Using GIS to inform environmentally responsible food decisions

Keywords: GIS, food, climate change
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

As the impacts of climate change become more prevalent, consumers have started to allow environmental concerns to inform their purchasing decisions. In the area of food, this has taken the form of an increasing prioritization of local and sustainable food. This project aims to provide consumers with a tool to make environmentally responsible decisions when purchasing produce in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls metro area.

The project gathered data about the area of origin of produce from local grocery stores. It then used ArcGIS Pro to produce a map that illustrates the country or state of origin for each item in the month of November along with data about how far the item was shipped to arrive in area grocery stores.