Where Food Comes From

A far cry from the quaint General Store of a few generations ago that stocked the few basic items most people needed, today’s modern “super” markets have upwards of 40,000 different items on their shelves…a staggering array of choices for today’s consumer. But do you even know where food comes from?

It all begins with dirt. It takes about 10,000 years to create an inch of soil, which covers the planet’s surface like a layer of skin. One handful of dirt contains more microorganisms than there are people on Earth! Good healthy soil grows good healthy food. Soil, water and sunlight are the three main ingredients needed to grow food.

It used to be that we ate only “seasonal food”, or that which was in season at the time. Spring was for planting seeds. Summer brought stone fruits and berries, Autumn’s bounty included pumpkins and squashes, and Winter gave us root vegetables and dark, leafy greens. People no more expected to be able to eat a strawberry in the dead of winter than they expected pigs to fly!

Thanks to trucks, airplanes, refrigeration and chemicals, however, our food can now be shipped thousands of miles from every corner of the world in a matter of days or weeks. That means we are no longer bound to the seasons. We can eat what we want, when we want it and few of us give much thought at all to where our food comes from or how it got to us.

But a “fresh” strawberry that is enjoyed in February in Minnesota, for instance, has had to travel from a long distance over a period of time. By the time it is picked from a much warmer climate and handled by many people, packaged in bio-unfriendly materials to protect it on its journey, and has utilized many gallons of fossil fuels to transport it to this part of the world (for which you will pay a premium) you may question the “freshness” of this unseasonable fruit after all.

Children today are rapidly losing their connection to the soil, the earth, the seasons and the food they eat. Many kids eat nothing but packaged, prepared, dried, plastic shrink-wrapped, boxed, processed food and haven’t a clue where it actually comes from. Studies have been done on urban children where they were shown whole produce in its natural state, such as a whole pineapple, a stalk of leafy celery or a basket of potatoes. Amazingly, the kids were literally unable to identify these food items. Many eat a steady diet of French fries, but have no idea what a real potato looks like because they have never seen or held a real one!

Our job as parents is to educate our kids about where food comes from, how it is grown, and how it is made. There are many ways to do this, from simply shopping, cooking and eating with your kids, (for tips on meal planning and shopping for food, click here) to actually growing your own food. Having a garden is not only for suburban or rural folks. Even a high-rise city dweller can have a pot of dirt on their balcony to grow a small tomato plant, or train some green beans to grow up a wall. Anyone, anywhere can grow something, no matter how small. This is probably the best way to teach a child the wonders of seasonal foods. And a child who has an understanding of, an appreciation for, and a connectedness to the earth, will more likely grow up to be a good and conscientious steward of their planet.

Return to Home Page from Where Food Comes From