Ingredients of the Food System

Question 1

What is Agriculture?

Answer 1

The production of food and goods through farming.

Question 2

What is Biodiversity

Answer 2

The variety of organisms living in an ecosystem.

Question 3

What is Domestic Biodiversity?

Answer 3

refers to the diversity among organisms cultivated for human use, in contrast to wild biodiversity

Question 4

What is Built environment?

Answer 4

Human-made surroundings, including homes, schools, stores, neighborhoods, cities, and the roads and railways that connect them.

Question 5

What is a Calorie?

Answer 5

A measure of energy. Dietary calories refer to the amount of energy available in food or the amount of energy the body uses. People expend calories during breathing, pumping blood, digesting food, exercise and other activities; excess calories are generally stored as fat.

Question 6

What is Climate?

Answer 6

The temperature, precipitation, humidity and other weather conditions over a long period of time. Climate is a major factor in what crops can be grown in a region.

Question 7

What is Climate change?

Answer 7

A significant, lasting change in temperature, precipitation, humidity or other measures of climate. The term often refers to the current trend toward higher average global temperatures (global warming) alongside increased frequency and severity of droughts, heat waves, flooding, hurricanes and other weather events.

Question 8

What is Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)?

Answer 8

Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)
A large industrial food animal production facility. A CAFO might at any one time be raising hundreds of dairy cattle, thousands of hogs or hundreds of thousands of chickens4 in crowded indoor spaces. Large beef CAFOs house thousands of cattle in outdoor feedlots.

Question 9

What is Dietary Nutrient?

Answer 9

Materials obtained through food that are used by the body for energy, growth and maintenance (in this curriculum, dietary nutrients refer to those consumed by humans). These include water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Question 10

What is Ecosystem?

Answer 10

A community of organisms interacting with each other and with their physical environment

Question 11

What is Equity?

Answer 11

Justice, fairness or freedom from bias.

Question 12

What is Field to plate?

Answer 12

The span of activities from food production through consumption.

Question 13

What is Food environment?

Answer 13

External factors that influence dietary choices. These could include the influence of family and
friends, food advertising, the cost of food and physical access to food stores.

Question 14

What is Food Processing?

Answer 14

The practices used by food industries to transform raw plant and animal materials, such as grains,
produce, meat and dairy, into products for consumers.

Examples include freezing vegetables,
milling wheat into flour and frying potato chips. Slaughtering animals is sometimes considered a
form of food processing.

Question 15

What is Food safety?

Answer 15

The science and practice of protecting the food supply from contamination by disease-causing
organisms, harmful chemicals and other threats to health.

Question 16

What is Food security?

Answer 16

Consistent and dependable access to adequate, safe and nutritious food for an active and healthy
life.1 For a region to be food secure, it must have an adequate, stable supply of food even during
drought and other difficult conditions; and its people must be able to locate and afford food, even in
the presence of an abundant supply.

Question 17

What is a Foodborne illness?

Answer 17

Illness caused by eating foods contaminated by pathogens, poisonous chemicals or other harmful
substances

Question 18

What is Freshwater?

Answer 18

Naturally-occurring water that is not salty, as opposed to seawater. Freshwater sources include
ponds, lakes, streams and underground aquifers.

Question 19

What are Greenhouse gases (GHGs)?

Answer 19

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. The accumulation of these gases causes global warming, an increase in average global temperatures. Greenhouse gases from human activities and natural processes include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). See climate and
climate change.

Question 20

What is Industrial food animal production (IFAP)?

Answer 20

Industrial food animal production (IFAP)
A model of breeding, feeding, raising and processing animals and animal products for food. It is characterized by housing large numbers of animals under confinement in densely packed, highly specialized facilities. Animals receive specially formulated grain-based feeds that often contain growth-promoting drugs.

Question 21

What is Local Food?

Answer 21

Food that was produced within roughly 100 to 250 miles of where the consumer lives, or food that
is sold directly from a farmer to a consumer or nearby retailer.14 The term is not strictly defined.

Question 22

What is a Nutrient?

Answer 22

A substance used by an organism for energy, growth or maintenance. Plants, for example, require nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and other chemicals—in addition to water and sunlight—in order to grow and survive.

Question 23

What is Nutrient-dense?

Answer 23

Containing a large amount of certain key dietary nutrients—typically protein, fiber and a range of essential vitamins and minerals—relative to the amount of calories. Vegetables are generally considered the most nutrient-dense foods because they offer the most key vitamins and minerals per calorie.

Question 24

What is Nutrient-poor?

Answer 24

Containing a large amount of calories relative to the amount of protein, vitamins and certain other key dietary nutrients. Foods generally considered nutrient-poor include cakes, cookies, candy, soft drinks, chips, ice cream and other products made with large amounts of sugars, fats, oils or refined grains.

Question 25

What is Pasture?

Answer 25

Land covered with grasses and other plants suitable for grazing animals.

Question 26

What are Pathogens?

Answer 26

Microorganisms that cause disease upon infecting a host organism. Pathogens include certain viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Question 27

Pest

Answer 27

Any organism that threatens human interests. Common pests in agriculture include certain plants (weeds), insects, fungi, rodents, bacteria and other organisms that can kill crops or interfere with their growth

Question 28

What is a Pesticide?

Answer 28

Substances intended to repel, kill or control any species deemed a pest. Types of pesticides include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.

Question 29

What is Public Health?

Answer 29

The science and practice of protecting and promoting the health of communities (as opposed to focusing on individual patients).

Question 30

What is Refined gains?

Answer 30

Grains that have been processed to remove the bran and germ, which contain important dietary nutrients like B vitamins, iron and fiber.

Examples include wheat flour, enriched bread and white rice.

Question 31

What is Regional Food?

Answer 31

Food that was produced within the same region as where the consumer lives. A region can be defined by geographic, cultural or political boundaries—for example, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, New England and the Northeast—rather than size. Regional food systems include, but are not limited to, local food systems.

Question 32

What is Soil?

Answer 32

The top layer of the earth’s surface. Fertile soil aids plant growth by providing root support and serving as a reservoir of air, water and nutrients. It is home to countless organisms—many of them beneficial—including bacteria, arthropods, earthworms, fungi, nematodes and protozoa.

Question 33

What is Supply chain?

Answer 33

The people, activities and resources involved in getting food from farms, ranches, rivers, oceans and other sources to consumers’ plates. Major stages along the supply chain include production, processing, distribution, retail and consumption. The term food system sometimes refers to the supply chain.

Question 34

What is Sustainable?

Answer 34

Able to be maintained in the long term. It has been argued that for agriculture to be sustainable, it must be ecologically sound (practiced in ways that minimize harms to the environment), economically viable (allowing farmers to make an adequate living and produce sufficient food supplies) and socially just. Sustainability has been described more broadly as “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”