Discussion: Unit 6

 

Farm to Fork 

Instructions:

From the article, 

The True Energy Price Exposure of Everything You Eat  (Links to an external site.)

by Michael Bomford, consider the following statements. Discuss possible answers to the following questions:

1. Statement in article: “Eating well doesn’t necessarily require a lot of energy; eating badly does.”

Q: Interpret what this means, in terms of energy expenditure for food production.

Q: Since we often equate farmers’ market foods with “health,” describe as many benefits as you
     can that we derive from purchasing the bulk of our foods from these venues.

2. Statement in article: “The distance food travels between farm and fork has little impact on how much energy it takes to get there. How food travels is far more important than how far it goes.”

Q: Given this knowledge, what would the results be of limiting or even stopping foreign food
      imports?

Q: Do you think this would have an overall positive or negative impact on the U.S. food
      system?

3. Statement in article: “…the average food item travels more than 5,000 miles from farm to fork”

Q: What are some ways that food-related businesses (grocery stores, trucking companies, freight
      industries, farmers) can cut down on transportation-related energy use?  

Q: Of these, which are economically viable?

Q: What are some ways that consumers can cut down on transportation-related energy use? (Also consider here personal preferences for when, where, and how often to travel to buy food)

Do you think is it always better to buy organic foods?  Why or why not?