essay on food resources

663 Interesting Food Essay Topics, Examples, and Ideas

Food essays are an excellent way to demonstrate your awareness of current nutrition and health issues. Obesity is a significant concern that is present in many people throughout the world and can lead to a variety of deadly conditions.

Obesity is often associated with eating junk food or food made with unhealthy ingredients and emphasizing taste or longevity over safety. Its opposite, healthy food, is a combination of many factors, which include food consumption patterns and monitoring your calorie intake.

As such, many ideas for innovative diets that circumvent some of the complexities have emerged, but most of them are flawed due to oversights. This article will provide you with topics about food and some tips for your essay writing process.

🏆 Best Food Topics & Essay Examples

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Nutritionists generally agree on a single definition of healthy eating patterns, one that is supported by a vast body of research. They involve controlling your nutrient and calorie intake by adjusting your meat and plant intake balance as well as the portion size. You should also avoid preserved foods, as their preparation processes tend to ruin the nutrients present in the ingredients while introducing a variety of unhealthy substances.

For optimal effects, you should understand various fats and their influences on the human body as well as your need for each type and the foods that can supply it. The topic about food offers many different avenues of investigation.

However, not all people have the willpower and willingness to learn and use the knowledge to change their food patterns. As such, new fad diets, which try to circumvent some of the ideas and offer a more convenient way to lose weight, keep emerging every year.

These approaches may sometimes work for their intended purpose, but they do not contribute to health. While the person may lose weight because of new eating habits, they may become malnourished as a result. People will then have to take supplements and still risk developing issues before the imbalance is discovered and addressed. You may address the approaches described above when selecting argumentative essay topics about food.

He or she will then have to take supplements and still risk developing issues before the imbalance is discovered and addressed, something you can address in your food essay titles.

Here are some additional tips for the essay:

• Discuss how not all natural food is equal, with different examples of vegetables or meat displaying varying nutrient amounts. Healthy eating involves choosing food that is good for your health and balancing it appropriately.
• Follow general essay guidelines, which include using a proper structure, writing in an academic style, and separating topics with informative titles. Nutrition is a scholarly topic with a significant body of research contributing to its findings.
• Make sure to cite recent scholarly research or statistics when stating facts about nutrition and eating patterns. The body of research is constantly expanding and discovering new information, which may show past facts or findings in a new light.
• You should talk about the reasons why junk food is unhealthy, as it extends beyond poor nutritional values. Research shows that people are compelled to eat more when consuming unhealthy foods, regardless of their diet awareness.
• Discuss the alternate ways of losing weight in detail and identify their advantages and flaws. With proper precautions, they can be as effective and safe as traditional healthy eating patterns, but they will require the same effort or more as a result.

Visit IvyPanda to get many different food essay examples and other useful samples!

