The Lowdown on Local Food: Mapping the Path of Local vs. Non-Local Meals

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Tiffany Reeves
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1 The Lowdown on Local Food: Mapping the Path of Local vs. Non-Local Meals SUBJECT: carbon footprint, geography, health GRADE LEVEL: 4-6 CLASS TIME: 40 minutes OVERVIEW This lesson introduces the topic of local food by engaging students in tracking how far a meal travels before it reaches a dinner plate. Students will consider the differences between local and non-local food distribution methods and map the paths of both a locally sourced dinner as well as a standard, supermarket dinner. Throughout this activity, students will become exposed to the benefits of local food for environmental, social, and economic reasons. MATERIALS Laminated, large United States map Dry erase markers String OBJECTIVES Students will: Food Tracking Clues Food Tracking Total Miles chart Explain the benefits of local food for the well-being of humans and the planet. Track the paths of a local and a non-local meal around the country using a visual mapping display and calculate the total miles traveled. Consider ways to decrease our food carbon footprint. STANDARDS National Science Education Standards (NSES): Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Content Standard F, Grades 5-8 Personal health Populations, resources, and environments Natural hazards Other Subjects Addressed: Mathematics Geography Addition Familiarity with United States maps CHGE Education chge.med.harvard.edu/education 1

2 Lowdown on Local Food Background The agricultural industry has become supersized to the point where it is often impossible to track down how far our food really travels. Oftentimes, our food is shipped thousands of miles around the world to finally reach our supermarket and plate, and we have no connection to the farms or farmers responsible for its production. Fortunately, the notion of local food is gaining popularity through farmer s markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), and other such food initiatives. Buying locally helps our environment because it decreases transportation, and consequently, fossil fuel combustion. It also supports members of the community economically and improves social relationships with nearby farmers. Some children might wonder: Where does my milk come from? Why should I buy an apple that has traveled a total of 2,050 miles around the country when there is an apple orchard in my town? Throughout this lesson students will begin to explore these concepts and questions in an interactive activity of tracking food miles. Introduction 1. Begin by introducing the topic of local food and the notion of food miles. Instruct students to find a partner and have each partner share his or her favorite food. Then, ask them to brainstorm where in the world that food (or the ingredients that make up the food) originate. Most likely, the students will not be too sure, and that is the point. 2. Start a class conversation about food travel. Ask the students: What are some ways to know where our food comes from? Has anyone been to a garden, farm, or farmer s market nearby? Where are they in our neighborhood? What is a CSA? Why is it helpful for the farmers and for you? 3. Briefly describe the ugly side of agribusiness and the fact that most food we purchase at a supermarket does not come from local sources. Show an example of a packaged food from a supermarket with a descriptive label stating all the countries that particular food has traveled. Pass around the label for everyone to see, and explain that most of the travel is due to various stages of processing, packaging, refrigerating and distributing. 4. Now, question the students further: Why do the local food solutions seem better? Who are they better for? 5. Make sure students grasp the multifaceted benefits of buying locally. Address carbon footprint and the environmental benefits of decreasing transportation. Touch on the personal health benefits of buying fresh, non-toxic food and eliminating stages such as processing and storage. Then, discuss the economic and social benefits of supporting your local farmers and community. CHGE Education chge.med.harvard.edu/education 2

3 Lowdown on Local Food Activity 1. Set the stage for the activity by prompting students to imagine a delicious spaghetti dinner with sides of broccoli and bread, a glass of milk, and ice cream for dessert. Now, imagine some of the ingredients, including wheat, tomatoes, garlic, broccoli, and milk. 2. Explain that with the Food Tracking Clues, students will trace two different paths around the country this meal might have taken. One path uses ingredients from all local sources and the other path uses the more common, national system of food 3. Depending on the ability of the students and the size of the class, split the students into smaller groups responsible for tracking specific ingredients in the meal. Divide up the clues for responsibility s sake, but allow all the students to read the full sets of clues. For example, four students may be in charge of tracking two ingredients, such as wheat and tomatoes. Start with the local clues. Display a large United States map and have each group use dry erase markers to draw the path the clues describe across the country. Make sure they label what ingredient they are tracking. Then, use the numbers presented in the clues to add together the total miles each ingredient has traveled. Record the final numbers in the Food Tracking Total Miles chart. 4. Once the path of all the local ingredients are drawn on the map, have the students trace over the marker lines with string and cut the string to the appropriate length of the path. Line up all the string pieces (representing the ingredients) with ends just touching in a path along the floor. 5. Erase the marked path on the map. Use the non-local clues and repeat the same process of first tracking with a marker, then adding and recording numbers on the Food Tracking Total Miles chart, and lastly, tracing the path with string and aligning the string on the floor. 6. Compare both the numerical difference in miles traveled as well as the visual representation of the two string paths aligned on the floor. 7. Wrap up the activity by explaining to students that this example of non-local food was even limited to a national system. Imagine the difference if all the ingredients came from around the world (which they often do). Reconsider methods to buy local food as much as possible. Going Further Credit 1. Ask students to take the Food Footprint Quiz, available at to assess their own food footprint. 2. Encourage students to investigate where their food comes from by exploring labels in the grocery store and meeting local farmers at a nearby farmer s market. Becky Wasserman, Author, Middlebury College Shelburne Farms, Food Tracking Clues (adapted) Kate Hester, Editor, Center for Health and the Global Environment CHGE Education chge.med.harvard.edu/education 3

