1. Food Science Systems & Policy Understanding Food Systems

2. COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
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3. Why Study The Food System?
Promotion of healthier diets
Reducing risk of foodborne illness
Workers rights
Supporting small business
Conserving natural resources
Mitigating climate change
Protecting the environment
Protecting animal welfare
Through understanding—and working with—the food system, we can foster positive changes. These include promoting healthier diets, reducing the risk of foodborne illness and other diseases, upholding workers' rights, supporting small businesses, conserving natural resources, mitigating climate change, improving air and water quality, and protecting animal welfare. Addressing all of these factors is essnetial if we are to have enough quality food to supply the world for many years to come.
(Tansey & Worsley, 2008)

4. The Food System
The food system is a term used to explain all of the factors which impact food from ‘paddock to plate’.
The food system links three different aspects together;
Biological
Economical and political
Social and cultural
Biological – the living processes used to produce food and their ecological sustainability
Economical and political – the power and control which different groups exert over the different parts of the system
Social and cultural – the personal relations, community values and cultural traditions which affect people’s use of food.
(Tansey & Worsley, 2008)

5. Criteria For A Good Food System
The 6 essential criteria for a good food system are;
Safety (production methods and food is safe)
Secure (access to nutritious food at all times)
Sufficient (enough food for everyone)
Sustainable (diverse and indefinite production)
Nutritious (foods support health)
Equitable (fair and impartial)
food needs to be safe, this means that all of the production methods are safe so that the final product is safe to ear
A good food system needs to be secure, which means that everyone has access to nutritious food at all times, also there must be sufficient food for everyone to meet their required dietary intakes
A good food system must be sustainable, which means that it is diverse enoughto support indefinite production
The food available to people needs to support health and wellbeing, which means that there are no macro or micronutrient deficiencies occuring
A good food system must also be equitable, so that farmers get paid a good price to produce food and the price the consumer pays is also affordable
(Tansey & Worsley, 2008)

6. The Food System
“food system” is being increasingly applied to describe collectively the processes in the chain from production to consumption, including management of the resource base, postharvest handling of produce, food manufacture and distribution, marketing and trade, safety and quality assurance, research and development, and the relationship between our food and nutrition and health.
This diagram shows the food system. As we can see there are 5 parts of the food system.
On the left, we can see all of the inputs necessary to support the individual parts of the production line in the middle.
On the right, we can see all of the outputs which are produced in response to this process. The current food sytem is not sustainable in most countries as there is considerable amounts of waste and environmental pollution being produced.
(ANU, 2011)

7. Tiers Of The Food System
tier 4 refers to the global food production e large multinational corporations control how large amounts of food are produced, transported, processed and ultimately marketed and consumed
This filters down to tier 1 - which includes farmers markets and farm stands and ultimately tier zero, which includes foods being produced in peoples back yards and community gardens
(CIAS, 2010)

8. Societies Impact
There are 6 societal changes that will impact the global food system;
Longevity
Urbanization
Globalization
4. Technological change
5. Changes in attitudes and values
6. Decline of the ‘house keeping’ role
Longevity – People are living longer and the numbers of people are increasing. This puts greater strain on the worlds ecosystems including desertification, deforestation and land, sea and air pollution.
Urbanization – Europe and north america are no longer the major urban areas in the world. For example, in the 1980’s only 10% of the Japanese population shopped at supermarkets, and rose to over 60% by the early 90’s. Centralized buying by supermarket chains can lead to smaller producers being squeezed out of the market as they unable to produce the quantities of food required.
Globalization – There are now a very small number of large global companies which control the majority of shares in trade and agriculture
Technological change – genetic engineering has allowed for advances in food production, by altering the DNA of plants and animals to improve their proprties. However this new technology is associated with many controversies.
Changes in attitudes and values – People want better quality products for less money. Increases demand on the system.
Decline in the house keeping role – There are now more people in the work force compared to years ago, when people would be a house keeper, which is a time consuming and demanding role. More people in the workplace means there is more money available to families, however they are time poor and prepare less food at home.
(Tansey & Worsley, 2008)

9. The Modern Food System
Prior to World War II farms contained a wide variety of crops and livestock (known as diversified farms).
Industrialization resulted in diverse farming being abandoned in favour of highly specialized farming system.
Specialization is based on the idea that farms can function more efficiently by focusing on fewer tasks.
Rather than having a farm that produces 3 or 4 different crops and 3 or 4 different animals, we now have farms producing 1 product. This has been problematic, because it has increased the need to fertilizers, pesticides and tends to lead to decreased soil nutrient levels.
(Tansey & Worsley, 2008)

10. The Modern Food System
Mechanization replaced human and animal labour with machinery.
Production became dependant on ‘off-farm’ resources (agricultural chemicals, fossil fuels).
Monoculture resulted in increased needs for pesticides, synthetic fertilizers & antibiotics.
Based on the assumption cheap energy would always be available to fuel the system.
These transitions were based on an assumption that cheap energy would always be available to fuel the system, and that technological innovation would always overcome production challenges
Whilst modern farming systems have been able to produce significantly more of one particular product, this has not been without some consequcnes. For example,
(Tansey & Worsley, 2008)

11. Industrialization Benefits Costs Increased food production
Less human labour
Lower food prices
Increased accessibility
Costs
Public health harms
Social injustice
Environmental degradation
Animal welfare harm
(Tansey & Worsley, 2008)

12. The Individual’s Role
Individuals play a part in the food system in two ways;
You must eat to live – The decisions you make can influence the food system.
You are a link in at least one part of the food system – Farmer, shop keeper, checkout operator, dishwasher, consumer or scientist.
The decisions you make as an individual can have a major effect on the food system. For example, many individuals overconsume food. This leads to significant waste and pollution. By simply cutting back on overconsumption, you can reduce your impact on the food system as a whole.
(Tansey & Worsley, 2008)

13. References
Centre for integrated agricultural systems, 2010, ‘The Tiers Of The Food System’, Retrieved from
Australian National University, 2011, ‘Food systems and environmental sustainability a review of the Australian evidence’, Retrieved from
Tansey, G., Worsley, T., 2008, ‘The Food System: A Guide’, Earthscan, London