• Genetically Modified Food Essay In spite of the perceived benefits of genetic engineering technology in the agricultural sector, the production and use of genetically modified foods has triggered a number of issues pertaining to safety and consequences of consumption.
• Junk Food in Schools: Good or Bad for Children? One of the main advantages of junk food is that it is simple to cook and it satiates hunger. As for the main advantage of availability of junk food and its simplicity to be cooked […]
• Fast Food Industry: Arguments for and Against For instance, those who believe that fast food industry is beneficial to them and other members of the society will expect the findings of this research to be in support of their beliefs.
• Filipino Food Essay However, because of the Spanish and American influence, meat, especially pork and chicken, are also served. So, Philippines is a country of festivals and a diversity of traditional dishes and beverages.
• Fast Food vs. Home Cooking: Lifestyle and Traditions The good thing with this business is that the food was from natural products hence healthy, a fact that has since changed Many people are very busy for the better part of the day and […]
• The Food and Beverage Industry Role in the Tourism The essay begins by looking at the food and beverage industry in general, and then proceeds to look at the main sectors of the industry.
• The Future of Food The evolution and advancement of technology have influenced the methods of how people grow and consume food. The changes that people have made to nature are very traceable and their inability to predict the outcome […]
• Fast Food in Campus: Advantages and Disadvantages On the other hand, a classmate mentions that fast foods lead to obesity among university students who eat from fast-food restaurants.
• Food Insecurity and What We Can Do to Help Attention Material/Credibility Material: Imagine a day when you have little strength and energy – you feel weakness and soreness – the feelings are rather unpleasant. Now imagine that you feel this discomfort and lack of […]
• Food and Beverage Management The mission of the department is to provide food and beverage that meets highest standards so that they can keep a competitive edge in the hotel industry.
• Junk Food and Drinks: Ban on Advertising The reason youngsters are attracted to junk food is that they do not get the actual flavors at their home and then they are less attracted to original and healthy food as compared to junk […]
• Was Food Healthier 100 Years Ago? The widespread organic farming in the twentieth century led to the production of healthy and highly nutritional foods. Some critics believe that modern-day food is much safer and healthier compared to the food consumed in […]
• Food Habits and Culture: Factors Influence The food habits of a group of people/community can be described as the reasons for eating, the methods used while eating, the types of food eaten, and the mode of storage.
• Health Effects of Junk Food Intake Notably, the consumption of junk food has become one of the major health issues that destabilize the health of individuals and groups in contemporary societies.
• Representation of Food in the Importance of Being Earnest In a large extent, food is also used as a sign of respect and hospitality to visitors and also as a form of socializing.
• Global Food Crisis: Political Economy Perspective In effect, the loss of power to international institutions, decentralization of resources and privatization of powers are political economic factors that have worsened political and economic stability of developing countries making them more vulnerable to […]
• Globalization and Food Culture Essay The interviewee gave the examples of France, America, and China in her description of how food can affect the culture of a place and vice versa.
• Designing a shopping centre food court outlet The design itself The food court outlet will specialize with the sale of fried potatoes, a fast food which is immensely purchased by the customers from the area.
• Food Critiques for the Three Dishes: Integral Part of French Cuisine One of the most notable things about this dish is serving the legs with a celery puree, or sauteed chestnuts or chestnut puree. This chef is regarded as one of the most notable innovators in […]
• Jamie Oliver’s TED Talk Teach Every Child About Food In his TED talk, Jamie Oliver addresses the problem of obesity and unhealthy food options offered to children at schools.
• Food Production and The Environment So all aspects of production – the cultivation and collection of plants, the maintenance of animals, the processing of products, their packaging, and transportation, affect the environment.
• Chipotle Company’s Food Crisis After the food poisoning occurrence, the local and federal authorities tried to ascertain the reason for the outbreak, but the tests they conducted could not confirm the ingredient that caused the illness.
• Determinants of Food Supply and Demand Due to high demand for vegetables and fruits, producers increase production and supply in order to fulfill the needs of consumers.
• Hospitality Management: Food & Beverage Service The art of catering goes beyond providing food and beverages and extends to the ambience of the eating place and the quality of service received.
• Pros and Cons of Food Dyes: Experiments With Food Ramesh and Muthuraman argue that there is a certain association between the increased use of food colorants and the elevated rates of ADHD in children.
• Food Security Crisis Resolution To ensure the situation does not run out of hand, the global body Food and Agricultural Organization has been at the forefront since time immemorial to cater for issues related to this basic human need. […]
• Food Waste Recycling Benefits Through the analysis of Gupta and Gangopadhyay, it was noted that food waste was one of the leading preventable contributors towards the sheer amount of trash that winds up in many of the today’s landfills.
• The Organizational Structure in Kraft Foods Group It is imperative to note that the organization structure is the one that influences communication within the organization. One of the secrets to the organization’s success is the depth and quality of its employees.
• Food Security and Growing Population Thus, nations have to address the problem of feeding the increasing global population amid the challenges of the production of adequate food.
• The Disadvantages of Canned Food From this perspective, canned food is considered to be harmful to health as the added sugar and trans fats in it can lead to the appearance of serious medical problems.
• Quality and Value of Food Preparation of food of good quality means use of ingredients of good quality thus food production by farmers affects directly the quality and value of food.
• Classification of Healthy Food: Healthy Eating Habits Vegetables are good for the body since they contain minerals and vitamins. They also help keep the bloodstream clear and they are very healthy foods.
• The Impact of Climate Change on Food Security Currently, the world is beginning to encounter the effects of the continuous warming of the Earth. Some of the heat must be reflected in space to ensure that there is a temperature balance in the […]
• Food Contamination and Adulteration: Environmental Problems, Food Habits, Way of Cultivation The purpose of this essay is to explain reasons for different kinds of food contamination and adulteration, harmful contaminants and adulterants and the diseases caused by the usage of those substances, prevention of food contamination […]
• Small Mobile Food & Drinks Shop: Business Project Time constraints are often decisive in the world of business, which is a good point for healthy shops to switch to a mobile food service offering delivery as an option.
• Food Ethics Pojman notes that the government has enough resources and manpower to monitor operations of various food processors and determine the health conditions of the food they present to the public.
• Chemicals in Foods: Natural Components and Their Toxic Properties In order to ensure the safety and health of the consumer upon the consumption of foods, it is important to establish procedures that are in a position to assess the types of health risks that […]
• The World’s Food Problems’ Solving When the population of a country increases, there are some associated problems that will automatically arise such as increase in the level of unemployment which leads to food problems in the developing countries.
• Food Analysis and Its Methods in Practice Food analysis is the field that handles the use of diagnostic processes to characterize food substances and their components. The purpose of this experiment was to conduct a food analysis of an unknown sample and […]
• Fritter’s Fast Food Restaurants: Overview Very fast and inexpensive to manufacture, Fritters can find their customers both in restaurants and kiosks, and in pre-prepared form.
• The Egyptian Diet: Sociology of Food and Nutrition This paper compares and contrasts the concept of food and the culinary practices of the Indian and Egyptian cultures and their effect on the health outcomes of the people.
• The Fast Food Industry Lots of people claim that the growth of the rate of obese people correlates with the growth of fast food chains in the region.
• McDonald’s Corporation: Analyzing Fast Food Industry A glance of the profit margins of the major players in the US industry will provide a more clear perception of the fast food industry’s success in 2009 in global perspective: Key Competitors Profits 2009 […]
• Chocolate Ice-Cream: Food Product Case In the case of Chocolate ice-cream, the flavouring added is normally chocolate. Chocolate ice cream is the second most common type of ice cream in the world after vanilla.
• The Impact of Food Habits on the Environment The topic of this research is based on the issue of human-induced pollution or another environmental impact that affect the Earth and dietary approaches that can improve the situation.
• Food Products: Tomatoes and Juice Preservation This Unico package only states that tomatoes are from the Mediterranean, which reflects on such food consumption trends as gourmet convenience and cleaner labels.
• Chinese New Year Foods: Chinese Culture and Traditions This piece of work will give an in depth discussion of Chinese culture with the central focus being on the Chinese New Year Foods and its relationship with the changes that have been experienced in […]
• Analysis and Significance of Food Moisture Content Fish food had the least moisture content and the lowest water activity of 0. The meat had the highest moisture content and a high level of water activity of 0.
• Global Challenges Faced By Fast Food Companies For instance the price strategy is usually determined by a number of factors such as the number of competitors in the market, the availability and costs of raw materials and the existent product substitutes in […]
• Analysis of a Look at the Fast-Food Industry by Eric Schlosser For the presentation of various arguments, the use of statistics involved in the employees and the increased amount of production due to division and specialization of labor and the production process improved the validity of […]
• McDonald’s New Strategy Toward Healthy Food The identification of current challenges faced by McDonald’s reveals that the future strategy needs to address the problem of healthy food, help to improve the public image of the company and renovate the franchising system […]
• The Consequences of Fast Food The most evident effect of fast food is obesity among others and these effects are what will be considered as the basis of discouraging the intake of fast food while encouraging other healthier options.
• What Role Does Food Play in Cultural Identity? From the point of view of cultural studies, such a model of nutrition speaks more about the absence of global roots, the absence of deep moral guidelines, and not about the convenience of the process.
• The Food and Beverage Sector There is no doubt that there are many substitutes to this industry and the best investors can do is to try to retain the available market by offering quality services.
• Food: How Technology Has Changed the Way We Eat? These foods could cause harm to the consumers, who in most cases are not sure of the ingredients used to prepare them, and that may pose a health risk.
• Quality Management in Food Industry: PDCA and Six Sigma This cycle, which is widely used in food industry, represents the essence of realization – the so-called “general functions of management”.
• Dubai’s Food, Dress Code and Culture Religion is an important in aspect in Dubai because it influences the lifestyle of the people and forms the foundation of their culture.
• Food and Nutrient Security Situation in Pakistan In this respect, Pakistan needs to deepen its understanding of the scales of the food insecurity problem, highlight future problems, and define agricultural policies and food security programs that could reduce the vulnerability of rural […]
• Food, Eating Behavior, and Culture in Chinese Society The majority of the food and the cookies were not an actual part of the Chinese cuisine. The issue of the origin of the fortune cookies demonstrates the global intersections.
• Food and Beverage Development This paper focuses on how food production and food consumption has affected the eating habits and led to the introduction of junk foods because of the production and consumption factors.
• Geography of Food. Restaurant Review Carino’s Italian grill was located in Doral at the center of Miami making it accessible to most people. The food was of moderate quality.
• McDonald’s Digital Campaign “Our Food. Your Questions” The digital campaign designed to answer the questions that have been bothering the consumers of fast food for a long time, provide transparency and get rid of the myths that make a negative impact on […]
• Wendy’s Fast Food Restaurant The design has the potential to elaborate on the cause of failures inherent in the establishment and possess the capacity to make recommendations on combating the challenges.
• Environmental and Industrial Analysis of UK Food Manufacturing Companies Technological Analysis The technological analysis has affected the Tasty Bake Company positively in that the global transport infrastructure has greatly improved in the recent past and this has enabled it to market its products widely.
• Poverty and Global Food Crisis: Food and Agriculture Model Her innovative approach to the issue was to measure food shortages in calories as opposed to the traditional method of measuring in pounds and stones.
• Influencing Consumer Behavior: the changing image of ‘fast food’ Some of the factors that consumers may be influenced with include the cost, what their friends and family members say, where the restaurant is located, the duration the meal takes, and by how the consumers […]
• What Are the Benefits of Organic Foods? The proponents of organic foods believe that organic foods have greater benefits as compared to conventional foods, while the opponents believe they have are unsafe.
• World Food Program Addressing risks to food and safety Food safety and public health entail core issues to the policies of the WFP in addressing food security across the globe.
