Where Does Our Food Come From What have you eaten today A piece of fruit a sandwich or maybe a cookie or two Have you ever really thought about where the food we eat comes from how it gets to us or what happens to any food that is left over Fresh Food The food that we buy at the store comes from farms all over the world Fruit cereal crops and vegetables are grown in fields orchards and greenhouses Eggs and dairy products come from animals on farms and meat comes from animals that have been specially bred for the purpose Many kinds of fruit including apples are ready to eat as soon as they are ripe No cooking or preparation is required 6
Processed Food We eat some fresh foods such as fruit and vegetables in their raw state But much of the food we buy today has been processed in some way This means it has been changed from its raw state for example by cooking it to make it into another food item or part of another food item such as a box of cereal or a can of soup Food processing takes place in factories Packaging and Transporting Once the food has been processed it is packaged to make it easier to store and transport It is also wrapped in plastic or foil to keep it fresh It is then transported by road sea or air to the stores where it will be sold Imagine putting one-third of all this food straight into the garbage 7 Once food has been packaged it may need refrigerating too CASE STUDY IN THE TRASH In developed countries we tend to take our food for granted so much so that many of us waste a lot of food On average one out of every three grocery bags of food we buy is thrown away That is not just packaging but food that could actually still be eaten In the U S one out of every four bags of groceries is thrown away