4 Food Tracking Clues Local Clues Local spaghetti noodles (wheat) I am made from wheat grown and milled into flour at Gleason s Grains in Bridport, VT. First, the flour was transported 204 miles to Trader Joe s in Boston, MA. Last, the flour traveled 2 miles from Trader Joe s to your home after you purchased it for dinner. You used the flour to make homemade spaghetti. Local tomatoes I was grown in your backyard garden. I was picked and traveled 0 miles from the vine to your plate. Local garlic I was grown at Applefield Farm in Stow, MA. First, I was picked, dried and transported 30 miles to Trader Joe s in Boston, MA by truck for Last, I traveled 2 miles from Trader Joe s to your plate after you purchased me for dinner. Local broccoli I was grown at Plato s Harvest Organic Farm in Middleboro, MA. First, I was transported 39 miles to Trader Joe s in Boston, MA by truck for Last, I traveled 2 miles from Trader Joe s to your plate after you purchased me for dinner. Local bread (wheat) I am made from wheat grown and milled into flour at Gleason s Grains in Bridport, VT. First, I was transported 202 miles to Somerville, MA by truck to When Pigs Fly Bakery to be baked into bread. After that, I was transported 3 miles to Trader Joe s in Boston, MA by truck for Last, I was transported 2 miles to your plate after you purchased me for dinner. Local milk I am from cows raised at Thatcher Farms in Milton, MA where the cows were milked, and the milk was pasteurized, bottled, and labeled. I was transported 10 miles by the milkman right to your doorstep in Boston. Local ice cream I am made from cows at Thatcher Farms in Milton, MA where the cows were milked, and the milk was pasteurized, bottled, and distributed. First, I was transported 16 miles by truck to Peaceful Meadows in Whitman, MA where it was made into ice cream. Then, I was transported 24 miles to Trader Joe s in Boston, MA by truck for Last I traveled 2 miles from Trader Joe s to your plate after I was purchased for your dinner. 4

5 Non-Local Clues Spaghetti noodles (wheat) I am made from wheat grown at two different farms in Farmington, Iowa and Harper, Kansas. First, some of the wheat was transported 175 miles from Farmington, Iowa to Ames, Iowa by rail car where it was milled, processed into spaghetti noodles, labeled, and packaged. Next, more wheat was transported 476 miles from Harper, Kansas to Ames, Iowa by rail car where it was milled, processed into spaghetti noodles, labeled, and packaged. Then, I was sent 1,156 miles to the Shaw s Distribution Center in Wells, Maine by truck for After that, I was transported 77 miles to your local Shaw s store by truck for Tomatoes I was grown at an unknown farm in San Joaquin, California. First, I was transported 20 miles to Sun Ripe Farms in Exeter, California by truck for washing and packaging. Next, I was transported 227 miles to West Coast Produce in Oakland, California by truck for distribution around the world. Then, I was transported 2,925 miles to Shaw s Distribution Center in Wells, Maine by rail for Then, I was transported 77 miles by truck to the Shaw s in Boston, MA. Garlic I was grown at an unknown farm in Kewanee, Illinois. First, I was transported 193 miles to Madison, Wisconsin by truck for Next, I was transported 2,085 miles to West Coast Produce in Oakland, California by plane where I was inspected for distribution in the United States. Then, I was transported 3,122 miles to the Hannaford s Distribution Center in Boston, MA by truck for After that, I was transported 10 miles by truck to the Hannaford s store in Quincy, MA for Last, I traveled 10 miles from Hannaford s to your plate after you purchased me for dinner. Broccoli I was grown at a farm owned by Foxy Produce Inc. in Castroville, California. First, I was transported 9 miles to Salinas, California by truck where I was put in cold storage. Next, I was transported 3,184 miles to the Shaw s Distribution Center in Wells, Maine by truck for Then, I was transported 77 miles to your local Shaw s store in Boston, MA by truck for Last, I traveled 2 miles from the store to your plate after you purchased me for dinner. Bread (wheat) I am made from wheat grown at unknown farms in Three Forks, Montana and Harper, Kansas. First, the wheat was transported 951 miles from Three Forks, Montana to Inland, Nebraska by rail car where it was milled into flour. Then, it was transported 1712 miles to LePage Bakery in Auburn, Maine by truck where it was baked into bread. 5

After that, I was transported 136 miles by truck to your local Shaw s store in Boston, MA for Milk I am from a cow raised at a farm owned by Inter-American Products in Horse Cave, Kentucky.

6 After that, I was transported 136 miles by truck to your local Shaw s store in Boston, MA for Milk I am from a cow raised at a farm owned by Inter-American Products in Horse Cave, Kentucky. First, I was transported 130 miles to Murfreesboro, Tennessee by truck for pasteurization, bottling, labeling, and Next, I was transported 34 miles to Nashville, Tennessee by truck for distribution across the country. Then, I was transported 986 miles to Shaw s Distribution Center in Wells, Maine by rail car for After that, I was transported 77 miles to your local Shaw s in Boston, MA by truck for Ice cream I am made from cows milk. The cows were raised at an unknown farm in Watertown, Wisconsin. First, the milk transported 47 miles to Milwaukee, Wisconsin by truck for pasteurization. Next, the milk was transported 1,052 miles to Breyer s Ice Cream Processing Plant in Framingham, MA by truck where it was made into ice cream, labeled, and packaged. Then, I was transported 23 miles to the Breyers Ice Cream Distribution Warehouse in Boston, MA by truck for After that, I was transported 3 miles to your local Shaw s store by truck for Food Tracking Total Miles Local Non-Local 6

Tracing the Food System:

SUPPLEMENTARY LESSON Tracing the Food System: An Investigation of a Chicago Public Schools Meal This lesson will allow students to make the connection between the food they eat at home and at school and