Acknowledge with students that it may take some time to be able to live (or even get close to living) their utopian values, but that there are probably things they can do now that would bring them closer to those ideas.

Assign students to work in pairs to identify three actions they could each take now to begin living their utopian visions. Some examples include:

• If the student’s vision is to eat food that does not hurt the environment, they might begin by eliminating a few items from their diet that have to travel more than 100 miles to their tables.
• If they’re concerned about animal welfare, they might research becoming vegetarian, or research kosher meat companies that are engaging in only humane slaughtering techniques, or begin by reducing the amount of meat in their diets.
• If they’re committed to eating food that is produced by agricultural laborers who are treated justly, they might research the labor practices of different companies and get involved with campaigns like the 2011-12 work with the tomato growers of Immokalee, FL.

Students should be encouraged to focus on small, personal steps they can commit to (and that will likely be more acceptable to their parents) rather than beginning with the larger, harder to attain goals.

After discussion in pairs, invite students to share their manifestos, drawings, and models with the whole group, along with some of actions they have identified for immediate change. Capture these "immediate actions" in writing and encourage students to help one another think of ways to live by their ideals in their current lives. Teachers may choose to save the list, post it in the classroom, or share it with parents via email or a class website.

Over the next months, teachers can have periodic check-ins with students to discuss their progress toward achieving their goals regarding food production, distribution, and consumption. Teachers may also realize that some common goals materialize amongst the students. These may a present a rich opportunity to do a project or take action as a whole class.