• New Food Product Development In most cases the food may be free of pathogens but if the environment of preparation is full of normal flora, the possibility of gross contamination of food may take place and this is the […]
• The Junk Food’s Risks Junk food has high content of fat and cholesterol that leads to clogging of the heart arteries. The content of many junk foods is unhealthy and it may expose the brain to premature aging and […]
• Impact of Food on Human Health and the Content of Diet People who are living in cities never get the chance to taste catfish so they even say that catfish is used by the people of low status.
• Motivational Issues in the Fast Food Sector Fast food refers to a type of cuisine produced in mass and marketed by some eateries, presentation stands, and service establishments for fast and effective production and delivery.
• Food Hygiene Inspection of a Food Premises and the Intervention Strategies The need to conduct this inspection was necessitated by the complaints that were received from the customers about the food served at this store.
• Dog Food: Pedigree Company’s Case The attractiveness of the dog food category is manifested through the intense competitive nature of the various stakeholders. The third and final phase of the segmentation is to label the category of dog food as […]
• The Negative Consequences of Employing High School Students in Fast Food Restaurants In addition, high school students should be advised that education and their careers are more important as compared to working at fast food restaurants.
• Impact of Fast Food on Human Body Firstly, it is the economics of fast food fast food is the cheapest food on the market in terms of a calorie per dollar.
• Using Food Preservatives Ethical At present, the use of chemical food preservatives have gained prevalent use as many people have become tailored to the convenience of buying food that is already prepared, instead of preparing and preserving their food.
• A Food Truck Business: Project Summary Steps to be followed in starting the business will be researching local food trucks and laws, developing the business name and concept, registering, raising funds, and seeking permits and licenses. The next steps will be […]
• Food Preferences and Nutrition Culture I gave my mother the recipe and nowadays, each time I visit her, she makes me a bowl of chicken noodle soup.
• Major Reasons for Food Prices Increase Admittedly, one of the major reasons for food prices increase is the use of corns for fuel production. The increase of fuel prices created a great temptation for farmers to produce ethanol instead of corn […]
• Fast Food Effects on Human Health The phenomenon results in the ideological perspectives of increased obesity and the emergence of lifestyle diseases. The popularity and consumption rate of fast-food restaurants is one of the trending issues in cities and towns.
• The Reasons Behind the Popularity of Fast Food in the Context of the Lebanese Market Nowadays, in Beirut, the variety of traditional dishes which can be prepared quickly and served as fast food is amazing, from the kebab, to the falafel; most dishes are represented.
• Making Healthy Foods Available to the Poor People Instead of giving artificially prepared and canned food, the donors should raise funds and buy whole grains in bulk to be given to the poor who in turn prepare the food in a healthy way.
• Causes and Effects of Fast Food: Reputation for Unhealthy Eating By setting this price to a low value, fast food companies can exclude traditional restaurants from the selection, improve throughput, and increase their brand equity.
• Does Healthy Food Prevent Obesity? To instill the discipline of eating healthy, mothers should train their children on the right meals, at infancy; they should be kept off junk foods and in-organic foods as possible.
• Good to Eat: Riddles of Food and Culture by Marvin Harris Good to eat is a thought provoking and intellectual journey that the author takes, in terms of the different kinds of food habits adopted by various groups of people and the reasons behind such habits.
• Jamie Oliver and Leadership in the Food Industry He has a strong mastery of the market and the exact requirements of the customers to be his businesses end up matching the needs of the customers.
• The Food Preservation Techniques Convenience food became the go-to as America got preoccupied with vehicles and the freedom to travel around their cities and neighborhoods and as postwar America worked. Processing the ingredients and sending them to the eateries […]
• Why Junk Food Should Cost More Than Healthy Food In order to persuade the audience that a solution to this problem is the change of prices to make healthy food more affordable, a problem-cause-solution approach will be used. According to Elementum, to understand the […]
• Food Preservation Methods and Their Classification At the same time, conditions are created for the development of microorganisms, which change the properties of the product in the course of their life activity to improve its nutritional and taste qualities.
• Ethical Behavior as to Returned Food and Beverages One of the biggest problems is that the liberalization of the policies related to the return of the food and beverages led to the abundance of the products that should be returned.
• Eco-Friendly Packaging for Food and Beverage Industry This product was chosen because of the direct impact of the quality of food products on the health of ordinary people regardless of the region of living of country of origin.
• Ethos, Logos, Pathos in the Food, Inc. Documentary In the documentary, there are many instances of its makers providing viewers with the factual information, as to the discussed subject matter, which is supposed to convince the latter in the full legitimacy of people’s […]
• Impacts of Fast Food on Childhood Eating Habits The author’s claim that lack of nutritional information on fast food packaging is a major cause of obesity among children and teenagers is not true.
• Chemicals Used for Microbial Preservation of Food Usually, this chemical is used in the preservation of meat. It is common in the form of powder and white in color.
• Food Service System: Overview Through the system, quality control is achieved through the quality of components, menus, and recipes chosen by the director. The rationale for ready-prepared system involves mass-generation and freezing of food items which might lower labor […]
• Oxidative Rancidity in Lipids and Food Storing The purpose of this paper is to discuss the factors influencing oxidative rancidity in relation to food with lipids and to analyse techniques applied to storing such foods.
• Weird Chinese Foods: Cultural Practices and Eating Culture The Chinese are also known to eat crocodile meat for a number of reasons. The other fascinating Chinese cuisine is eating of private parts that are used mostly in adding aroma to whisky and wine.
• The Food Impact on Health In the UK, for instance, many of the edible products sold in the supermarkets are contaminated thus affecting the health of the people and most products, especially pastry products, have a lot of sugar, fat […]
• Globalization Effects on Food Industry, Trading, Education The major benefit enjoyed by the developing nations is the capability to import the raw materials from the industrially developed countries, to facilitate the production of goods required in the country.
• The Jungle and Fast Food Nation Though both books talk about the food industry and the ills that plague it, it is important to establish that, Eric Schlosser’s aim of writing Fast Food Nation was to make the public know the […]
• Food Security: The Main Challenges The attainment of food security is a key challenge faced in the contemporary world; it is caused by industrialized agriculture, which affects the climate, problematic balancing between agriculture and the environment, and the inability of […]
• Food Insecurity in the US: The New Face of Hunger This case differs from the one mentioned above because the primary problem is not the lack of food per se but the uncertainty of the ability to have the next meal.
• The Role of Food for Sustainability in the Built Environment Sustainability refers to a movement that attempts to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the capability of the subsequent generations to meet the needs of the future.
• Inventory Control in the Food Industry To formulate a mathematical model to optimize cost in inventory control, it is critical to consider different aspects of inventory control that significantly contribute to the formulation of the model and the reorder policies.
• Checkers and Rally’s Fast-Food Chain Analysis This paper includes a brief analysis of Checkers & Rally’s, one of the leading fast-food chains in the USA. It is necessary to note that the threat of entry is quite serious as many entrepreneurs, […]
• Sous Vide Food Production System A vacuum machine is needed to cater for the packaging needs of the food that is prepared using the sous vide method.
• Nanotechnology in the Food Industry The presence of PEG in the copolymer makes the surface charge less negative, thus enhancing the interaction of the nanoparticles with food compounds in the process of coating the food or the food ingredients.
• Molecular Gastronomy Trend: Gastronomy and Food Science The use of science and other disciplines in restaurants and home cooking is therefore having a beneficial influence in a highly public area, lending credibility to the topic as a whole. The popularity of this […]
• Saudi Food Industry’s Overview and Market Size Although state-owned companies play a big role in the economic development of the KSA, it is mostly the independent consumer food service that has been affecting the development of the KSA food industry.
• Multinational Food Corporations & Eating Patterns in New Zealand In this report, the connection between eating patterns in New Zealand and the performance of multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s will be investigated and disclosed.
• Food Industry: The Problems Caused by the Corona Crisis The food and beverage sector has been significantly affected by the Corona crisis, and the issue should be addressed to alleviate the collapse of the industry, especially in the most affected regions.
• Fast Food and Gender: Is There a Relation? The study was to observe the gender that formed the majority of the customer base in respect to fast foods. In this case, it was important to select a predetermined restaurant that specializes in fast […]
• Brazil Food Culture and Dietary Patterns The Brazilian food culture is made up of a variety of mostly traditional dishes that have their background from the history and culture of the country.
• Food and Drug Administration Importance The agency operates in the fifty states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the other U.S.
• Menu Foods Tainted Pet Food Crisis, 2007 Notably, Menu Foods did not disclose the results of the previous examination but asked the laboratory to test the food for pesticides and insecticides as if the cats were refusing to eat it.
• Livestock Food Production Issues The failure to address animal welfare, health, and environmental concerns, as well as the intensification of livestock farming, contributes to the exasperation of challenges associated with livestock food production.
• Food, Customers, and Culture in the Grocery Store There also were many alcoholic drinks, and the section with beer was among the largest; lemonades, juices, and smoothies were also present. Both the store labels and the food labels quite often stressed the low […]
• East Asian Food and Its Identifying Factors Food lovers congregate on one side of the argument due to a sense of pride, while the rest may support the opposite side of the debate for the purpose of gastronomic accuracy.
• Globalization and Food in Japan We have the McDonalds in the developed countries and it has influenced food market in Japan, so continued globalization will affect cultures in all countries in the world, including developing countries.
• Hotpot Concept and Cultural Value The history of the Chinese hotpot goes back to the past 1000 years even though the roots of the delicacy are in Mongolia.
• Improvements of Supply Chain Processes in the Fast Food Industry: Subway The purposes of the research are to analyze the service delivery stage of the internal supply chain process typical of the Subway restaurants located in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates; identify drawbacks in these areas […]
• UK Food Retailing Industry Active intervention approach is the process through which the market forces are of a given industry are interfered with to ensure the sustainability of the market.
• Should All Genetically Modified Foods Be Labeled? According to this scholar, members of the public are always comfortable with the idea of not labeling the genetically modified food.
• Beef Industry: Nutrition and Food Safety Analysis The amount of saturated fat in the six leanest beef cuts is almost equal to that in the chicken’s leanest cut, the skinless chicken breast.
• Food Safety and Its Application The realization that low temperatures slow down the growth of microbes and the process of food spoilage led to the invention of refrigeration.
• Food Security Policy Problem Analysis Regardless of the apparent benefits, they offer the sector and the reduction in overall food shortages, and food stamps are criticized across the political scale.
• “Food Colombusing” and Cultural Appropriation Authenticity in cuisine defies efforts to create an all-inclusive and integrated world in which one is allowed to enjoy and feel the attributes of a culture that is not theirs.
• The “In Defense of Food” Book by Michael Pollan As a nutritionist, Michael Pollan wrote the book In Defense of Food, highlighting the effects of the Western diet and providing guidance on healthy eating.
• The Entrepreneurial Journey of Foods Future Global This ideology led to the opening of a Grassroots Pantry, a vegetarian restaurant, to help attain the goal of healthy eating habits.
• Sea Foods in the Environment Protection Context Further, the purpose of the website is to give information that seeks to reward the efforts of people who protect and safeguard the ocean and seafood supplies such as lobsters.
• The Asian Food Industry After the COVID-19 Outbreak In addition, the closure of most manufacturing and food processing companies in Asia led to major shortage of raw materials used in the preparation of cuisine.
• Investigation of a Food Poisoning Incident This paper proposes a Departmental Policy Document in a bid to detail the accountability of the department in the investigation of a Salmonella food poisoning outbreak.
• Diabetic Diet and Food Restrictions Diabetes is a disease caused by the inability of the body to control blood sugar because of the lack or inadequate production of insulin by the B cells of the pancreas.
• Food Costs Reduction in a Food Establishment The cost of products is linked to the amount of food waste a food establishment generates. To conclude, the reduction of food costs requires a commitment to action and flexibility.
• Organic Food Is Not a Cure for Environmental and Health Issues For instance, the same group of scientists claims that the moderate use of pesticides in organic agriculture is particularly important to consider while purchasing food.
