6. US Ag: Food Systems & Complexity Flashcards
What are the steps that go into food production?
Primary production = farming
Harvesting
Processing
Storage, transport, distribution
Marketing
Wholesale and retail
Define: Supply Chain
Path from primary production to consumption
Production, processing, distribution, marketing
The steps a product takes before ending up with a consumer
Can be short (producer to consumer) or long (multiple steps to reach consumer)
What is most conventional agriculture moved to?
Longer Food Chains
What are examples of short supply chains?
“Local,” CSA, Farmer’s markets
Define: Food System
Include all of the processes and pathways associated with particular commodities, resulting in finished productions, their consumption, and final disposition (includes steps for oversight, quality and safety processes, waste, etc.)
What is included in food systems?
Growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consuming, and disposing of food
Inputs needed and output generated in each step
Incorporates consideration of the impacts of food production such as waste, environmental effects
Incorporates economics and policy and human elements
What are complexities of food systems?
Biological, economic, production
Changes in one place can have effects elsewhere
“Trade-Offs”
Unintended consequences
Many effects of a change are no recognized until after the change has been made
What are food system effects?
Changes are made to accomplish an improvement
All changes have impact beyond the intended effect
What are examples of things that cause unintended effects?
Auto industry (global warming, death)
Animal housing
Feeding changes (more grain)
Fertilizer and chemicals
What are issues that arise from system effects?
Environmental impacts
Natural resource use
Food safety
Animal welfare
Chemical and pharmaceutical use
Disease transmission
Biotechnology uses
