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Food is any substance, usually comprised primarily of carbohydrates, fats, water and/or proteins, that can be eaten or drunk by animals (including humans) for nutrition and/or pleasure.

Most culture 0-415-91710-7.</ref> The study of food is called food science. In English, the term food is often used metaphorically or figuratively, as in food for thought.

Food sources

Almost all foods are of plant or animal origin, although there are exceptions. Almost every form of life has been used as food, either for nutritive or ritual purposes, by one or more human societies at some time in the past.

Foods from plants

Many plants or plant parts are eaten as food. There are around two thousand plant species which are cultivated for food, and many have several distinct cultivars.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Fruits are the ripened ovaries of plants, including the seeds within. Fruits are made attractive to animals so that animals will eat the fruits and excrete the seeds over long distances. Fruits, therefore, make up a significant part of the diets of most cultures. Some fruits, such as pumpkin and eggplant, are eaten as vegetables.

Foods from animals

Meat is eaten. Often other animal products are eaten as well. Mammals produce milk, which in many cultures is drunk or processed into dairy products such as cheese or butter. Many cultures eat honey, produced by bees, and some cultures eat animal blood.

Other foods

Some foods do not come from animal or plant sources. These include various edible fungi, including mushrooms. Fungi and ambient bacteria are used in the preparation of fermented and pickled foods such as leavened bread, wine, beer, , pp. 333-334.</ref> Additionally, salt is often eaten as a flavoring or preservative, and baking soda is used in food preparation. Both of these are inorganic substances, as is water, an important part of human diet.

Legal definition

English-speaking countries usually define four categories of substances as food :

• any substance, intended to be, or reasonably expected to be, ingested by humans;
• water and other drinks;
• chewing gum;
• substances used as ingredients in the preparation of food.

Food production

Food is traditionally obtained through farming, ranching, and fishing, with hunting, foraging and&id=8dg2Fx1uPSoC |date=July 31 2003 |publisher=Landlinks Press |id= ISBN 0643068767}}</ref>

Major influences on food being prepared in large quantities]]

While some food can be eaten without preparation, many foods undergo some form of preparation for reasons of safety, books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0748725660&id=vRcidxIUWYMC |date= May 31 1996 |publisher=Nelson Thornes |id= ISBN 0748725660 }}</ref>

The preparation of animal-based food will usually involve slaughter, evisceration, hanging, portioning and rendering.

Cooking

The term "cooking" encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to improve the flavour or digestibility of food. It generally requires the selection, measurement and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure in an effort to achieve the desired result. Constraints on success include the variability of ingredients, ambient conditions, tools, and the skill of the individual cooking.Cooking requires applying heat to a food which usually, though not always, chemically transforms it, thus changing its flavor, texture, appearance, and nutritional properties.

Food manufacture

Packaged foods are manufactured outside the home for purchase. This can be as simple as a butcher preparing meat, or as complex as a modern international food industry.

Early food processing techniques were limited by available food preservation, packaging and transportation. This mainly involved salting, curing, curdling, drying, pickling and smoking.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Between 1961 and 1999 there has been a 400% increase in worldwide food exports. Some countries are now economically dependent on food exports, which in some cases increase in trade liberalisation. This included an agreement to reduce subsidies paid to farmers, underpinned by the WTO enforcement of [[/history/wto/urug_round.htm

 | accessdate = 2006-09-29 }}</ref> Where trade barriers are raised on the disputed grounds of public health and safety, the WTO refer the dispute to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which was founded in 1962 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization. This has greatly affected world food trade.

===Food retailing===purchasers told the shop-keeper what they wanted, so that the shop-keeper could get it for them.

In the 20th century supermarkets were born. Supermarkets brought with them a self service approach to shopping using shopping carts, and were able to offer quality food at lower cost through economies of scale and reduced staffing costs. In the latter part of the 20th century, this has been further revolutionised by the development of vast warehouse-sized out-of-town supermarkets, selling a wide range of food from around the world.

Unlike food processors, food retailing is a two-tier market in which a small number of very large companies control a large proportion of supermarkets. The supermarket giants wield great purchasing power of food in entire communities. This can have a devastating and widespread effect on human health and mortality. Rationing is sometimes used to distribute food in times of shortage, most notably during times of war.

Starvation is a significant international problem. Approximately 815 million people are undernourished, and over 16,000 children die per day from hunger-related causes. Besides starvation, insufficient food causes nearly a third of all babies born worldwide to die prematurely or have disabilities. Food deprivation is regarded as a deficit need in Maslow's hierarchy of needs and is measured using famine scales.