• Rice: Food Ingredient as a Currency Asia is considered to be the homeland of Rice: in Asia, and to be exact, in the north of modern Thailand and Vietnam, has started to cultivate rice for the first time.
• Acid Effects on Starch Gels in Food Preparation The amount of heat to be used during simmering is not indicated. It is necessary to indicate the amount of heat to ensure uniformity.
• Food & Beverage Choices and Health Impacts This written report presents the analysis of my Meal Summary Report, Nutrients Report, and Food Groups and Calories Report to reveal the factors affecting my food and beverage choices, compare the latter with SuperTracker’s Recommended […]
• Healthy Foods: Behavior Change Analysis The choice to eat healthy foods is very important for a person because it implies that an individual already understands that his/her diet is not appropriate.
• Do-Do Online Fresh Food Supply LLC’s Business Plan The “Do-Do Online Fresh Food Supply LLC” would be registered as a limited liability company with two owners who are the student of Long Island University at post-graduation level in the same discipline and they […]
• American Food, Its History and Global Distribution The adoption of the different styles of cooking and foods and the fusion of these foods has made them American. Some of the animals they hunted included the buffalo, wild turkey, and the bear.
• Food and Wine Tourism From the Australian perspective, wine tourism is the paying of a visit to the wineries and or wine making regions in order to experience and enjoy the unique features of the contemporary lifestyle of Australia […]
• Food Motif in Bartleby the Scrivener The food motif is also manifested in the naming of other characters in the story. The food motif is very prominent in this story.
• HRM in the Fast Food Industry: US, Germany, and Australia It should be mentioned that the term human-resource relations refers to the programs that an organization puts in place in order to ensure that the employees receive the benefits that are guaranteed by legislation.
• Healthy Fast Food Restaurant The project committee has ensured that this project has a number of strengths as it is introduced in this competitive market.
• Changes in Food Production Over Time The new system of farming replaces the holistic thinking and the recycling of the nutrients through the use of crop rotation and animal rotation to produce food.
• Fast Food’s Main Detrimental Effects This state of affairs is perfectly explainable, because during the course of recent decades, the effects of a lengthened consumption of fast food on one’s health remained the subject of a number of heated public […]
• Increased Nutrition Regulations on Fast Food Restaurants Some critics believe that federal policy to increase the cost of healthy food has led to the increase in consumption of the cheaper alternative i.e.fast food.
• American Food Over the Decades This literature review will focus on the history of peanut butter and jelly by examining the thought on interchangeability of peanut butter in the construction of sandwich, the schools of thought on the study and […]
• Food Industry: Organic Restaurant The restaurant will capture the social environment and provide the necessary menu for this field. In the cultural environment, the chefs employed in this restaurant have been highly trained to produce several ethnic dishes to […]
• The Fast Food Mass Production Problem Mass production was planned as a phenomenon to ensure the supply of food in sufficient quantities to cover the loss of production in the sale and, at the same time, meet the economic needs of […]
• Food Security: Sustainable Development While reading this part of the chapter, I realized that the majority of the land is used to produce meat products.
• The Environment of Fast Food Chains The basic research question is based upon the fact as what is actual scenario of HK fast food industry and what marketing strategies are being used commonly by the industry?
• Personal Reflection of the Book “In Defense of Food” This means that when people eat food they are not supposed to fall sick or develop health conditions that will eventually be the cause of their death.
• The Importance of Food Safety in Live The food control system is an internationally recognized system that details various elements that are involved in food handling and to ensure safety and fitness for human consumption.
• Organic Food: Eco-Friendly Attitudes and Behavior The knowledge of the concept, education of people about organic food qualities, and availability in the stores are among them. The attention to health consequences of consuming non-organic and organic products is one of the […]
• Kasih Food Company’s Export Strategy Kasih Food is a recognized high-quality producer of Mediterranean food in the Middle East that follows the principles of responsibility and transparency in its activity. Jordan is a partner of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership that is […]
• Food Labels and Food Security It is imperative that food companies display the real food ingredients on the back of the food package because food safety is a serious problem in today’s society.
• Fast Food Industry in the US This paper will discuss the fast food industry in the US with an emphasis on the positive as well as the negative impacts it has on American economy.
• The Culture of Fast Food Consumption
• An Automation Business Plan in the Food Industry
• Dietary Record of Seven Days of Food Intake
• The Impact of the Food Industry on the Environment
• Food in The Book of the Dead. The Food History
• Food Truck Business Presentation
• Food Web and Impact of Environmental Degradation
• Food Safety Policy for a Music Festival
• Food Hygiene Legislation in the UK
• The Food of Easter Holidays: The Roots of the Easter Tradition
• Problem-Solution on Convenience Food in Singapore
• The Supply and Demand for Energy Foods and Beverages
• Is Genetic Engineering an Environmentally Sound Way to Increase Food Production?
• Functional Food: Definition, Types, Benefits
• Food and Beverage Server’s Duties and Dependencies
• Gender Relationship: Food and Culture
• Genetically Modified Foods and Pesticides for Health
• Kuwaiti Food Industry and Its Development
• Food Industry’s Quality Function Improvement
• Food Scarcity Factor in French Revolution
• The Concept of Food as a Leisure Experience
• Supply and Demand Influences on Food in the Recent Years
• Role of Food in Cultural Studies: Globalization and Exchange of Food
• Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning at the Whole Foods Market
• An Analysis of Marketing Strategies of Local vs. International Brands in the Fast Food Sector
• The Governmental Role in Food Safety
• Fast Foods More Harm Than Good
• Food Safety Risk Assessment
• The Application of Arginine Pyroglutamate as a Food Additive
• Food Culture in Mexican Cuisine
• Impact of Food Waste on Climate Change
• The Pleasures of Eating: Food and Consumer Culture
• Food and Farming: Urban Farming Benefits the Local Economy
• Food Insecurity: Key Principles
• American Fast Food in Foreign Countries
• Food Is Dangerous: Nutrition Transition
• The Study of the Anthropology of Food
• Food and Water Shortage: The Negative Effects
• World Civilization History: Food Preservation Using Conventional and Modern Methods
• Main Reasons for Establishing Food Banks
• Nurses’ Food Security Policy Advocacy
• Pathophysiology of Stress, Processed Foods, and Risky Alcohol Consumption
• Climate Change and Food Waste Management
• How Food Tank Solves Issue of Food Insecurities
• Food and Beverage Brands’ Expansion and Site Selection
• Food Waste Management: Impact on Sustainability and Climate Change
• Poor Food Security Rates in Guatemala
• Pandemic Effect on Texas Food Supplies
• Food Choices in the United States
• Can the Human Race Survive Without Genetically Modified Food?
• An Argentinean Food Product Launch in Uruguay
• Fast Food: What We Eat by Eric Schlosser
• Implications of the Russia–Ukraine War for Global Food Security
• The Heinz Food Processing Company’s Information
• Hunger Crisis and Food Security: Research
• Food Security, Improved Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture
• The Truth About Food Addiction in Society
• Care for Real: Racism and Food Insecurity
• On-Campus Food Services: Part-Time and Full-Time Students
• The McDonald’s Food Sustainability Model
• The Actuality of Issue of Food Safety
• Food Supply Issues During Warfare
• Safety of Food: Weaning Management Practices
• Food Purchase Behaviors in Australia: Impact of Marketing and Ethnicity
• The Electronic Food Processor Project Management
• Coalition in Solving the Lack of Food Resources
• Sustainable Development and Water-Food-Energy Nexus in Sweden
• The Effects of Fast Food Consumption on Obesity
• The Junk Food Issue in Australia
• Work Experience at PH Food Inc.
• Food Macromolecules – Lipids, Carbohydrates, and Proteins
• Indian Culture, Food, Temples, and Clothing
• The Gourmet Food Retail Store’s Business Plan
• Factors Involved in Creating a Food Business
• Food Deserts and Their Negative Effects
• American Food Industry: Panera’s Value Chain
• COVID-19 Vaccines: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• The Food Tax in Oklahoma Articles
• Uber’s Food Delivery Business Development
• The Problem of Obesity: The US Food Policies
• Prerequisites for Reforms in the Local Food Movement
• One Aspect of the Modern World That Bothers Me Most: Food Scarcity
• Aspects of Food and Nutrition Myths
• JBS S.A. Food Business in Brazil
• Fast Food Restaurant: Emergency Procedure
• Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Food Production
• Aloe Vera: The Use in Cosmetics and in Food
• Food Insecurity in Maryland State
• Food Banks Board Members and Cycle of Poverty
• You Are What You Eat: How Does Food Become an Addiction
• Trends in Food Sources and Diet Quality Among US Children and Adults
• The ‘Food Desert’ Times in the United States
• Sustainable Business of Food and Beverage Delivery
• Casa Mono: A Multi-Sensory Experience as a Food Critic
• Food Waste in American Hospitals
• Operations to Ensure Food Safety
• The Peking Duck Food System’s Sustainability
• Food Safety Modernization Act and Its Importance
• Relation Between Food Policy and Politics
• Position on Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
• Salmonellosis and Food-Borne Poisoning
• Drive-Thru Dreams and Fast Food Nation by Adam Chandler
• Impact of Food on Health of Kids and Adults
• Organizing a Food Waste Awareness Campaign
• Food Diary: Nutrition Opportunities and Challenges
• Healthy Nutrition: Affordable Food
• If Slow Is Good for Food, Why Not Medicine?
• The Impact of Food Security of a Country on Its Political and Cultural Aspects
• Multicultural Food Marketing Techniques
• Food as Ritual Video by Crittenden
• Slow and Fast Food Values by Alice Waters
• Immigrants’ Employment in Agriculture and Food Processing
• The Necessity of Chemical Food Additives
• Food Scarcity During Pandemic in Montgomery County
• Data Driven in Food Production Companies
• Blame It on Fast-Moving Food Industries or Personal Irresponsibility
• Importance of Accession to Healthy Fresh Food Regularly
• Preserving Food Hygiene and Safety
• Foodways: Cultural Norms and Attitudes Toward Food
• Food Banks in Canada and Their Relevance
• Overpopulation and Food Production Problem
• The Canine Health: Food, Vaccination, and Hygiene
• Food Advertising and Its Effects on Children
• How Fried Foods Affect Nutrition for Young Adults
• Organic Food and Dietary Supplements
• Nutrients: Food and Nutrients in Disease Management
• Food Safety and Organic Growing in the USA
• McDonald’s in the International Fast Food Market
• Farm-to-Table Food: Dissemination Portfolio
• The Community Mobile Food Truck for Children in Macomb County
• Employee Retention & Staff Turnover in Fast Food Industry
• Inadequate Food Choices for Americans in Low-Income Neighborhoods
• Impacts of Climatic Changes on Food Insecurity
• Food Manufacturing: Term Definition
• Pasteurization: Processing Food Substances
• Healthier School Lunches Without Processed Foods
• E-Commerce as a Fast-Growing Trend in the Industry of Food
• Food Insecurity in Philadelphia, PA: Literature Review
• The Truth About Fat: Fast Foods and Obesity
• Primary Scales for Quinoa-Based Organic Foods
• Reducing Food Waste Problem by Creating a Platform to Sell Expiring Food
• Food Security Under Hot Climate in Saudi Arabia
• Food Insecurity in the US: Feeding the Richest Country
• Research and Experiments: Molecules in Food, Photosynthesis
• Ethical Ramifications of Eating Specific Food
• Sustainable Development in the Food Industry
• Genetically Modified Food: Health Risks
• American Agricultural and Food System
• Food Insecurity in the Gulf Region
• Whole Foods Market in 2008: Vision, Core Values and Strategy
• Loving Organic Foods by Diligent Consulting Group
• Customer Loyalty in Fast Food Industry Under Current Economic Crisis
• TED Talk “Teach Every Child About Food”
• Consumers’ Behavioral Intentions as to Organic Food Products
• Promoting Fast Food Ingredient Awareness
• Global Population Growth and Increased Demand for Food
• Wildlife Conservation and Food Safety for Human
• The Role of the Flavor Industry in Processed Food
• Food Desert Investigation and Analysis
• Analysis of Push and Pull Factors in Food Travel Motivation
• Polysaccharides in Foods
• Effects of Food Challenges to Health
• The Fast Food Restaurant Market of Canada
• The Food Justice Social Movement
• The Impact of Food Demand Upon Areas of Outstanding Beauty
• Dog Food by Subscription: Service Design Project
• Organoleptic Properties in Foods: Substance Density Value
• Strategic Planning of Whole Foods Market
• Food Processing and Preservation Methods
• Healthy Eating Plan by Food Pyramid
• Ideology of Fast Food Industry Development
• Canada Food Guide Overview
• Food Safety and Information Bulletin
• COVID-19: Supply Chain Management Challenges of Food Industry
• Food Safety in the Modern World
• Distinguish Unpleasant Tastes From Food Reactions
• Food, Music and Verbal Communication in China
• Impacts of H7N9 Virus and Food Contamination at Maleic Acid on Inbound Tourism for Elderly to Taiwan
• Changing the Food Journal After Every Month
• The Chemical Composition of Food
• The Sunshine Wok: Food Hygiene Inspection
• The Intervention Plan For a Food Poisoning Incident
• Food Provision at the Annisburgh District Music Festival
• Biodiversity and Food Production
• The Fast Food Culture in Saudi Arabia
• Consumptions of Fast Foods Among Youth in Saudi Arabia
• Food Insecurity and Obesity-Promoting Feeding Styles
• Genetically Modified Food: Analysis and Implications
• Julia Food Booth: Business Decision Analysis
• The Routine Food Hygiene Inspection
• Food Borne Diseases Associated With Chilled Ready to Eat Food
• Facing Food Insecurity: Causes & Current Programs
• Nutrition: Preventing Food Born Diseases
• Safe Food Handling for Optimum Nutrition
• Obesity Prevalence and Fast Food Restaurant Prevalence
• Regulation of the Fast Food Industry: Review
• Nutrients and Food Guide Pyramid Recommendation
• Brand: An Exceptional Food Experience
• Food Stamp: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
• The Food Industry as a Threat to Public Health and Food Safety
