Geography – So where in the world have your groceries travelled from?

I thought that I would start to share some of the ‘Missions’ that we are embarking on as part of our geography learning  for our home education.

Here is our first mission, lets hope it is lots of fun and very informative and stay tuned for our next mission…

So where in the world have your groceries travelled from?

Briefing:

We all eat a variety of foods each day, but how often do you actually think about how far that food has travelled to get to your plate or where it has come from. When you are next at the supermarket buying your groceries, take the time to look at the products you purchase and see what countries they come from. Become aware of the food you eat and how much travelling it does to get to you.

Your Mission:

Mark on a world map the countries where the items you purchase in your weekly shopping originate from

Questions to answer:

• List the countries where your groceries have come from
• Then use this information to create a diagram showing which countries your shopping items came from. You may choose to use a graph, pie chart or similar. The choice is yours.
• What country do your groceries mainly come from? What percentage?
• Why do you think these foods are imported mainly from this country?
• Do your fresh foods come from local growers or are they also imported from overseas?
• How do you feel about your groceries coming from all over the world to get on your plate?

Extension Activities:

Pick one of the grocery items from your shopping and learn about the country where it is produced.

Research a meal that you could make using your chosen product. Ensure that the meal is usually made and eaten in the country that it has come from.  Create the meal at home and share it with your family.

Explore whether or not this grocery item could have been grown / made closer to home. What are your findings?

Interested in joining us on this mission? Please let us know by emailing us at info@golab.info.

We will post our findings on here once we have finished the mission!