In the U.S., we like to eat, but we rarely give any thought to where our food originates or its impact on the environment. Was it grown locally, or in a foreign country? Were pesticides used on it, or is it organically produced? Was it irradiated to kill microbes. Food is big business. Today, very little of it is grown on small Mom-and-Pop farms. More and more, the food we eat is brought to us by huge agribusinesses that use modern techniques to get every last bit of profit out of the ground.

It is not just the method of raising food that has changed over time. Over the last 50 years, we have seen a tremendous change in the type of food that we eat as well. While this change has had a major impact on us (note the growing obesity rate), it has also had an impact on the environment.

In this module, we will investigate this impact. We will start by looking at at different types of soils and factors that affect it, like the local rock. Then we will look at the food that we eat.

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