Tomato or Potato: The Farm-to-Plate Knowledge Gap

Despite eating as often as three meals a day, somehow we’ve become disconnected from exactly what it is that we’re eating.

Case in point: a surprising new study out of the UK showed young adults are even more misinformed about their food than we thought. The survey revealed that more than a third did not know bacon comes from pigs or that eggs come from hens. In fact, 11% thought eggs were made from wheat or corn and only 40% knew that butter comes from a dairy cow, and 40% failed to associate milk with an image of a cow—7% actually linked it to wheat.

When and how did we become so disconnected from what what—and who—we’re eating?

Perhaps it’s, in part, related to the rise of industrial, mechanized factory-like farms where animals are forced to spend their lives inside massive warehouses and out of public view. In grocery stores and restaurants, the shrink-wrapped packages or deep-fried foods we order look nothing like the animals from which they came. 

One way we can overcome this important issue is by helping provide nutrition education in schools and at home. By highlighting the many benefits of plant-based foods, we can prevent long-term illnesses and animal cruelty—one meal at a time. Contact us to learn about opportunities for school outreach, and help us educate the public at an upcoming community event.

You can also help serve a side a truth by supporting COK’s award-winning Pro-Vegetarian Commercial Campaign. Starting this fall, we’re running 30-second ads exposing the horrors kept hidden behind the closed doors of the meat, milk, and egg indsutries and encouraging viewers to stand up for animals every time they sit down to eat. Watch our ad and donate today!