Food and Diet

How does your food get to your table?
It has to come from somewhere before you buy it from the shops.

Look at what goes into the production of a loaf of bread.

Wheat and other grains are important food crops throughout the world

Fields are ploughed before
the wheat is planted

Bread is made from flour which is obtained from wheat.

The UK produces over 14 million tonnes of wheat a year and worldwide, 580 million tonnes are produced.

Wheat ready for harvesting

Canada and the USA export grain to many countries. The flour for your bread could well have come from wheat grown in the USA.

Tankers transport grain all over the world
Photo: USDA

Grain is turned into flour at the mill
Photo: USDA

Before it can be used, the wheat has to be milled. This process grinds the wheat to produce finely-powdered flour which can be used in breadmaking.

Bakeries can be small or large
Photo: RHM

About 9 million loaves of bread are eaten in the UK each day. Once baked, these loaves need to be packaged, transported, stored and sold to the consumer. Bread makes nice toast!