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Knowing where your food comes from is important for various environmental, health, ethical, and aesthetic reasons. Stable isotopes – forms of the same element with different masses – can be used to verify the origin of food. In this First-Year Seminar, we will discuss motivations for determining food sources including questions of the environmental cost of different modes of production, the different environmental factors that impact nutrient levels in food, how regional laws affect food production practices, and how protected designation of origin labels impact how food is made and distributed. We will also discuss how stable isotope signatures can be used to identify food origin and how we assess confidence in stable isotope-based identifications. Have no doubt: in-class food tastings will most definitely be used to guide the discussion of aesthetic motivations for knowing where food comes from.