Assignment: Food
As food production became more industrialized during the 20th century, several trends emerged. One trend was a loss in the number of varieties of crops grown. A second trend was the increasing amount of energy expended to store food and ship it to market. In the US today, food travels an average of 1,400 miles from the field to your table. The price you pay for the food covers the cost of this long-distance transportation, which in 2004 was approximately $1 per ton of food/per mile.
Assuming the average U.S. person eats 2 pounds of food per day, complete the table by calculating the food transportation costs for your class, your home town (use the internet for 2010 or more recent information), Florida, and the U.S.
My home town is ______________________________, State _____ or Country __________.
Remember, there are 2,000 pounds in a ton and 365 days in a year.
So, 2 pounds day = 0.001 tons per day
(2 pounds ÷ 2,000 pounds = 0.001 tons per day)
Step 1 - 0.001 tons/day multiplied by $1 = $0.001
Step 2 - 1,400 miles multiplied by $0.001 = $1.40
Consumer Daily Cost Annual Cost
You $1.40 [daily cost x 365]=$511
(n = 1)
Your class
(n = 30)
Your home town
(n = ??)
Florida
(n = 18.8 million)
US
(n = 309.3 million)
1. Describe how this long-distance food production and distribution system impacts environmental sustainability and provide 2 specific examples.
2. If locally produced food only travels 50 miles to market, there is a 96% saving in transportation costs. Describe 2 advantages AND 2 disadvantages of using local foods.