Global Food Miles

Essential Questions:

  • Why does it matter where our food grows?

  • What causes nutrient loss to happen in our food?

  • How does most of our food travel from the farm to the store?


Lesson Objectives:

At the end of the workshop, students will be able to:

  • Explain what a food mile is and how it relates to carbon footprint

  • Show where common fruits grow on a map

  • Understand the impact of purchasing food locally or regionally


Explore our resources

Click on the images to access each resource (available as a PDF or webpage)

Take-Home Guide

Information for parents & legal guardians (available in English and Spanish).

Información para padres de familia y tutores legales (disponible en Inglés y Español).

Standards Alignments

Explore the ways our program aligns with CCSS + NGSS standards.

Vocabulary

Quiz your students on vocabulary used during our lesson!

 

Produce Passport Activity

Student’s keep track of their produce stickers for a month to identify patterns.

Social Emotional Learning Activity

Students write and reflect on the mini documentary “Unbroken Ground”.

Infographic

See what foods can grow right here in Massachusetts! Does anything surprise you?

 
 

Video Resources

Explore relevant video resources.

Reading Resources

Explore relevant reading resources.

Challenge Poster

Students will advertise a local farm on this challenge poster!

 

Challenge Guide

Completing this challenge will help your school become a CiS Certified Sustainable School!

Lesson Reflection

Print and send home this reflection activity to show families what their student learned.

 

Background Information

What are food miles?

Food miles are a simple concept with significant implications for both the environment and nutrition. Food miles measure the distance food travels from the place it's grown to where it's consumed.

When food travels long distances, it often requires extensive transportation, typically involving fossil fuels. This transportation process generates carbon emissions, contributing to climate change. The further food has to travel, the larger impact it has on the environment. Shopping for food that is locally or regionally grown reduce your individual food miles.

How does this impact people?

The journey from farm to table influences the nutritional quality of food. The longer the travel time, the more likely it is for fruits and vegetables to lose some of their essential nutrients. This is because, in order to be ripe by the time it reaches the grocery store shelves, food is picked before it is ripe - losing out on time spent on the vine or branch where it get’s the most nutrients. This is another reason why it’s so important to support local agriculture, as locally sourced produce tends to be fresher and nutritionally richer.