Farm to Plate
We often hear about a divide between people in urban and rural areas. The FoodS3 platform, which maps agricultural supply chains, reveals a different story, one about connection and interdependence.
Let’s look at the southwest of Minnesota, a predominantly rural and agricultural set of counties. Much of the country pays no attention to this area. It is part of the great flyover between our coasts. Even people in the Twin Cities, located within the same state, largely only visit the area if they have family ties or higher education interests in the region. However, corn from this area ends up on plates across our nation. This is what the newest expansions of the FoodS3 model enables us to showcase.
Corn is the biggest crop grown in the southwest counties, which produce about 56% of Minnesota’s total corn (about 542 million bushels). This isn’t the corn on the cob we butter and eat, it is the corn fed to pigs, cows, and chicken or used for ethanol production (which results in a byproduct, Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS), that is also fed to animals).
Of the SW Minnesota corn that goes to pigs, 99% feeds local pigs in Minnesota and Iowa. This is largely unsurprising given the fact that Minnesota and Iowa are the two largest hog producing states in the country (with IA being #1 and MN being #2). When they go to slaughter, 88% of these pigs stay in Minnesota and Iowa. Of the remaining 12%, nearly all go to slaughterhouses in South Dakota (~9%) and Wisconsin (~2%).
Pork is much easier to transport, connecting this Midwest story to the rest of the country. About 15% of these Minnesota corn-fed pigs feed Minnesotans, while approximately 15% end up in California and 20% end up on plates in Washington; the rest are spread across the country.
According to our FoodS3 platform estimations, on average, SW corn travels 37 miles before being eaten by pigs. These pigs travel an average of 67 miles before being slaughtered. The pork then travels an average of 963 miles to end up on your plate.
While urban and rural areas may feel divided, FoodS3 illuminates the actual connection between urban and rural communities, between a farmer and your food.
Plate back to farm
When people think about Los Angeles, the second-most populous city in the country, they are more likely to think about urban qualities such as cultural diversity and tourist attractions as well as congestion and pollution. They’re less likely to think about the link between L.A. and corn in the rural United States. FoodS3 can draw these links by connecting demand for meat, such as pork, to pigs and their feed, including corn.
Just over a fifth of pork consumed in LA could be considered “local” in that it comes from pigs slaughtered in LA. Approximately 77% of pork consumed in L.A. comes from slaughter facilities over 1,600 miles away in Iowa. These slaughter facilities in LA and Iowa source pigs from nine different states, with almost three quarters coming from within Iowa, 10% coming from Colorado, and 7% from Texas.
Before pigs become pork, they consume a lot of corn. The United States is the largest corn-producing country in the world, growing corn in over two-thirds of its counties. Ultimately, fourteen states send corn, by way of pigs and pork, to L.A. Every corn and pig icon on this map represents a flow of products that ultimately turn into pork on a plate in L.A.
Corn travels an average of 1676 miles to LA, beginning with just over 100 miles before being fed to pigs. These pigs travel an average of 270 miles before becoming pork and then making the longest part of the journey, an average of 1306 miles, before becoming dinner.
A corn farmer in MN might not seem related to a carnitas burrito in LA, but FoodS3 shows how they are linked, making connections between your plate and the farm.