Where Food Comes From: Sources and Environmental Impact
Where food comes from and how it affects the planet: food that is grown, reared or caught, the farming and fishing behind it, and how food miles, carbon footprint and seasonality shape a shopper choice.
Justify the choices, the way you are assessed
Free interactive practice on the decisions the assessment actually asks you to justify.
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Where food comes from
Every food starts somewhere. It is grown as a crop, reared as an animal, or caught from the sea. How and where it is produced, and how far it travels to reach you, all affect the planet. This module looks at food sources and at how a shopper choice can raise or lower the impact on the environment.
Provenance words
Learn these four terms before you study food and the environment.
Local vs flown in
Where food is produced changes how far it travels and its impact.
Cut the miles
A top answer links choices to impact. Choosing food produced near you and eaten in its own season usually means fewer food miles and a smaller carbon footprint. But weigh each choice up: local food is not always cheaper, and some crops can only grow abroad.
Match the source
- grown
- reared
- caught
- farmed
- carrots and wheat from the soil
- beef and chicken from animals
- wild cod and tuna from the sea
- salmon raised in a fish farm
Match the term
- organic farming
- intensive farming
- free range
- fairtrade
- farming without artificial chemicals
- farming for the highest possible yield
- animals that can roam outdoors
- farmers paid a fair price for their crop
Grown, reared or caught?
Which of these foods is caught rather than grown or reared?
- Cod from the sea.
- Carrots.
- Beef.
- Wheat.
Lower the impact
Select the TWO choices that lower the environmental impact of food.
- Choose food from a nearby farm.
- Eat produce when it is in season.
- Wrap everything in extra packaging.
- Let more food go to waste.
From field to fork
Put the journey of a crop from farm to home in order, earliest first.
- A crop is grown on a farm
- It is harvested and packed
- It is transported to the shop
- You buy it and take it home
Complete the ideas
Buying apples from a farm down the road cuts their food _____. Strawberries taste best when they are in _____. Farming that avoids artificial chemicals is called _____ farming. Fish caught within safe limits is _____ fishing. A record of where a food came from is its _____.
Food miles saved
Imported grapes travel 900 miles to the shop, while local grapes travel 100 miles. How many food miles are saved by choosing the local grapes? Subtract 100 from 900.
Find the reared foods
Tap the TWO foods that are reared from animals.
- beef
- chicken
- carrots
- cod
Raise or lower?
Read each choice and decide what it does to the environmental impact of the food.
- A shopper buys strawberries flown in from another continent in winter
- A shopper buys carrots from a local farm in autumn
- A shop throws away trays of unsold bread every single day
Explain the impact
Explain where food comes from and how a shopper can lower the environmental impact of the food they buy.
- Name the three ways food is produced
- Explain what food miles and carbon footprint mean
- Explain two ways to lower the environmental impact of food