• Food Security: Limiting the Use of Antibiotics to Reduce or Slow the Antibiotic Resistance
• Food Work in the Family and Gender Aspects of Food Choice
• Sociology of Food and Nutrition
• Food and Grades of Students at School
• Food Product Trends Related to Consumer Demands
• Food Processing and Farming Methods
• Fast Food: What Is Really in It?
• Are Packaged Foods Fat-Free Products?
• Investigation of Orange as a Food Commodity
• Public Service Bulletin: Food Safety Issues
• Fast-Food and Tobacco Industry Regulation
• The Aspects of Food in the Hindu Religion
• Recommendations for Food Security
• Raising Awareness on Food Poisoning Among Children Riyadh
• Food Security and Macroeconomics Discussion
• 21st Century Guiding Principles for the Location of Foods In a Supermarket: Maximizing Profit or Maximizing Health
• Nutrition. 3-Day Food Intake
• Magnesium in Food and Dietary Allowance
• Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Diagnostics for Pathogens in Food
• Food Diary Project: Dietary Recommended Intakes (DRI)
• “The Bitter Truth About Fast Food” by Schlosser
• Sugar Is Back on Food Labels as a Selling Point
• Overnutrition, Obesity, and Food Insecurities as the Global Concerns
• A Sociology of Food and Nutrition: Unity of Traditions and Culture
• Nutrition: Chemical Composition of the Food
• Keeping a Food Diary: Control of Calorie Intake
• Entrepreneur Ayesha Khan and Her Food for Employees
• Biotechnology and Animal Welfare: How Genetically Modified Chicken Serves the Demand in Fast Food Chains
• Healthy Food With Proper Rationing and Balanced Meal
• Organic Foods: the Best Solution or Not?
• European Union Health Law and Food Law
• Rhetorical Analysis on Healthy Food and Labeling Problem
• Introducing Infants to Semi-Solid Food
• Food Safety Policy and Inspection Services
• Independent Food Safety Inspections in US Restaurants
• The Problem of Food Safety and the Spread of Various Diseases
• Protecting Americans From Food-Related Illnesses
• Home Isolation Survival Kit: Food Kits for Emergencies
• Quality System Implementation in Greek Food Sector
• New Food Movements: The Raw Foodism
• Festive Food in Chinese-Vietnamese Fests by Nir Avieli
• Food Addiction and Obesity in Children and Teens
• Food Texture in Packaging of Cakes, Pastries and Sweets
• Food Security and Environmental Designers
• Agriculture and Environment: Organic Foods
• Adverse Impacts of Food on Human Health: Toxicity, Nutritional Deficiency, and Allergenicity
• Fast-Food and Restaurant Strategic Marketing
• Gastronomy in Commercial Food Science Operation
• Soul Food: The Origin and Reasons of Vegetarianism
• Role in Local Food System – Pumpkins
• Kudler Fine Foods Analysis and Promotional Strategies
• Flavours of Chittering Food & Wine Festival: Analysis
• Organic Food as a Viable Option for Consumers
• Genetically Modified Foods: Substantial Equivalence
• The Demand for Food in South Africa
• Writing on Preservation and Distribution of Food
• Agro-Food Geographies: Food, Nature, Farmers and Agency
• Marketing Case B: Freddy Favors Fast Food and Convenience for College Students
• The Right to Food: Government Policy
• Safety and Quality: Food Contaminants and Adulteration
• Americans` Unique Dietary Patterns and Food Preferences
• Appropriateness of a Food Production and Service
• Foods Crises in Uganda Issue Analysis
• The Use of Fast Food Meals in the United State
• The Specificity of Chinese Culture in Terms of Food and Music
• The Food Served in Venice: World Famous Italian Foods
• Science Nutrition: Controversies in Food and Nutrition
• 3D Printed Food and Utensils Safety
• Meatpacking and Fast-Food Industry: Making a Better Tomorrow
• Meat and Fast-Food Industry: What Are We Eating?
• Fast Food Epidemic: The Dark Side of American Meal
• Fast Foods Popularity: Causes and Effects
• Texture Description of Food for Preschool Children
• Water Efficiency in Food Production: Food Security, and Quality of Life
• The Analysis of the Annual Amount Spent on Organic Food Using Multiple Linear Regression
• The Opportunity for School Food to Influence a Child’s Dietary Intake
• Food Distribution and Water Pollution
• Extending Existing Knowledge in the Area of Schools Foods and Their Influence on Children’s Diets
• How Architecture Is Being Used to Meet the Challenge of Food Provision
• Understanding Genetically Modified Foods by Howard et al.
• Food Choices and Dietary Habits: An Interview With a Mexican Immigrant
• Zero Hunger and Food Production in Abu Dhabi
• Dough Pizza Company in the Food Truck Industry
• Genetically Modified Foods: Pros or Cons
• Food Security Solutions for Kenya
• Science and Grow Food Sustainability
• Processed Food Industry
• Processed Foods and High Fructose Corn Syrup Effects
• Food & Drug Administration: Federal Health Agency
• Food Recommender Systems and Their Types
• Emily Baumgaertner: Crop Viruses and Food Security
• Innovation From Google as Free Food Strategy
• Environmental Issues and Food Efficiency
• The Food Company New Product Development Group
• Advanced Food Bioanalysis
• Conventional Food System: Justice and Security
• Gulf Food Security and Delicate Diplomacy
• Hong Kong Street Food in Ethnographic Studies
• Food Anthropology and Its Research Methods
• Low-Calorie Frozen and Microwavable Food Industry
• Fast Food Restaurants and Buyers’ Responsibility
• Food and Taste Process Issues
• Casa Vasca Restaurant’s Food Safety and Sanitation
• Changes in Food Preferences
• Fast Food, Fat Profits: Obesity in America
• Food Choices: Diets and Diseases
• International Food and Beverage Business in Africa
• Food and Culture Links
• Food Inspection Procedures in Saudi Arabia
• Food Poisoning and Hygiene Awareness in Saudi Arabia
• Food Safety and Health Violation at Workplace
• Food Business and Government Regulation in the US
• Best Food Superstores’ Customer Service Policy
• Food Insecurity and Depression in Poor Families
• Snack Food Company’s Product Marketing Research
• The 38th Winter Fancy Food Shows in San Francisco
• New Zealand Food Market
• Genetically Engineered Food Against World Hunger
• Problem of Food Overconsumption
• Demographic Transition Model and Food Security
• Food Texture and Health Outcomes Association
• The Impact of Supply Chain Efficiency on Food Losses
• Chemical Contaminants in Food: Endocrine Disruptors Study
• Farmers Views: Should Organic Food Be Promoted From?
• Scientists Views: Should Organic Food Be Promoted?
• Should Organic Food Be Promoted?
• The Organic Food Benefits
• Globalization, Food, and Ethnic Identity in Literature
• What Is “Organic” Food?
• Disguised Observation: Students Food and Drink Preferences
• Food Safety at Introducing of New Meal
• Food Security: Opportunities in Asia
• Food Product Risk Assessment
• ELISA and PCR Techniques: Food Quality
• The Effect of Food Texture on Health Outcomes
• Chicago Food and Beverage Company: Human Resources
• Childhood Obesity and Food Culture in Schools
• Food Texture Research for Healthcare
• Food Delivery Industry Drivers in the United Kingdom
• Food Safety: Washing Contact Surfaces and Cooking
• Common Food Preparation Methods and Their Effects
• Technology and Communications in the Global Food Industry
• Balogne Food Company’s Operations Management
• The Food Angel Visiting Project
• Visual Cameras and Inspection in Fast Food Restaurant
• Agri-Food Supply Chains Stakeholders
• Food Allergies Management
• Carlo’s Food Company: Information Misunderstanding
• Genetically Modified Foods: Pros and Cons
• Healthy Food Truck: Management Project
• Oil-For-Food Program: International Law Issues
• Janesville School District Food Services Leadership
• Food Nexus Models in Abu Dhabi
• Family Food and Meals Traditions in Dubai History
• Schneiders Food Company and Tyson Foods Inc.
• Food Corporations’ Damaging Influence
• Unhealthy Food Access and Choice Ethics
• The Science of Why You Crave Comfort Food
• The Best Food for Consumption and Six Nutrients
• Genetically Modified Foods: Scientific Resources
• New York City Low Food Affordability Areas
• Healthy You: Diets and Food
• Food Regulations by Companies and Governments
• Imbalance in Food Supply and Growing Demand
• Organic Foods Consumption and Cancer Prevention
• “How to Solve the Food Waste Problem” by Chavich
• Genetic Engineering in Food: Development and Risks
• Sustainability Strategies in the Food Industry
• Food and Water Quality Testing Device
• Popular Food as a Part of Contemporary Culture
• American Food Industry in “Food, Inc.” Documentary
• Food Production and Animals Suffering
• Black Families’ Issues in the “Soul Food” Series
• Fresh Food Provision for Low-Income Families
• UAE Food & Clothes Retail and Restaurant Business
• Pet Food Industry in the United States
• Healthy Food: Lesson Plan
• Swordfish Restaurant and Store in Food Services
• US Food and Drug Administration Approval System
• Aspen Hills Inc.’s Food Safety and Quality Issues
• Long-Term Investment Decisions in Food Industry
• US Pet Food Delivery: Industrial Marketing
• Takeaway Food in Saudi Arabia: Business Plan
• Cultural Studies: Aesthetics of Food and Wine
• Australia New Zealand Food Authority Business Plan
• Food Shortages in the Republic of Malawi
• Food and Water Waste Disposal in NYC
• Tamwal Mobile Food Trucks Business Plan
• Food Security and Sustainable Local Food Systems
• Fast Food Consumption in New Jersey (United States)
• Mexican Cuisine’s Transition to Comfort Food
• Food and Drug Administration’s Strategies
• Employee Turnover in Fast-Food Restaurants
• Food and Stress Relationship: Psychological Factor
• Gluten-Free Products in the US Food Market
• Low-Calorie Frozen Food Company’s Market Structure
• Kokubu Food Company’s Trends and Information System
• Depressive Food Intake Disorder
• Organic Food as a Solution of Global Food Problem
• Glass vs. Paper/Cardboard in Food Packaging
• The “Waist Banned” Article – Taxes on Junk Food
• Food Business and Government Role in Saudi Arabia
• Factors Contributing to Fast Food Consumption in UAE
• Future of Food: Effects on the Planet
• The Fast Food Danger Awareness Among the Young People
• The Fancy Street Foods in Japan: The Major Street Dishes and Traditions
• Organic Farming for Sustainable Food Production
• Food Nexus Tools and Results
• Halal Food and Terrorist Organizations in Australia
• Food Sovereignty in United States
• Malaysia National Agri-Food Policy: Local Food Promotion
• Sliders Mobile Food Truck Marketing Plan
• Food Security in the United States: The Major Lapses of the Conventional Food Systems
• Blue Springs Fast Food Store vs. Blue Gardens Restaurant Analysis
• Spoilage Device: Forget Expiration Dates
• The Mass Production of Food: Food Safety Issue
• Animal Production and Food Availability
• Food Production Workshop Instructional Plan
• Froma Harrop Views on Genetically Modified Food
• Carbon Dynamics and Food Chains in Coastal Environments
• Temperature Impacts on Food
• Nutrition Process: Eating Healthy Foods
• Special Food Shop for Pregnant Women
• Traditional Medicine or Food Customs in a Chinese Culture
• Healthy Consequences of Fast Foods
• Food Production, Sharing, and Consumption
• Fast Food War in Singapore: The Stiff Competition and Fight for Customers
• Service Marketing: Food Market
• Recent and Promising Food Allergy Treatments
• Feeding Baby: How to Avoid Food Allergies
• Traditional Food Culture in the Indian Religion
• Nitrogen from Food Waste
• Food’ Role in International Students Interaction
• Hinduism Religion: Food and Asceticism
• Food as a Means of Cross-Cultural Interaction
• Nutrition: Is Genetically Modified Food Bad or Good?
• Should Fast Food Qualify As “Food”?
• Global Food Trade’s Benefits
• Fast Food Industry and Its Impacts
• The Practice of Fast Food in the United States
• Future of Genetic Engineering and the Concept of “Franken-Foods”
• Food Role on Social Events
• Optimizing Production in the Food Industry
• Genetically Modified Foods: Should They Be Consumed?
• Corn is Our Every Day Food
• Analysis of the Documentary Fast Food, Fat Profits
• Good Food That Does not Grow on Trees: Analyzing the Key Supply Chain Issues
• Organic Foods in Australia and the USA
• Determinants of Success in the Swedish Food and Drink Industry
• The Economic Effect of Issuing Food Stamps to Those in Poverty
• Obesity and Fast Food
• Liability in Food Illness Cases
• Expanding the Australian Food Processing Industry into the United States
• Wegmans Food Markets v. Camden Property Trust
• Food Security in Sydney
• Local Food Production in Malaysia
• Threats to Global Food Supplies
• Whole Foods Market Strategic Analysis
• Food Borne Diseases of Intoxicants on MSG
• Increasing the Consumption of Healthy Food Products
• Operations Decisions for Krafts Foods Inc. and Manute Foods Company
• Kraft Foods’ Diverse Brand Portfolio
• Monaghan’s Conributions to Society Foodservice Management
• Analysis of Whole Foods Market’s feedback loops
• Analysis of Whole Foods Market using Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model
• Analysis of Whole Foods Market’s inputs
• Organizational diagnosis for Whole Foods Market
• RFID in Food Industry and Global Trading Patterns
• Kudler Fine Foods: Incorporating Strategic Thinking
• Large-Scale Organic Farming and Food Supply
• Organic Food Marketing Prospects
• Business and economics: The organic food sector
• Consumer Decision-Making Process on Buying Organic Foods
• Food and Drug Administration in United States of America
• Literature Review on Organic Food and Healthy Diet
• Foods That Effect Children With ADHD/ ADD
• Why Food Services Are the Most Commonly Outsourced Function in the Business Community
• A Typology for foodservice menu development
• Eco-Friendly Food Product Production and Marketing
• Food for the Hungry – Non-profit Organization
• Effects of Food Advertising in Australian Television on Children Aged 5-12 Years
• Sustainable Development in the Food Area
• Food additives: Artificial sweeteners
• Could Biotechnology Solve Food Shortage Problem?
• Does Circadian Rhythm Affect Consumer Evaluation for Food Products?
• Are China’s Grain Trade Policies Effective in the Stabilization of Domestic Food Prices?
• Can Better Governance Improve Food Security?
• Does Corporate Social Responsibility Matter in the Food Industry?
• Are Female-Headed Households More Food Insecure?
• Can Drought-Tolerant Varieties Produce More Food With Less Water?
• What Factors Determine/Influence the Food Choice People Make?
• Why Are Restricted Food Items Still Sold After the Implementation of the School Store Policy?
• Are Food Safety Standards Different From Other Food Standards?
• Can Food Monitoring and Accessible Healthy Food Help Combat Child Obesity?
• Are Food Stamps Income or Food Supplementation?
• Can Government-Allocated Land Contribute to Food Security?
• Is Genetically Modified Food Safe for Consumption?
• Can Insects Increase Food Security in Developing Countries?
• Are Input Policies Effective to Enhance Food Security in Kenya?
• Can Non-wood Forest Products Be Used in Promoting Household Food Security?
• What Are Most Serious Negative Effects of Eating Fast Food?
• Who Does Regulate Food Safety for the United States?
• Should the Government Regulate Food More?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "663 Interesting Food Essay Topics, Examples, and Ideas." February 25, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/food-essay-examples/.

