From Field to Plate

From Field to Plate book cover — source to resource FROM FIELD TO PLATE MICHAEL BRIGHT Crabtree Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com

From Field to Plate — page 1 — Eat up At one time the distance from field to plate was only a few miles People bought foods in season from local markets who were supplied by local farmers Today we can buy exotic foods from distant lands whenever we want Food is traded across the world so now the distance from field to plate can be thousands of miles A bit of everything We eat food to provide our bodies with essential nutrients so we can grow and stay healthy Humans are known as omnivores or eaters of both meat and plants Our early human ancestors got their food by hunting animals and collecting plants and fungi to eat Plants only Some people choose not to be omnivores and prefer to eat just plants algae and fungi and nothing else They are called vegans and vegetarians Some vegetarians might also eat eggs and dairy products such as cheese and yogurt but neither vegans nor vegetarians eat meat A variety of good wholesome foods is essential for a healthy life

From Field to Plate — page 2 — Foods from around the world can now be easily enjoyed at home The right color Tacos meatballs and noodles The kinds of food we eat most are usually determined by where we come from Chinese food is very different from Mexican food which in turn is different from Italian food However the food industry today has become so international that people can eat all these foods at any time in many cities around the world The color of food was important to our ancient ancestors The color of fruit for example told them when it was ripe and ready to eat Purple or green mold on food indicated it was rotting and unsafe to eat More recently scientists wanted to see if color still affects the way we look at foods today They colored foods such as freshly baked bread with purple blue and green edible dyes and offered them to people Nobody would eat them The blue gray patches are a fungus called mold It shows this bread is not safe to eat

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