Module 1: Introduction to Food Systems Flashcards
The food system involves…?
all the activities and resources needed for the production, distribution, and consumption of food
What are activities referring to in a food system?
all steps from farm to fork: seeding, planting, harvesting, aggregating, transporting, processing, storing, distributing, marketing, selling, accessing, preparing, and consuming food.
What are the main components of the food system?
- inputs,
- production,
- processing,
- distribution,
- access,
- consumption
- waste
What kind of resources do food systems need?
natural, human, and economic resources
What is one example that the food system is connected to the environmental system
climate change; climate hazards such as wildfires, droughts, and floods can damage crops and injure farm animals, however agriculture is a source of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
Give an example of how the food system is related to the health system.
increased consumption of highly processed foods (with high amounts of sugar, salts, and fats) have been leading to an increase in diet-related diseases and healthcare system costs.
What other systems is the food system connected to?
environmental, social, economic, political, and health systems
What is a food value chain?
linear process, where one component comes after the other with the goal of increasing value
- inputs, production, processing, distribution, and consumption
What is a food system approach?
non-linear and assumes that system components interact with each other in a non-linear way
example: although it is true that production affects distribution in a linear approach, a non-linear perspective will also reveal that distribution can also affect production. For instance, in Brazil a small farmer had to reduce its production of tilapia because of a lack of infrastructure to transport the fish to the market (distribution). No refrigerated trucks, no tilapia
what is the difference between a food value chain and a food system approach?
food system approach recognizes the ‘outcomes/externalities’ of the food system (waste, pollution, loss of land, loss of biodiversity) & inputs
food system approach, however, these outcomes are part of the system itself.
What is community supported agriculture?
(example) Ryerson Urban Farm here at Ryerson University. The food is produced by farm staff and students using agroecological methods and is directly distributed through three paths.
What is the dominant model of our food system?
Industrial
What is the main goal of an industrial food system?
producing the greatest possible yield at the lowest possible cost for the firm
What are the benefits of an industrial food system?
creates lots of jobs, lots of food at a cheaper cost-> sufficient energy and nutrition for most people
What are the challenged of an industrial food system?
Overabundance of food and cheaper prices have led to overconsumption, which in turn has led to the growth of diet-related diseases and obesity; with mass production of food the opportunities for contamination increase; increased use of antibiotics in confined animals to promote growth and prevent disease is also associated with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or superbugs, with negative consequences for humans
What are the 7 principles of a healthy and sustainable food system?
health promotion, sustainability, resiliency, diversity, fairness, economical balance, and transparency
define wicked problems
problems for which stakeholders do not agree on the problem or its causes; each attempt to create a solution changes the problem; solutions are not right or wrong, just better or worse; solutions must be tailored to the situation; and they cannot be solved by people from any one discipline alone; multidisciplinary approaches are required
food should be recognized as a…
human right
how can we create healthy defaults?
instead of judging people for their individual actions, such as dietary choices, farming methods, and food insecurity status, we should focus on creating systemic conditions for healthy choices, challenging the system that led to undesirable behaviours
What are the inputs?
Resources and materials g a production system, such as feed, drugs, energy, water, and labor
Define complex adaptive system (CAS) and give and example.
system composed of many different actors at many different levels of scale, interacting with each other in nonlinear ways that strongly influence overall behavior of system. Eg. Food system
What are the properties of CAS?
Individuality, heterogeneity, interdependence, emergence, tipping
Define individuality
each level composed of autonomous actors who adapt behavior individually; change within CAS often driven by decentralized local interactions of individuality
Define heterogeneity
substantial diversity among actors at each level- in goals, rules, adaptive repertoire, constraints- can shape dynamic of CAs in important ways
Define interdependence
CAS usually contain many interdependent interacting pieces, connected across different levels, often with feedback
Define emergence
CASs are often characterized by emergent, unexpected phenomena- patterns of collective behavior that form in system are difficult to predict from separate understanding of each individual element
Define tipping
nonlinearity means impacts caused by small changed can seem hugely out of proportion; disturbance can push it across a threshold
what is agent based computational modelling (ABM)?
quantitative systems modeling technique- complex dynamics are modeled by constructing artificial societies on computers
What is public health?
science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health via organized community efforts
What does health mean according to the WHO?
state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
What is primary prevention?
looking to root causes and trying to stop harmful exposures before they happen, rather than addressing consequences
What does a public health approach mean?
focusing on population based approach- aimed at changing factors affecting entire population
What are structural determinants of health?
factors related to economic, political, social hierarchical issues that affect health.
What is industrial food animal production (IFAP)?
approach to meat, dairy, egg production- operations designed for high rate production
Define overweight
BMI is 25.0 or higher
What are some public health challenges?
food insecurity, food safety gaps, antibiotic resistance, chemical contamination, vulnerability of terrorism, lack of worker protection
what are some environmental (future food security) challenges
climate change, soil depletion, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, farmland loss, fisheries collapse
What are some other future food security challenges?
loss of small and mid sized farms, aging farmers, lack of food reserves, lack of planning for food security crises
what are some social challenges?
corporate concentration and monopoly control, high food prices, loss of rural community, policy gaps for genetic mod. organisms
define obese
BMI 30.0 or higher, yikes
define resilience (theory). Give an example
system’s capacity to recover from disturbances; involves acknowledging potential for system wide breakdown.
Theory: cross threshold-agriculture system transform into something completely different.
Eg. insurance
How can resilience be improved?
investing in know-how, tools, infrastructure to produce different variety/species of crops/livestock, reduce dependence on inputs, find alternative markets
Define agroecology
science and practice of applying ecological principles to agriculture to develop practices that work with nature to mimic natural processes and conserve ecological integrity
