The term food system or supply chain describes this series of interdependent links, including the people and resources involved at each stage. We can also see food systems working locally, regionally, nationally or internationally. Production, processing, distribution and consumption: Food systems require many steps, each with a variety of inputs and products. Production can look very different depending on the scale and cultivation methods used.
Whether they cultivate a half-acre plot or a 50,000 acre ranch, food producers have to make a lot of decisions about how they will grow food, including whether they will grow a crop or a diverse variety of fruits and vegetables, and whether they should apply organic or synthetic fertilizers. While some farmers produce resources on the farm, there is an entire industry based on production inputs, including seed companies, plant nurseries, animal feed companies, fertilizer producers, and others. Smallholder farmers often have trouble accessing existing processing facilities, but building new ones is an expensive task. Currently, most meat consumed in the United States is processed in only a few slaughterhouses, but the recent shutdowns of meat-packing plants due to COVID-19 have highlighted the danger of this practice.
In the distribution stage, food reaches those who will prepare it for consumption. There is an almost infinite variety of ways to distribute food, both for free and for a fee. Wholesalers combine products from many producers to sell to schools, hospitals, restaurants and grocery stores. These large-scale buyers often have different requirements than those of those who sell food to the general public, such as liquid eggs for restaurants and boxed milk for schools, and producers can find it difficult to quickly adapt their production systems to meet different market needs.
An important issue related to distribution is access to food. Programs like SNAP and WIC are essential social safety net programs that help households buy nutritious and culturally relevant food. SFC is currently leading the statewide expansion of the Double Up Food Bucks program, which doubles the value of SNAP and WIC benefits at many local farmers' markets and other food outlets so that everyone can support their local food economy, regardless of income. These factors influence the functioning of a given food system and whether it is just and sustainable or unfair and extractive.
Urban agriculture is another promising technological advance for food systems, as it could allow food production closer to urban consumers, thus reducing the energy and resources needed for distribution and helping to address food accessibility challenges in cities. This process is vital for many precooked foods, as it ensures the availability of a variety of high-quality, nutritious and affordable foods throughout the year in the United Kingdom, Europe and around the world. Fair trade has emerged in global food systems to create a more excellent balance between the price of food and the cost of its production. They have been associated with the 100-mile diet and the low-carbon diet, as well as with the slow food movement.
However, conventional food systems rely largely on the availability of low-cost fossil fuels, which are necessary for mechanized agriculture, the manufacture or collection of chemical fertilizers, the processing of food products and the packaging of food products. It contrasts with industrial food systems by operating with reduced food transportation and more direct marketing, leading to fewer people between the farmer and the consumer. Addressing problems at every stage of the system can have system-wide effects, since 30 to 40 percent of the food produced is lost from harvest to retail and consumer. Secondary food processes may vary depending on the type of food group, but may include physical processes such as pressing, grinding and dehydration, and chemical processes such as hydrolysis, hydrogenation or the use of enzymes.
While the availability of food is not perceived as a major and immediate concern in Europe, the challenge of ensuring a long-term, secure, nutritious and affordable supply of food remains, both from land and from the oceans. Moving to sustainable food systems, including by switching from consumption to sustainable diets, is an important component in addressing the causes of climate change and adapting to it. As the environmental and health impacts of conventional agriculture become better understood, public demand for cleaner, more sustainably produced food continues to increase. After the Second World War, the advent of industrialized agriculture and stronger global trade mechanisms have evolved into the models of food production, presentation, delivery and disposal that characterize today's conventional food systems.
Food systems begin with food production, including what is grown, how, where, under what conditions and by whom, and end with the circumstances of food consumption. The transition to sustainable food systems is essential to address global challenges such as climate change, hunger, biodiversity loss and deforestation. The term food system describes the interconnected systems and processes that influence nutrition, food, health, community development and agriculture. .
.
