Buying locally grown food has become increasingly popular. Food often travels a great distance from its place of production before being consumed. A carrot on someone's plate in Iowa may have traveled 1,600 miles from California. The potato beside it could have come 1,200 miles from Idaho. Shipping food long distances uses large amounts of fossil fuels, which has an adverse effect on the environment. This is one reason many people are starting to buy local foods.

How do the details about carrots and potatoes relate to the main idea?
Responses

They offer real-world examples of buying locally grown food, which is growing increasingly popular.
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They prove that eating locally grown food is preferable to eating food transported great distances.
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They provide background information to explain how far some foods may travel.
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They provide background information to explain how far some foods may travel.

The answer is:

They provide background information to explain how far some foods may travel.

The correct answer is: They provide background information to explain how far some foods may travel.

The details about carrots and potatoes show the distance that food can travel before being consumed. This information serves as background information to support the main idea, which is that buying locally grown food has become popular because food often travels long distances before reaching consumers. Therefore, these details provide context and set the stage for understanding the adverse environmental effects of shipping food long distances.