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Follow YES! For Teachers

Six brilliant student essays on the power of food to spark social change.

Read winning essays from our fall 2018 “Feeding Ourselves, Feeding Our Revolutions,” student writing contest.

For the Fall 2018 student writing competition, “Feeding Ourselves, Feeding Our Revolutions,” we invited students to read the YES! Magazine article, “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,”   by Korsha Wilson and respond to this writing prompt: If you were to host a potluck or dinner to discuss a challenge facing your community or country, what food would you cook? Whom would you invite? On what issue would you deliberate? 

The Winners

From the hundreds of essays written, these six—on anti-Semitism, cultural identity, death row prisoners, coming out as transgender, climate change, and addiction—were chosen as essay winners.  Be sure to read the literary gems and catchy titles that caught our eye.

Middle School Winner: India Brown High School Winner: Grace Williams University Winner: Lillia Borodkin Powerful Voice Winner: Paisley Regester Powerful Voice Winner: Emma Lingo Powerful Voice Winner: Hayden Wilson

Literary Gems Clever Titles

Middle School Winner: India Brown  

A Feast for the Future

Close your eyes and imagine the not too distant future: The Statue of Liberty is up to her knees in water, the streets of lower Manhattan resemble the canals of Venice, and hurricanes arrive in the fall and stay until summer. Now, open your eyes and see the beautiful planet that we will destroy if we do not do something. Now is the time for change. Our future is in our control if we take actions, ranging from small steps, such as not using plastic straws, to large ones, such as reducing fossil fuel consumption and electing leaders who take the problem seriously.

 Hosting a dinner party is an extraordinary way to publicize what is at stake. At my potluck, I would serve linguini with clams. The clams would be sautéed in white wine sauce. The pasta tossed with a light coat of butter and topped with freshly shredded parmesan. I choose this meal because it cannot be made if global warming’s patterns persist. Soon enough, the ocean will be too warm to cultivate clams, vineyards will be too sweltering to grow grapes, and wheat fields will dry out, leaving us without pasta.

I think that giving my guests a delicious meal and then breaking the news to them that its ingredients would be unattainable if Earth continues to get hotter is a creative strategy to initiate action. Plus, on the off chance the conversation gets drastically tense, pasta is a relatively difficult food to throw.

In YES! Magazine’s article, “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,” Korsha Wilson says “…beyond the narrow definition of what cooking is, you can see that cooking is and has always been an act of resistance.” I hope that my dish inspires people to be aware of what’s at stake with increasing greenhouse gas emissions and work toward creating a clean energy future.

 My guest list for the potluck would include two groups of people: local farmers, who are directly and personally affected by rising temperatures, increased carbon dioxide, drought, and flooding, and people who either do not believe in human-caused climate change or don’t think it affects anyone. I would invite the farmers or farm owners because their jobs and crops are dependent on the weather. I hope that after hearing a farmer’s perspective, climate-deniers would be awakened by the truth and more receptive to the effort to reverse these catastrophic trends.

Earth is a beautiful planet that provides everything we’ll ever need, but because of our pattern of living—wasteful consumption, fossil fuel burning, and greenhouse gas emissions— our habitat is rapidly deteriorating. Whether you are a farmer, a long-shower-taking teenager, a worker in a pollution-producing factory, or a climate-denier, the future of humankind is in our hands. The choices we make and the actions we take will forever affect planet Earth.

 India Brown is an eighth grader who lives in New York City with her parents and older brother. She enjoys spending time with her friends, walking her dog, Morty, playing volleyball and lacrosse, and swimming.

High School Winner: Grace Williams

Apple Pie Embrace

It’s 1:47 a.m. Thanksgiving smells fill the kitchen. The sweet aroma of sugar-covered apples and buttery dough swirls into my nostrils. Fragrant orange and rosemary permeate the room and every corner smells like a stroll past the open door of a French bakery. My eleven-year-old eyes water, red with drowsiness, and refocus on the oven timer counting down. Behind me, my mom and aunt chat to no end, fueled by the seemingly self-replenishable coffee pot stashed in the corner. Their hands work fast, mashing potatoes, crumbling cornbread, and covering finished dishes in a thin layer of plastic wrap. The most my tired body can do is sit slouched on the backless wooden footstool. I bask in the heat escaping under the oven door.

 As a child, I enjoyed Thanksgiving and the preparations that came with it, but it seemed like more of a bridge between my birthday and Christmas than an actual holiday. Now, it’s a time of year I look forward to, dedicated to family, memories, and, most importantly, food. What I realized as I grew older was that my homemade Thanksgiving apple pie was more than its flaky crust and soft-fruit center. This American food symbolized a rite of passage, my Iraqi family’s ticket to assimilation. 

 Some argue that by adopting American customs like the apple pie, we lose our culture. I would argue that while American culture influences what my family eats and celebrates, it doesn’t define our character. In my family, we eat Iraqi dishes like mesta and tahini, but we also eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast. This doesn’t mean we favor one culture over the other; instead, we create a beautiful blend of the two, adapting traditions to make them our own.

 That said, my family has always been more than the “mashed potatoes and turkey” type.

My mom’s family immigrated to the United States in 1976. Upon their arrival, they encountered a deeply divided America. Racism thrived, even after the significant freedoms gained from the Civil Rights Movement a few years before. Here, my family was thrust into a completely unknown world: they didn’t speak the language, they didn’t dress normally, and dinners like riza maraka seemed strange in comparison to the Pop Tarts and Oreos lining grocery store shelves.

 If I were to host a dinner party, it would be like Thanksgiving with my Chaldean family. The guests, my extended family, are a diverse people, distinct ingredients in a sweet potato casserole, coming together to create a delicious dish.

In her article “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,” Korsha Wilson writes, “each ingredient that we use, every technique, every spice tells a story about our access, our privilege, our heritage, and our culture.” Voices around the room will echo off the walls into the late hours of the night while the hot apple pie steams at the table’s center.

We will play concan on the blanketed floor and I’ll try to understand my Toto, who, after forty years, still speaks broken English. I’ll listen to my elders as they tell stories about growing up in Unionville, Michigan, a predominately white town where they always felt like outsiders, stories of racism that I have the privilege not to experience. While snacking on sunflower seeds and salted pistachios, we’ll talk about the news- how thousands of people across the country are protesting for justice among immigrants. No one protested to give my family a voice.

Our Thanksgiving food is more than just sustenance, it is a physical representation of my family ’s blended and ever-changing culture, even after 40 years in the United States. No matter how the food on our plates changes, it will always symbolize our sense of family—immediate and extended—and our unbreakable bond.

Grace Williams, a student at Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri, enjoys playing tennis, baking, and spending time with her family. Grace also enjoys her time as a writing editor for her school’s yearbook, the Pioneer. In the future, Grace hopes to continue her travels abroad, as well as live near extended family along the sunny beaches of La Jolla, California.

University Winner: Lillia Borodkin

Nourishing Change After Tragedy Strikes

In the Jewish community, food is paramount. We often spend our holidays gathered around a table, sharing a meal and reveling in our people’s story. On other sacred days, we fast, focusing instead on reflection, atonement, and forgiveness.

As a child, I delighted in the comfort of matzo ball soup, the sweetness of hamantaschen, and the beauty of braided challah. But as I grew older and more knowledgeable about my faith, I learned that the origins of these foods are not rooted in joy, but in sacrifice.

The matzo of matzo balls was a necessity as the Jewish people did not have time for their bread to rise as they fled slavery in Egypt. The hamantaschen was an homage to the hat of Haman, the villain of the Purim story who plotted the Jewish people’s destruction. The unbaked portion of braided challah was tithed by commandment to the kohen  or priests. Our food is an expression of our history, commemorating both our struggles and our triumphs.

As I write this, only days have passed since eleven Jews were killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. These people, intending only to pray and celebrate the Sabbath with their community, were murdered simply for being Jewish. This brutal event, in a temple and city much like my own, is a reminder that anti-Semitism still exists in this country. A reminder that hatred of Jews, of me, my family, and my community, is alive and flourishing in America today. The thought that a difference in religion would make some believe that others do not have the right to exist is frightening and sickening.  

 This is why, if given the chance, I would sit down the entire Jewish American community at one giant Shabbat table. I’d serve matzo ball soup, pass around loaves of challah, and do my best to offer comfort. We would take time to remember the beautiful souls lost to anti-Semitism this October and the countless others who have been victims of such hatred in the past. I would then ask that we channel all we are feeling—all the fear, confusion, and anger —into the fight.

As suggested in Korsha Wilson’s “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,” I would urge my guests to direct our passion for justice and the comfort and care provided by the food we are eating into resisting anti-Semitism and hatred of all kinds.

We must use the courage this sustenance provides to create change and honor our people’s suffering and strength. We must remind our neighbors, both Jewish and non-Jewish, that anti-Semitism is alive and well today. We must shout and scream and vote until our elected leaders take this threat to our community seriously. And, we must stand with, support, and listen to other communities that are subjected to vengeful hate today in the same way that many of these groups have supported us in the wake of this tragedy.

This terrible shooting is not the first of its kind, and if conflict and loathing are permitted to grow, I fear it will not be the last. While political change may help, the best way to target this hate is through smaller-scale actions in our own communities.

It is critical that we as a Jewish people take time to congregate and heal together, but it is equally necessary to include those outside the Jewish community to build a powerful crusade against hatred and bigotry. While convening with these individuals, we will work to end the dangerous “otherizing” that plagues our society and seek to understand that we share far more in common than we thought. As disagreements arise during our discussions, we will learn to respect and treat each other with the fairness we each desire. Together, we shall share the comfort, strength, and courage that traditional Jewish foods provide and use them to fuel our revolution. 

We are not alone in the fight despite what extremists and anti-semites might like us to believe.  So, like any Jew would do, I invite you to join me at the Shabbat table. First, we will eat. Then, we will get to work.  

Lillia Borodkin is a senior at Kent State University majoring in Psychology with a concentration in Child Psychology. She plans to attend graduate school and become a school psychologist while continuing to pursue her passion for reading and writing. Outside of class, Lillia is involved in research in the psychology department and volunteers at the Women’s Center on campus.   

Powerful Voice Winner: Paisley Regester

As a kid, I remember asking my friends jokingly, ”If you were stuck on a deserted island, what single item of food would you bring?” Some of my friends answered practically and said they’d bring water. Others answered comically and said they’d bring snacks like Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or a banana. However, most of my friends answered sentimentally and listed the foods that made them happy. This seems like fun and games, but what happens if the hypothetical changes? Imagine being asked, on the eve of your death, to choose the final meal you will ever eat. What food would you pick? Something practical? Comical? Sentimental?  

This situation is the reality for the 2,747 American prisoners who are currently awaiting execution on death row. The grim ritual of “last meals,” when prisoners choose their final meal before execution, can reveal a lot about these individuals and what they valued throughout their lives.

It is difficult for us to imagine someone eating steak, lobster tail, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream one moment and being killed by state-approved lethal injection the next. The prisoner can only hope that the apple pie he requested tastes as good as his mom’s. Surprisingly, many people in prison decline the option to request a special last meal. We often think of food as something that keeps us alive, so is there really any point to eating if someone knows they are going to die?

