Where Does Your Food Come From?

Greetings! A friend sent me a website to check out recently and said “Take a look – this is interesting.” What I found is a site called Where Food Comes From.

I’ve said before that I personally don’t think a lot about where my food comes from because I was raised on a farm and believe that guys like my Dad are the source of our food supply. And I was also raised to believe that the US has the safest food supply in the world. And I still believe the our  food supply is extremely safe, but having traveled to other countries, I no longer think the US necessarily “owns” food safety.

As I have traveled in Europe, I’ve seen that consumers demand more information about their food – who raised it, where did it come from and how was it raised and slaughtered, in terms of livestock and fish. In the US, we are seeing more of these questions raised every day. Thus, the need for a website like Where Food Comes From.

The group behind the site offers food verification through a third-party auditing body to identify the source of your food. The opening line on the site is... Every meal has a story – Discover It. But for consumers, it’s about knowledge, transparency and peace of mind.

This is the kind of place that consumers are turning to figure out where their food is coming from. It showcases a few farmer stories, tons of food information – like 10 Things Everyone Should Know About Corn In The United States. And there is a Countries section that shares which foods come from each country. Take a look and see for yourself what they are doing.

Consumer demand drives change. And consumers want to know what they are eating and what they are feeding their children. The agriculture industry can’t take offense - which is likely our first reaction. Openness is the key. After all, we have nothing to hide. 

To all my farmer readers… as the combines are rolling, please remember to put safety first!

Have a SAFE week!