Seeing the Food System: Why Texas Needs a Shared Map of Food Commodity Flows
by Okan Gurbuz and Beth Racine
Food reaches Texas households through a complex network of farms and ranches, processors, warehouses, border gateways, freight corridors, distribution centers and retailers. When that system works, it is largely invisible. But severe weather, infrastructure failures, trade disruptions, labor constraints and public health emergencies can expose how much food access depends on reliable transportation and coordinated decision-making.
That challenge is especially important in Texas, a major agricultural producer, consumer market and freight gateway between the United States and Mexico. Food commodities often move through local, statewide, national and international networks before reaching consumers, meaning a disruption at one facility, roadway or distribution hub can have impacts far beyond where it occurs.
The Visibility Gap
Decision-makers have access to valuable information on freight volumes, agricultural production, trade and transportation infrastructure. What is often missing is a shared picture showing how specific food commodities move through the entire supply chain.
That gap matters because resilience begins with visibility. Before agencies, businesses and communities can anticipate bottlenecks or identify alternate routes and supply options, they need a clearer picture of where critical dependencies exist.
A statewide mapping framework could help answer practical questions about food supply chain resilience:
- Which food commodities depend most heavily on particular freight corridors, facilities or border gateways?
- Where could disruptions have the greatest impact due to alternative transportation networks not being readily available?
- How are food flows serving Texas connected to production and trade networks outside the state?
- Which communities are most affected when disruptions occur within regional transportation and distribution networks?
Why Collaboration is Essential
No single discipline or organization can answer these questions alone. Transportation researchers can analyze freight networks, origin-destination patterns, border crossings and infrastructure performance, while agricultural and food-system experts can provide context about commodities, production cycles, markets and consumer needs.
Bringing those perspectives together provides something neither can deliver independently: a clearer understanding of not only where food moves, but why those movements matter and what happens when they are interrupted.
That shared understanding can help decision-makers identify supply-chain risks, prioritize critical infrastructure and evaluate alternatives before disruptions occur.
From Data to Preparedness
A collaborative, data-driven approach can support more than academic analysis. It can provide a foundation for infrastructure planning, emergency preparedness, supply-chain coordination and strategic investments that improve the reliability of food access across Texas.
The next step is connecting the pieces: understanding what commodities are moving, where they are going, how they get there and what happens when a critical link fails.
A statewide food commodity flow map could give decision-makers that shared picture. By connecting producers, transportation networks, processors, distributors and consumers, Texas can better anticipate disruptions, respond when they occur and strengthen the food systems its communities and economy depend on.
Okan Gurbuz is an associate research scientist with the Center for International Intelligent Transportation Research (CIITR) in TTI’s El Paso Office. Beth Racine is center director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at El Paso. Collaboration brings together TTI’s transportation and freight expertise with AgriLife’s food-system expertise to explore opportunities for mapping food commodity flows and strengthening supply-chain resilience in Texas.
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