“Controlling food is a means of controlling power,” said chef Sean Sherman in the YES! Magazine article “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,” by Korsha Wilson. There are deeper stories that lie behind the final meals of individuals on death row.

I want to bring awareness to the complex and often controversial conditions of this country’s criminal justice system and change the common perception of prisoners as inhuman. To accomplish this, I would host a potluck where I would recreate the last meals of prisoners sentenced to death.

In front of each plate, there would be a place card with the prisoner’s full name, the date of execution, and the method of execution. These meals could range from a plate of fried chicken, peas with butter, apple pie, and a Dr. Pepper, reminiscent of a Sunday dinner at Grandma’s, to a single olive.

Seeing these meals up close, meals that many may eat at their own table or feed to their own kids, would force attendees to face the reality of the death penalty. It will urge my guests to look at these individuals not just as prisoners, assigned a number and a death date, but as people, capable of love and rehabilitation.  

This potluck is not only about realizing a prisoner’s humanity, but it is also about recognizing a flawed criminal justice system. Over the years, I have become skeptical of the American judicial system, especially when only seven states have judges who ethnically represent the people they serve. I was shocked when I found out that the officers who killed Michael Brown and Anthony Lamar Smith were exonerated for their actions. How could that be possible when so many teens and adults of color have spent years in prison, some even executed, for crimes they never committed?  

Lawmakers, police officers, city officials, and young constituents, along with former prisoners and their families, would be invited to my potluck to start an honest conversation about the role and application of inequality, dehumanization, and racism in the death penalty. Food served at the potluck would represent the humanity of prisoners and push people to acknowledge that many inmates are victims of a racist and corrupt judicial system.

Recognizing these injustices is only the first step towards a more equitable society. The second step would be acting on these injustices to ensure that every voice is heard, even ones separated from us by prison walls. Let’s leave that for the next potluck, where I plan to serve humble pie.

Paisley Regester is a high school senior and devotes her life to activism, the arts, and adventure. Inspired by her experiences traveling abroad to Nicaragua, Mexico, and Scotland, Paisley hopes to someday write about the diverse people and places she has encountered and share her stories with the rest of the world.

Powerful Voice Winner: Emma Lingo

The Empty Seat

“If you aren’t sober, then I don’t want to see you on Christmas.”

Harsh words for my father to hear from his daughter but words he needed to hear. Words I needed him to understand and words he seemed to consider as he fiddled with his wine glass at the head of the table. Our guests, my grandma, and her neighbors remained resolutely silent. They were not about to defend my drunken father–or Charles as I call him–from my anger or my ultimatum.

This was the first dinner we had had together in a year. The last meal we shared ended with Charles slopping his drink all over my birthday presents and my mother explaining heroin addiction to me. So, I wasn’t surprised when Charles threw down some liquid valor before dinner in anticipation of my anger. If he wanted to be welcomed on Christmas, he needed to be sober—or he needed to be gone.

Countless dinners, holidays, and birthdays taught me that my demands for sobriety would fall on deaf ears. But not this time. Charles gave me a gift—a one of a kind, limited edition, absolutely awkward treat. One that I didn’t know how to deal with at all. Charles went home that night, smacked a bright red bow on my father, and hand-delivered him to me on Christmas morning.

He arrived for breakfast freshly showered and looking flustered. He would remember this day for once only because his daughter had scolded him into sobriety. Dad teetered between happiness and shame. Grandma distracted us from Dad’s presence by bringing the piping hot bacon and biscuits from the kitchen to the table, theatrically announcing their arrival. Although these foods were the alleged focus of the meal, the real spotlight shined on the unopened liquor cabinet in my grandma’s kitchen—the cabinet I know Charles was begging Dad to open.

I’ve isolated myself from Charles. My family has too. It means we don’t see Dad, but it’s the best way to avoid confrontation and heartache. Sometimes I find myself wondering what it would be like if we talked with him more or if he still lived nearby. Would he be less inclined to use? If all families with an addict tried to hang on to a relationship with the user, would there be fewer addicts in the world? Christmas breakfast with Dad was followed by Charles whisking him away to Colorado where pot had just been legalized. I haven’t talked to Dad since that Christmas.

As Korsha Wilson stated in her YES! Magazine article, “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,” “Sometimes what we don’t cook says more than what we do cook.” When it comes to addiction, what isn’t served is more important than what is. In quiet moments, I like to imagine a meal with my family–including Dad. He’d have a spot at the table in my little fantasy. No alcohol would push him out of his chair, the cigarettes would remain seated in his back pocket, and the stench of weed wouldn’t invade the dining room. Fruit salad and gumbo would fill the table—foods that Dad likes. We’d talk about trivial matters in life, like how school is going and what we watched last night on TV.

Dad would feel loved. We would connect. He would feel less alone. At the end of the night, he’d walk me to the door and promise to see me again soon. And I would believe him.

Emma Lingo spends her time working as an editor for her school paper, reading, and being vocal about social justice issues. Emma is active with many clubs such as Youth and Government, KHS Cares, and Peer Helpers. She hopes to be a journalist one day and to be able to continue helping out people by volunteering at local nonprofits.

Powerful Voice Winner: Hayden Wilson

Bittersweet Reunion

I close my eyes and envision a dinner of my wildest dreams. I would invite all of my relatives. Not just my sister who doesn’t ask how I am anymore. Not just my nephews who I’m told are too young to understand me. No, I would gather all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins to introduce them to the me they haven’t met.

For almost two years, I’ve gone by a different name that most of my family refuses to acknowledge. My aunt, a nun of 40 years, told me at a recent birthday dinner that she’d heard of my “nickname.” I didn’t want to start a fight, so I decided not to correct her. Even the ones who’ve adjusted to my name have yet to recognize the bigger issue.

Last year on Facebook, I announced to my friends and family that I am transgender. No one in my family has talked to me about it, but they have plenty to say to my parents. I feel as if this is about my parents more than me—that they’ve made some big parenting mistake. Maybe if I invited everyone to dinner and opened up a discussion, they would voice their concerns to me instead of my parents.

I would serve two different meals of comfort food to remind my family of our good times. For my dad’s family, I would cook heavily salted breakfast food, the kind my grandpa used to enjoy. He took all of his kids to IHOP every Sunday and ordered the least healthy option he could find, usually some combination of an overcooked omelet and a loaded Classic Burger. For my mom’s family, I would buy shakes and burgers from Hardee’s. In my grandma’s final weeks, she let aluminum tins of sympathy meals pile up on her dining table while she made my uncle take her to Hardee’s every day.

In her article on cooking and activism, food writer Korsha Wilson writes, “Everyone puts down their guard over a good meal, and in that space, change is possible.” Hopefully the same will apply to my guests.

When I first thought of this idea, my mind rushed to the endless negative possibilities. My nun-aunt and my two non-nun aunts who live like nuns would whip out their Bibles before I even finished my first sentence. My very liberal, state representative cousin would say how proud she is of the guy I’m becoming, but this would trigger my aunts to accuse her of corrupting my mind. My sister, who has never spoken to me about my genderidentity, would cover her children’s ears and rush them out of the house. My Great-Depression-raised grandparents would roll over in their graves, mumbling about how kids have it easy nowadays.

After mentally mapping out every imaginable terrible outcome this dinner could have, I realized a conversation is unavoidable if I want my family to accept who I am. I long to restore the deep connection I used to have with them. Though I often think these former relationships are out of reach, I won’t know until I try to repair them. For a year and a half, I’ve relied on Facebook and my parents to relay messages about my identity, but I need to tell my own story.

At first, I thought Korsha Wilson’s idea of a cooked meal leading the way to social change was too optimistic, but now I understand that I need to think more like her. Maybe, just maybe, my family could all gather around a table, enjoy some overpriced shakes, and be as close as we were when I was a little girl.

 Hayden Wilson is a 17-year-old high school junior from Missouri. He loves writing, making music, and painting. He’s a part of his school’s writing club, as well as the GSA and a few service clubs.

 Literary Gems

We received many outstanding essays for the Fall 2018 Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we’d like to share some excerpts that caught our eye.

Thinking of the main staple of the dish—potatoes, the starchy vegetable that provides sustenance for people around the globe. The onion, the layers of sorrow and joy—a base for this dish served during the holidays.  The oil, symbolic of hope and perseverance. All of these elements come together to form this delicious oval pancake permeating with possibilities. I wonder about future possibilities as I flip the latkes.

—Nikki Markman, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California

The egg is a treasure. It is a fragile heart of gold that once broken, flows over the blemishless surface of the egg white in dandelion colored streams, like ribbon unraveling from its spool.

—Kaylin Ku, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Princeton Junction, New Jersey

If I were to bring one food to a potluck to create social change by addressing anti-Semitism, I would bring gefilte fish because it is different from other fish, just like the Jews are different from other people.  It looks more like a matzo ball than fish, smells extraordinarily fishy, and tastes like sweet brine with the consistency of a crab cake.

—Noah Glassman, Ethical Culture Fieldston School,  Bronx, New York

I would not only be serving them something to digest, I would serve them a one-of-a-kind taste of the past, a taste of fear that is felt in the souls of those whose home and land were taken away, a taste of ancestral power that still lives upon us, and a taste of the voices that want to be heard and that want the suffering of the Natives to end.

—Citlalic Anima Guevara, Wichita North High School, Wichita, Kansas

It’s the one thing that your parents make sure you have because they didn’t.  Food is what your mother gives you as she lies, telling you she already ate. It’s something not everybody is fortunate to have and it’s also what we throw away without hesitation.  Food is a blessing to me, but what is it to you?

—Mohamed Omar, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri

Filleted and fried humphead wrasse, mangrove crab with coconut milk, pounded taro, a whole roast pig, and caramelized nuts—cuisines that will not be simplified to just “food.” Because what we eat is the diligence and pride of our people—a culture that has survived and continues to thrive.

—Mayumi Remengesau, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California

Some people automatically think I’m kosher or ask me to say prayers in Hebrew.  However, guess what? I don’t know many prayers and I eat bacon.

—Hannah Reing, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, The Bronx, New York

Everything was placed before me. Rolling up my sleeves I started cracking eggs, mixing flour, and sampling some chocolate chips, because you can never be too sure. Three separate bowls. All different sizes. Carefully, I tipped the smallest, and the medium-sized bowls into the biggest. Next, I plugged in my hand-held mixer and flicked on the switch. The beaters whirl to life. I lowered it into the bowl and witnessed the creation of something magnificent. Cookie dough.

—Cassandra Amaya, Owen Goodnight Middle School, San Marcos, Texas

Biscuits and bisexuality are both things that are in my life…My grandmother’s biscuits are the best: the good old classic Southern biscuits, crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Except it is mostly Southern people who don’t accept me.

—Jaden Huckaby, Arbor Montessori, Decatur, Georgia

We zest the bright yellow lemons and the peels of flavor fall lightly into the batter.  To make frosting, we keep adding more and more powdered sugar until it looks like fluffy clouds with raspberry seed rain.

—Jane Minus, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York

Tamales for my grandma, I can still remember her skillfully spreading the perfect layer of masa on every corn husk, looking at me pitifully as my young hands fumbled with the corn wrapper, always too thick or too thin.

