Where does my food come from?

At the very beginning of the food chain are the farmers. Through their work in the fields and with livestock, they produce the food that ends up on our plates.

Almost everything we eat comes from the fields and the barn – it is agriculture that feeds us. The grain, fruit and vegetables that farmers grow, the milk that their cows produce, the meat from the cattle, pigs and poultry they raise, and the eggs that their hens lay are all foods that we can buy and consume directly. Most of these raw products are processed by the food industry into other goods. Farmers are therefore at the very beginning of the food chain. Often, their products are not only available in the local region but also in other countries.

Many of the foods sold in supermarkets in Luxembourg are imported from far away. Exotic fruits like mangoes, pineapples and bananas don’t grow in Luxembourg, because the climate is too cold. They are flown in or shipped to the European Union from distant countries like Colombia, Costa Rica or India. The same applies to vegetables like avocados, okra and sweet potatoes. Fruit and vegetables such as oranges, lemons, melons, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and lettuces are mostly imported from Spain and the Netherlands. One of the main problems with this is that the goods have to travel long distances, and transporting them by plane, ship or lorry produces carbon dioxide (CO₂) – a gas that harms the environment and the climate.

However, there are still many types of fruit and vegetables – such as apples, pears, strawberries, potatoes, lettuces and carrots – that are grown right here in Luxembourg. The freshest fruit and vegetables are always those that are grown in the region where you live. They are also the least harmful to the environment, as they don’t need to be transported over long distances. Often, you can even buy them directly from a farm shop.

Different types of fruit and vegetables grow and ripen in different seasons, as they each need specific amounts of warmth, sunlight and water to mature. If you want to eat sustainably, it is important to choose fruit and vegetables that are in season. If you buy strawberries in winter, for example, they almost certainly will not be from the region. Rather, they will have been transported here from another country.