Food Miles

Class 6 Science · Chapter 3: Mindful Eating: A Path to a Healthy Body · NCERT Curiosity section 3.6

Learn

Nisha reads the label on a packet of apples in a big shop: they came from another country, thousands of kilometres away! The distance food travels from the farm to our plate is called its food miles.

Food with many food miles needs fuel for trucks, ships or planes, causes more pollution, and needs packing and cold storage to stay fresh. Local, seasonal food travels less, is fresher, and supports nearby farmers.

Choosing seasonal fruits and vegetables from a local market, and not wasting food, are small steps that make a big difference for our health and our planet.

Explore: fewer food miles or more?

1. Sort each food.

Remember

• Food miles: how far food travels from farm to plate.
• Local, seasonal food is fresher, uses less fuel and supports local farmers.

Quick check

Which choice has the fewest food miles?

1. Seasonal vegetables from a local market
2. Fruit flown in from another country
3. Packaged snacks from far away
4. Vegetables shipped across the ocean

Think about it

List the foods in your dinner tonight. Guess which travelled the farthest and which came from closest to your home.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.