Where does our food come from?

1
Where does our food come from?

• Georgia Davis
• MUPGRET Workshop
• June 15, 2004

2
Centers of Origin
Mediterranean
Turkey/Iran
China
Mexico/C. America
Ethopia
SE Asia
India
Andes/Brazil/Paraguay
Map from modified from WorldAtlas.com
3
Mexico/Central America

• Maize
• Tomato
• Common bean
• Sweet potato

4
Andes/Brazil/Paraguay

• Peppers
• Potato
• Rubber
• Pumpkin
• Cassava

5
Mediterranean

• Almonds
• Cabbage
• Olives
• Beet
• Lettuce
• Asparagus

6
Turkey/Iran

• Wheat
• Barley
• Oat
• Figs
• Lentil

7
India

• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Pigeonpea
• Pea
• Onion
• Garlic
• Carrot

8
China

• Soybean
• Chinese cabbages

9
Southeast Asia

• Coconut
• Rice
• Sugarcane

10
Ethopian

• Cowpea
• Okra

11
GRIN

• Germplasm resource information network
• USDA, ARS
• http//www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/

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Indigenous Crops

• There are very few crop plants that are
  indigenous to the US.
• Most are not things wed commonly think of.

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Indigenous crops

• Blueberry
• Cranberry
• Jerusalem artichoke
• Pecan
• Black walnut
• Sunflower
• Ginseng
• Strawberry

• Beech
• Hickory
• Chestnut
• Wild rice

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Indigenous Crops
15
Ginseng
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Plants are used for

• Food
• Animal feed
• Fiber
• Pharmaceuticals
• Recreation
• Oxygen production

• Building materials
• Fuel
• Aesthetics
• Spice/seasoning
• Erosion control

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Black walnut

• Wood used for cabinet making and in gunstock
• Sap can be boiled into syrup and sugar
• Bark used for tanning
• Nut husk is a dye
• Oxygen
• Shade

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A day without plants

• Our clothes would be synthetics like polyester or
  spandex.
• We would breathe from an oxygen tank.
• We would live in a mud hut or a metal building.
• We would not have cars or bicycles.

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A day without plants

• What would we eat?
• Most animals eat plants or other animals that eat
  plants.
• Many insects require plants to survive.

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Some interesting ideas for students

• Write an essay or a journal describing a persons
  daily activity in a world without plants.
• Assign each student a plant and ask them to write
  a paper describing all of the things we use each
  day that come from that plant.

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More ideas for students

• Assign a plant to the class or to individual
  students. Ask them to describe how their life
  would change if that plant no longer existed.
• For example what would happen if, perish the
  thought, there was no corn?

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More student ideas

• Ask the students to say which states would be
  economically affected by the absence of a major
  crop.
• The Agriculture in the Classroom webcite could be
  helpful here.
• Have the students each make a log of the food
  they eat for one day. Then ask them to list all
  of the plants that contributed to their meals.