week 1 - food system Flashcards
food system
a set of activities ranging from production through to consumption
food security
when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. This is an outcome of food systems.
what are two components of a food system?
activities & outcomes
name some trends in traditional food systems
- it is oriented in food production
- short and local
- diverse
- familily / small
name some trend in modern food systems
- in food processing
- long with many food miles
- few crops
- industrial, large
- chronic dietary disease
why do we take a system approach?
- food systems are complex, and heterogeneous over space & time
- helps to address complex problems with multi-causality resulting form interactions among interdependent components
- allows for the recognition of heterogeneity among households, communities and institutions
what are stocks & flows?
stocks are elements of the system that you can see, feel, count, or measure. Flows are what cause stocks to accumulate (increase) or deplete (decrease).
Why do we establish system boundaries?
Prominents example in environmental science: life cycle analysis
