Fast Facts

Thanks to modern farming techniques, America's farmers and ranchers are producing more food on fewer acres, leaving more open space for wildlife habitat. Modern farming practices free up millions of acres of wildlife habitat.
Consumers spend $547 billion for food originating on U.S. farms and ranches. Of each dollar spent on food, the farmer's share is approximately 23 cents. The rest are for costs beyond the farm gate: wages and materials for production, processing, marketing, transportation and distribution.
One-fourth of the world's beef and nearly one-fifth of the world's grain, milk and eggs are produced in the United States.
The agricultural industry employs 20 percent of America's workforce, or approximately 21 million people
With modern methods, one acre of land in the United States (about the size of a football field) can produce: 42,000 lbs. of strawberries, 11,000 heads of lettuce, 25,400 lbs. of potatoes, 8,900 lbs. of sweet corn, or 640 lbs. of cotton lint.

About WhereFoodComesFrom®

If there is one common thread across all food products, it is the families that fostered their production. Contrary to popular belief, family farms and ranches still remain the foundation of food production across the United States. Every food product has a source of origin – a farm or ranch where the first seed was planted or animal was born – and this is the story Where Food Comes From® wants to tell.

Our goal is threefold:

  1. To give you factual information - not hype - about the food you buy for you and your family;


  2. To introduce you to the farmers and ranchers that take pride in providing a wide variety of wholesome products, so that you as a consumer have a choice in what you buy;

  3. To provide authenticity and integrity to food marketing claims.

 

How It All Began

The Where Food Comes From® concept was founded by John and Leann Saunders of IMI Global, Inc. in 2008. Owners of an industry-leading third-party verification provider for the livestock and food industries, the Saunders and their company have helped all segments of the food industry build programs to comply with specific production practice standards that meet the varied tastes of consumers. As a result of this work, overtime the Saunders have become acutely aware of two very important things:

  1. First and foremost is the passion and dedication farmers and ranches have in regards to the food they produce. For every one bad guy that ends up in the news, there are hundreds of thousands of other people doing it right. Those are the farm and ranch families we should be talking about – that is where our food is coming from.

  2. Also, now more than ever, consumers are searching for more information about their food. With so many marketing claims, labels and seals, it is nearly impossible to decipher the truth about your food. Consumers are in desperate need of clarity and reassurance regarding the food they eat – and Where Food Comes From® is just that.

With the Where Food Comes From® program in place, you can be confident that your grocery store, restaurant or food provider is taking the utmost care in sourcing you with the best food products possible. This isn’t a guessing game – we’re giving you instant access to the families that are producing your food.

Instant knowledge. Instant transparency. Instant peace of mind.