Patterns from the Food-Shed Map

Collecting data for the food-shed map was an interesting experience because I noticed several patterns in my map. These patterns also helped me realize a few things about the production of my food. I realized that the zip code on the box was not usually an accurate representation of where my food came from the distance it traveled.

Before I began collecting zip codes of where some of my food came from I expected most of the food to be from all over the country. However, I was surprised when a lot of my food came from mainly the East Coast (New York and New Jersey) as well as the West Coast (California). When the zip codes were shown on a map, I noticed that almost none of my food came from the Midwest or the surrounding areas. This was off because I always thought that these regions were especially known for their dairy, crops and meat. A majority of my food came from California from areas near San Francisco or Los Angeles. During my winter break, my family took a road trip to San Francisco and on the way; I saw a variety of crops growing and cattle. Many of the crops I saw growing where avocados and grapes. Most of my produce was from outside of the country while processed foods were created in the United States. My avocados were from Mexico, which did not surprise me because I expected them to come either California or Mexico.

One thing I noticed is that a lot my food came from (or near) big metropolitan cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston and San Francisco. There were significantly more clusters in certain areas of the map than others. I thought this was rather odd but I realized that this was the company headquarters were probably at but this did not indicate the actual location of where the food used to ma...

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...nly those with high incomes can afford them. Based on information provided by the United States Census San Francisco County has the third highest median household income at from 2008-2012 at $73,802 which considerably higher than both California’s median and the United States’ as a whole. Therefore, those living in this county are more likely to be able to afford and demand organic food. This explains the cluster on my food-shed map of organic foods produced in this region.

My food-shed map helped me notice that the production food is not defined entirely by it’s zip code and the company it is packaged by. My map helped note patterns about organic food consumption and demand in California. I realized that when I wanted to figure out more about where my food came from that I should rely on the address on the box but where the ingredients came were produced or grown.