Who knows where our food comes from?

by Chris Fennewald

Living in a predominately rural area in the Midwest, food is grown all around me. Just being near fields of hay and corn is closer than most people get to crops. The connection between land and food has been lost among those who see more fields of asphalt at the grocery store than fields of grain on the farm. Those of us who still understand the connection have a responsibility to keep the story of production agriculture alive.

The story is alive and well at Disney World’s EPCOT theme park. As you enter the park and walk around the big geodesic ball known as Spaceship Earth, hang a right and you can find Innoventions West, a place where people have a hands-on experience with technology. It is here you will find an interactive exhibit called the “Great American Pizza Game” that teaches where our food is produced. Sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the exhibit and game opened in May 2004.

This is where my family recently found themselves on our vacation — face to face with a large projection screen of the United States. Along with a dozen strangers, we were split into two teams and had to answer where the many toppings for a pizza come from. It was a matching game of sorts similar to the card game Fish. Match two states that grew corn, or soybeans, or wheat, or beef, or turkey – on and on – and win another ingredient for your team’s virtual pizza. The team with the most answers ended up with a virtual pizza topped with the works.

Considering the “wow” factor is not as high as some of big-name rides, the game is enjoyable and the EPCOT staff does a good job keeping the game lively. The Great American Pizza Game was still an eye-opener for this Midwesterner. As the game progressed, it became clear people really don’t know where their food is grown. Someone, on the other team of course, selected New Jersey as a big soybean producing state. No way. But yours truly did not know it is an important state in broccoli production. Who would want broccoli on their pizza? It’s a mystery to me!

Everyone in the group knew apples come from Washington state, but no one selected Michigan. I selected Arkansas as a turkey growing state, but found it is known more for poultry. Missouri and North Carolina are the big turkey producers. Most people think of milk production in Wisconsin and Minnesota, but joining those among the 10 top milk producing states are California, Texas and New Mexico of all places.

We do have better things to do than memorize the main farm crops grown in each state, but let us not take for granted our food comes from beyond the grocery store. Remember at the heart of the food industry is the producer who grows the raw product. Without the farmer, there would be no pizza.

(Chris Fennewald, of Jefferson City, Mo., is the editor, public affairs department, for the Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization.)