The ninth of thirteen units for an environmental education curriculum is presented in this teacher's guide. The collection of units for grades K-12 was written in response to a mandate from the Minnesota State Legislature through a bill making provisions for developing and implementing a state-wide environmental education program. The units are experimental in nature and are not oriented as to subject matter or academic discipline. The eighth grade unit, Social-Physical Environment, involves students in practicing "survival" techniques for more comfortable living in the physical, tangible realm of the social environment. The unit attempts to show the pupils how to solve a "real", living problem based on the theory that often a person's inability to survive in a particular social environment is the result of not knowing how to do what he knows he must do. Activities aimed at providing real-world involvement through environmental investigation include meal planning, grocery shopping, product quality analysis, carbohydrate diet recording, determination of product packaging, experiences in business practices, and applying consumer pressure for environmental control. A list of materials needed precedes each activity. Background information includes a narration of federal legislation relating to food. (BL)