Where Our Food Comes From (2024)

FAQs

Where does our food really come from? ›

The United States produces a variety of crops such as corn, wheat and potatoes, but these (and other foods) are also grown throughout the world and may be sent to the U.S. during different times of year. Sometimes food travels far distances by train, airplane or cargo ships to get to your local store.

To keep track of the product's history, it's most important to use some kind of product identification technique. This tracking data is often transferred to the bar code of a product. With food or livestock animals, the most common way is a tag attached to the material or a tag through the ear for animals.

Plant Parts and Animal Products as Food

Plants are one of the primary sources of food. Almost all parts of a plant are edible such as leaves, fruits, seeds, stems, flowers, and the roots. Some plants have two or more edible parts such as mustard. Mustard seeds yield oil, its leaves are used to make food.

In a literal sense, we all can agree that it's true that 'you are what you eat'. Nutrients from the foods we eat provide the foundation of the structure, function, and wholeness of every little cell in our body, from the skin and hair to the muscles, bones, digestive and immune systems.

Look at the barcode. If the first 3 numbers are 690 or 691 or 692, the product was made in China.

Despite the rapid growth, less than 1 percent of the U.S. food supply comes from China. For a few specific items, like apple juice, garlic, canned mandarin oranges, fish, and shrimp, China is a major supplier.

All food from plants or animals contains genes. In cooked or processed foods, most of the DNA has been destroyed or degraded and the genes are fragmented. Whether fresh or cooked, when we eat food, we digest it into its constituent parts from which we make our own genes and proteins.

Our survey revealed that 48 percent of Americans say they never or rarely seek information about where their food was grown or how it was produced.

Only four corporations—ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Dreyfus—control more than 75 percent of the global grain trade. They overwhelmingly push commodity crops like corn and soy on local farmers at the expense of native crops.

Which country food is No 1 in the world? ›

Ranked as the number one cuisine in the world, Italian food is a favorite internationally. With so many wonderful dishes originating from this country, it is almost impossible to pick just one.

The top three producers of staple crops in 2020 were Brazil, India and China.

When you know where your food comes from and what's in it, it can be easier to make the right choices for your health. Learning what's in a product before you eat it can help ensure you're getting the right amount of fats, calories, and nutrients.

Food sources

Humans are omnivores finding sustenance in vegetables, fruits, cooked meat, milk, eggs, mushrooms and seaweed. Cereal grain is a staple food that provides more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop. Corn (maize), wheat, and rice account for 87% of all grain production worldwide.

Producers are organisms that produce food for themselves and other organisms. Most producers use energy from sunlight, along with matter from air and water, to make food molecules (sugars). This is the source of food in most ecosystems.

Much of the food we eat comes from plants, trees, crops, bushes, leaves and sometimes even roots. The most obvious examples of the foods we source from plants are fruits and vegetables. All of the fruits and vegetables grow on plants.

Most of the food we eat comes from animals, including beef, lamb, pork, fish and chicken. Other foods come from plants, including rice, wheat, fruit, beans and vegetables. We also eat food that animals make. For example, chickens produce eggs and cows give milk.