The term is used to describe a region of food flows, from the area where it is produced, to the place where it is consumed, including: the land it grows on, the route it travels, the markets it passes through, and the tables it ends up on.
[1] The modern United States foodshed, as an example, spans the entire world as the foods available in the typical supermarket have traveled from all over the globe, often long distances from where they were produced.
[5] Hedden contrasts foodsheds with watersheds by noting that “the barriers which deflect raindrops into one river basin rather than into another are natural land elevations, while the barriers which guide and control movements of foodstuffs are more often economic than physical.” Hedden describes the economic forces that influence where foods are produced and how they are transported to the cities in which they are consumed.
Farmers gained a sensibility about the land—improved and well-tended land could yield a cornucopian spread and was regarded as a source of food and a sign of wealth.
Direct farm-to-table in the United States tends to comprise only a very minor segment of the food distribution system in terms of size and importance, but is growing in popularity.
Some maps are interactive, where sources in an area can be found for organic produce, microbreweries, farmers markets, orchards, cheese makers, or other specific categories within a 100-mile radius.
It has been described as “a banner under which people attempt to counteract trends of economic concentration, social disempowerment and environmental degradation in the food and agricultural landscape.”[5] Choosing to buy local produce improves the environmental stewardship of producers by reducing the amount of energy used in the transport of foods, as well as greenhouse gas emissions.
More attention is being paid to possibilities for reducing emissions through more efficient transport and different patterns of consumption, specifically increased reliance on local foodsheds.