====Food aid==== | work = Causes of Poverty

 | publisher = globalissues.org
 | date = June 25, 2005
 | url = http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty/FoodDumping.asp
 | accessdate = 2006-09-29 }}</ref> Its provision, or threatened withdrawal, is sometimes used as a political tool to influence the [[  | url = http://www.wfp.org/english/

}}</ref>

Food safety

Foodborne illness, commonly called "food poisoning," is caused by bacteria, toxins, viruses, parasites, and prions. Roughly 7 million people die of food poisoning each year, with about 10 times as many suffering from a non-fatal version.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). The sale of rancid, contaminated or adulterated food was commonplace until introduction of hygiene, refrigeration, and vermin controls in the 19th century. Discovery of techniques for killing bacteria using heat and other microbiological studies by scientists such as Louis Pasteur contributed to the modern sanitation standards that we enjoy today. This was further underpinned by the work of Justus von Liebig whose work led to the development of modern food storage and food preservation methods.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). In addition, the dietary choices of different countries or regions have different characteristics. This is highly related to a culture's cuisine.

Dietary habits play a significant role in the health and mortality of all humans. Imbalances between the consumed fuels and expended energy results in either starvation or excessive reserves of adipose tissue, known as body fat. Poor intake of various vitamins and minerals can lead to diseases which can have far-reaching effects on health. For instance, 30% of the world's population either has, or is at risk for developing, Iodine deficiency. It is estimated that at least 3 million children are blind due to [[vitamin that some people have about possible impacts on health or the environment from genetically modified food. Further concerns about the impact of industrial farming on animal welfare, human health and the environment are also having an effect on contemporary human dietary habits. This has led to the emergence of a counterculture with a preference for organic and local food.

Nutrients in food

Between the extremes of optimal health and death from starvation or malnutrition, there is an array of disease states that can be caused or alleviated by changes in diet. Deficiencies, excesses and imbalances in diet can produce negative impacts on health, which may lead to diseases such as scurvy, obesity or osteoporosis, as well as psychological and behavioral problems. The science of nutrition == See also ==

• Category:Lists of foods
• Food politics
• Food Safety - Safe Kids Child Health and Safety Website

1. McGee, Harold (November 16 2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Simon and Schuster. pp. pp. 792-793. ISBN 0-684-80001-2. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. [http://which is eaten as food. These include root vegetables (such as potatoes and carrots), leaf vegetables (such as spinach and lettuce), stem vegetables (such as bamboo shoots and asparagus), and inflorescence vegetables (such as globe artichokes and broccoli). Many [[herb.
3. ibid, Chapter 2: Eggs.
4. "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act". United States Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
5. "Food Safety Act 1990 (c. 16)". United Kingdom Office of Public Sector Information. 1990. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
6. "Regulation (EC) No 178/2002". European Parliament. 28 January 2002. Retrieved 2006-11-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. McGee. On Food and Cooking. pp. pp. 142-143. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
8. Lawrie, Stephen (January 1 1998). Lawrie's Meat Science. Woodhead Publishing. pp. Chapter 5: The Conversion of Muscle to Meat. ISBN 1855733951. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
9. Cite error: The named reference McGee14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
10. McGee (January 1 1998). On Food and Cooking. Aldine Transaction. pp. pp. 312. ISBN 0202020428. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. Black, D. R.; De Chardin, T.; Young, C. C.; and Pei, W. C. (1933). Fossil Man in China: The Choukoutien Cave Deposits, with a Synopsis of Our Present Knowledge. Mem. Geol. Surv. China, Ser. A, No. 11.
12. Regmi, Anita (editor) (May 30, 2001). Changing Structure of Global Food Consumption and Trade. Market and Trade Economics Division, Economic Research Service, USDA. stock #ERSWRS01-1. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
13. Van den Bossche, Peter (July 28, 2005). The Law and Policy of the bosanac Trade Organization: Text, Cases and Materials. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82290-4.
14. Cite error: The named reference Mead was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
15. Benson, Susan Porter (July 11, 2005). Counter Cultures: Saleswomen, Managers, and Customers in American Department Stores, 1890-1940. Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 0-8225-2484-8.
16. Humphery, Kim (July 27, 1998). Shelf Life: Supermarkets and the Changing Cultures of Consumption. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62630-7.
17. Cite error: The named reference Messer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
18. "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2005". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2006-09-29.
19. "WHO Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition". World Health Organization. Retrieved 2006-09-29.
20. Famine Intensity and Magnitude Scales: A Proposal for an Instrumental Definition of Famine, (PDF) Howe, P. and S. Devereux, Disasters, 2004, 28 (4): 353-372
21. Nicklas, Barbara J. (January 1, 2002). Endurance Exercise and Adipose Tissue. CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0460-1.
22. Merson, Michael H. (January 1, 2005). International Public Health: Disease, Programs, Systems, and Policies. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. pp. pp. 245. ISBN. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
23. Parekh, Sarad R. (January 1, 2004). The Gmo Handbook: Genetically Modified Animals, Microbes, and Plants in Biotechnology. Humana Press. pp. pp. 187-206. ISBN 1-58829-307-6. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
24. Schor, Juliet (January 20, 2003). Sustainable Planet: Roadmaps for the Twenty-First Century. Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-0455-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Food and drink