade and will occur every three years until the eleventh grade. A number of public and private universities have announced that they will now be looking closely at eleventh grade culinary testing scores in their admissions process.
“There’s been a strong causal relationship established between GPA and cooking and nutrition proficiency among our student body for years,” said New York University’s assistant dean and director of admissions, Dr. Charles DeGraw. NYU will be one of the first schools to use Cooking Core test scores in their admissions.
Dr. DeGraw added, “Our mission is to cultivate strong, well-rounded people that will be valuable contributors to society. For us, you can’t truly be a 99th percentile student if you’re not able to fuel your own body with the food that enables you perform at that high academic level.”
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The Future Chronicle is the official paper of record for the Future Market. See what's on the shelves of the Future Market here.
