From Farm to Fork: Tracking our food around the world | UCF-1.2.2

From Farm to Fork – The Journey of Our Food

Target group: Primary / Lower Secondary
Subjects: Geography, Environmental Education, Science
Key Skills: Spatial thinking, critical thinking, map reading, digital literacy

 

Lesson Overview

Lesson 1: Where Does Our Food Come From?

Objectives:

• Recognize the origins of common food items
• Differentiate between local and global foods

Activities:

• Food detective: Bring food packages (or show images) with country-of-origin labels. Students locate the countries on a map.
• Map work: Use a digital world map (e.g., Google Earth or World Mapper) to mark origins.
• Discussion: Why do we eat food from far away? Is local food always available?

Materials:

• Food packaging or images
• Interactive map (e.g., MapChart, Google Earth)

 

Lesson 2: How Does Food Travel?

Objectives:

• Understand different modes of food transport (ship, truck, plane)
• Learn about food miles and their impact

Activities:

• Transport modes brainstorm: How does a banana from Ecuador reach our supermarket?
• Transport types: Match foods to their transport types and routes
• Map it: Draw lines on a map from origin to destination, calculate distances (approximate).

Digital Tools:

• Distance Calculator

 

Lesson 3: The Hidden Cost – Environmental Impact of Food Transport

Objectives:

• Define food miles and carbon footprint
• Analyze the environmental cost of different foods

Activities:

• Data comparison: Show graphs comparing carbon footprints of transported vs. local food
• Discussion prompts: Should we always buy local? What about seasonal availability?

Digital Tools:

• Interactive carbon footprint calculators (e.g., https://foodmiles.com)

 

Lesson 4: Our Choices Matter – Reflect and Act

Objectives:

• Reflect on personal food choices
• Develop ideas for sustainable consumption

Activities:

• Student project: Create a poster about the journey of one food item from memory (closed book).

 

Map Activity: “Tracking Our Food Around the World”

Objective

Students will locate the origin of different food items on a world map, draw transport routes, and calculate approximate distances, helping them understand the concept of food miles.

Materials Needed

• Devices with internet access (for digital map tools)
• World map handout (optional, for offline version)
• Predefined list of food items with origin countries (see below)
• Access to a map tool like:
  • MapChart.net
    https://www.mapchart.net/
  • Google Earth
    https://earth.google.com/
  • FreeMapTools Distance Calculator
    https://www.freemaptools.com/measure-distance.htm

 

Instructions

1. Warm-Up Discussion (5 min)
   Ask: What did you eat for breakfast or lunch today? Where do you think it came from?
2. Group Task (25–30 min)
   Divide students into small groups or pairs. Each group chooses or receives a list of 5–6 food items. Their task:
   • Look up the country of origin for each item.
   • Locate the origin and your country on a digital map.
   • Draw or trace the transport route.
   • Use a tool (like FreeMapTools) to calculate the distance in kilometers.
   • Record the mode of transport (ship, truck, airplane) and discuss why that mode is used.

Example Food Items

Food Item	Country of Origin	Transport Mode (typical)
Banana	Ecuador	Ship
Rice	India	Ship/Plane
Apples	Local OR New Zealand	Truck/Ship
Chocolate	Ghana (cocoa)	Ship
Cheese	Local	Truck
Coffee	Brazil	Ship

1. Worksheet (Optional Print/Digital Template)
   You can give them a simple table to fill in:

Food Item	Country of Origin	Distance (km)	Transport Mode	Notes

1. Class Discussion (10 min)
   • Which food had to travel the farthest?
   • Which foods are local?
   • What surprised you?
   • How could we reduce food miles?

 

Extension Ideas

• Introduce layers like ocean shipping lanes or climate zones.
• Have students create a digital story map (e.g. with ArcGIS StoryMaps).