Food miles

How does food reach your plate from a farm? Your book tells the story of chapati, in this order:

• A farmer grows wheat.
• The grains are threshed and winnowed (separated from the stalks and the husk).
• The grains are stored.
• The grains are ground into flour and packed.
• The flour is transported to a shop.
• At last, the chapati is on our plate.

Imagine one sack of wheat. It is grown in Punjab, stored in a godown in Delhi, ground and packed in a factory, then sold in a shop in Mumbai. The whole distance a food travels from the producer (the farmer) to the consumer (you) is called its food miles.

Why cut food miles? The book gives three reasons:

• it cuts the cost and pollution of transporting food (fewer trucks on the road),
• it supports local farmers,
• it keeps our food fresh and healthy.

Food grown near where you live does not travel far, so it has fewer food miles. The book says eating food that is locally grown and plant-based, as far as possible, is good for our body, and good for the environment and our planet.

Many people leave food uneaten on their plates. Think of all the time and effort farmers and many others put into bringing it from the farm to you. Take only as much food as you can eat, so that less is wasted.