—Brenna Eliaz, San Marcos High School, San Marcos, Texas

Just like fry bread, MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) remind New Orleanians and others affected by disasters of the devastation throughout our city and the little amount of help we got afterward.

—Madeline Johnson, Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama

I would bring cream corn and buckeyes and have a big debate on whether marijuana should be illegal or not.

—Lillian Martinez, Miller Middle School, San Marcos, Texas

We would finish the meal off with a delicious apple strudel, topped with schlag, schlag, schlag, more schlag, and a cherry, and finally…more schlag (in case you were wondering, schlag is like whipped cream, but 10 times better because it is heavier and sweeter).

—Morgan Sheehan, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York

Clever Titles

This year we decided to do something different. We were so impressed by the number of catchy titles that we decided to feature some of our favorites. 

“Eat Like a Baby: Why Shame Has No Place at a Baby’s Dinner Plate”

—Tate Miller, Wichita North High School, Wichita, Kansas 

“The Cheese in Between”

—Jedd Horowitz, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York

“Harvey, Michael, Florence or Katrina? Invite Them All Because Now We Are Prepared”

—Molly Mendoza, Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama

“Neglecting Our Children: From Broccoli to Bullets”

—Kylie Rollings, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri  

“The Lasagna of Life”

—Max Williams, Wichita North High School, Wichita, Kansas

“Yum, Yum, Carbon Dioxide In Our Lungs”

—Melanie Eickmeyer, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri

“My Potluck, My Choice”

—Francesca Grossberg, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York

“Trumping with Tacos”

—Maya Goncalves, Lincoln Middle School, Ypsilanti, Michigan

“Quiche and Climate Change”

—Bernie Waldman, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York

“Biscuits and Bisexuality”

“W(health)”

—Miles Oshan, San Marcos High School, San Marcos, Texas

“Bubula, Come Eat!”

—Jordan Fienberg, Ethical Culture Fieldston School,  Bronx, New York

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9 Food Resources

Matthew R. Fisher

Food Security

Progress continues in the fight against hunger, yet an unacceptably large number of people lack the food they need for an active and healthy life. The latest available estimates indicate that about 795 million people in the world – just over one in nine –still go to bed hungry every night, and an even greater number live in poverty (defined as living on less than $1.25 per day). Poverty—not food availability—is the major driver of food insecurity. Improvements in agricultural productivity are necessary to increase rural household incomes and access to available food but are insufficient to ensure food security. Evidence indicates that poverty reduction and food security do not necessarily move in tandem. The main problem is lack of economic (social and physical) access to food at national and household levels and inadequate nutrition (or hidden hunger). Food security not only requires an adequate supply of food but also entails availability, access, and utilization by all—people of all ages, gender, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic levels.

Food security is essentially built on four pillars:  availability ,  access ,  utilization  and  stability . An individual must have access to sufficient food of the right dietary mix (quality) at all times to be food secure. Those who never have sufficient quality food are  chronically food insecure .

When food security is analyzed at the national level, an understanding not only of national production is important, but also of the country’s  access to food from the global market, its foreign exchange earnings, and its citizens’ consumer choices. Food security analyzed at the household level is conditioned by a household’s own food production and household members’ ability to purchase food of the right quality and diversity in the market place. However, it is only at the individual level that the analysis can be truly accurate because only through understanding who consumes what can we appreciate the impact of sociocultural and gender inequalities on people’s ability to meet their nutritional needs. The definition of food security is often applied at varying levels of aggregation, despite its articulation at the individual level. The importance of a pillar depends on the level of aggregation being addressed. At a global level, the important pillar is food  availability . Does global agricultural activity produce sufficient food to feed all the world’s inhabitants? The answer today is yes, but it may not be true in the future given the impact of a growing world population, emerging plant and animal pests and diseases, declining soil productivity and environmental quality, increasing use of land for fuel rather than food, and lack of attention to agricultural research and development, among other factors.

The third pillar, food  utilization , essentially translates the food available to a household into nutritional security for its members. One aspect of utilization is analyzed in terms of distribution according to need. Nutritional standards exist for the actual nutritional needs of men, women, boys, and girls of different ages and life phases (that is, pregnant women), but these “needs” are often socially constructed based on culture. For example, in South Asia evidence shows that women eat after everyone else has eaten and are less likely than men in the same household to consume preferred foods such as meats and fish.  Hidden hunger  commonly results from poor food utilization: that is, a person’s diet lacks the appropriate balance of macro- (calories) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Individuals may look well nourished and consume sufficient calories but be deficient in key micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, and iodine.

When food security is analyzed at the national level, an understanding not only of national production is important, but also of the country’s access to food from the global market, its foreign exchange earnings, and its citizens’ consumer choices. Food security analyzed at the household level is conditioned by a household’s own food production and household members’ ability to purchase food of the right quality and diversity in the market place. However, it is only at the individual level that the analysis can be truly accurate because only through understanding who consumes what can we appreciate the impact of sociocultural and gender inequalities on people’s ability to meet their nutritional needs.

Food  stability  is when a population, household, or individual has access to food at all times and does not risk losing access as a consequence of cyclical events, such as the dry season .  When some lacks food stability, they have  malnutrition,  a lack of essential nutrients.  This is economically costly because it can cost individuals 10 percent of their lifetime earnings and nations 2 to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the worst-affected countries (Alderman 2005). Achieving food security is even more challenging in the context of HIV and AIDS. HIV affects people’s physical ability to produce and use food, reallocating household labor, increasing the work burden on women, and preventing widows and children from inheriting land and productive resources.

Obesity means having too much body fat. It is not the same as overweight, which means weighing too much. Obesity has become a significant global health challenge, yet is preventable and reversible. Over the past 20 years, a global overweight/obesity epidemic has emerged, initially in industrial countries and now increasingly in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings, resulting in a triple burden of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, and overweight/obesity. There is significant variation by region; some have very high rates of undernourishment and low rates of obesity, while in other regions the opposite is true.

However, obesity has increased to the extent that the number of overweight people now exceeds the number of underwei ght people worldwide. The economic cost of obesity has been estimated at $2 trillion, accounting for about 5% of deaths worldwide. Almost 30% of the world’s population, or 2.1 billion people, are overweight or obese, 62% of whom live in developing countries.

Obesity accounts  for a growing level and share of worldwide  noncommunicable diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers that can reduce quality of life and increase public health costs of already under-resourced developing  countries. The number of overweight children is projected to double by 2030.  Driven primarily by increasing availability of processed, affordable, and effectively marketed food, the global food system is falling short with rising obesity and related poor health outcomes. Due to established health implications and rapid increase in prevalence, obesity is now a recognized major global health challenge.

Agriculture

Agriculture is the human enterprise by which natural ecosystems are transformed into ones devoted to the production of food, fiber, and, increasingly, fuel. Given the current size of the human population, agriculture is essential. Without the enhanced production of edible biomass that characterizes agricultural systems, there would simply not be enough to eat. The land, water, and energy resources required to support this level of food production, however, are vast. Thus agriculture represents a major way in which humans impact terrestrial ecosystems.

For centuries scholars have wrestled with the question of how many people Earth can feed. In 1798 English political economist Thomas Robert Malthus published what would become one of the most famous pamphlets in social science,  An Essay on the Principle of Population . Malthus proposed that because population tended to increase at a geometric (exponential) rate, while food supplies could only grow at an arithmetic rate, all living creatures tended to increase beyond their available resources.

“Man is necessarily confined in room,” Malthus argued. “When acre has been added to acre till all fertile land is occupied, the yearly increase of food must depend upon the melioration of the land already in possession. This is a fund; which, from the nature of all soils, instead of increasing must gradually be decreasing”. The resulting scarcity, he predicted, would limit human population growth through both “positive checks,” such as poverty, diseases, wars, and famines, and self-imposed “negative checks,” including late marriage and sexual abstinence.

In terms of global food production, however, Malthus has so far been proved wrong because his essay failed to take into account the ways in which agricultural productivity of cultivated lands, measured in terms of harvested (typically edible) biomass, could be enhanced. Agriculture involves the genetic modification of plant and animal species, as well as the manipulation of resource availability and species interactions. Scientific and technological advances have made agriculture increasingly productive by augmenting the resources needed to support photosynthesis and by developing plants and animals with enhanced capacity to convert such resources into a harvestable form. The outcome is that world food production has in fact kept up with rapid population growth. Gains have been especially dramatic in the past 50 years.

World food production, 1961–1996 (measured as the sum of cereals, coarse grains, and root crops) © David Tilman. World food production grew at unprecedented rates in the second half of the 20th century, increasing available food supplies in most regions except for sub-Saharan Africa.

But these gains carry with them serious environmental costs. Large-scale agriculture has reduced biodiversity, fragmented natural ecosystems, diverted or polluted freshwater resources, and altered the nutrient balance of adjacent and downstream ecosystems. Agriculture also consumes major amounts of energy and generates greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change. However, these negative impacts must be weighed against human demand for food, as well as the fact that agriculture is the primary livelihood for 40 percent of the human population. In some countries, more than 80 percent of the population makes a livelihood from farming, so increasing agricultural productivity not only makes more food available but also increases incomes and living standards.

The future impacts of agriculture will depend on many factors, including world demand for food, the availability and cost of resources needed to support high levels of productivity, and technological advances to make agriculture more efficient. Global climate change is expected to alter temperature, precipitation, and weather patterns worldwide, thus changing many fundamental conditions that guide current agricultural practice.

Conventional Agriculture

As agriculture became increasingly dependent on technological inputs throughout the 20th century, it also underwent a structural shift, particularly in developed countries. Instead of raising a diverse mix of crops, farmers increasingly planted large holdings of one or a few crop varieties that had been developed for high yields.  Monoculture makes it easier to cultivate large acreages more efficiently, especially using mechanized equipment and chemical inputs. However, these artificial ecosystems are vulnerable to outbreaks of pests and pathogens because they do not have natural protection from genetic diversity and they are typically nutrient-rich, thanks to abundant fertilizer use. Moreover, many pest species have adapted to spread rapidly in ecosystems where recent disturbances, such as plowing, have eliminated natural predators.

Agricultural pests include insects, mammals such as mice and rats, unwanted plants (weeds), fungi, and microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses. Humans have controlled pests with naturally-occurring substances such as salt, sulfur, and arsenic for centuries, but synthetic pesticides, first developed during World War II, are generally more effective.

Many of the first pesticides that were widely used for agriculture were  organochlorines  such as DDT (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane), aldrin, dieldrin, and heptachlor. These substances are effective against a range of insects and household pests, but in the 1950s and 1960s they were shown to cause human health effects including dizziness, seizures, respiratory illness, and immune system dysfunction. Most organochlorines have been banned in the United States and other developed countries but remain in use in developing countries.

In her 1962 book  Silent Spring , biologist and author Rachel Carson drew wide-scale public attention to the environmental effects of pesticides. Carson described how actions such as spraying elm trees with broad-spectrum pesticides to prevent Dutch elm disease severely affected many other parts of local ecosystems (Box 1).

Box 1 The trees are sprayed in the spring (usually at the rate of 2 to 5 pounds of DDT per 50-foot tree, which may be the equivalent of as much as  23 pounds per acre  where elms are numerous) and often again in July, at about half this concentration. Powerful sprayers direct a stream of poison to all parts of the tallest trees, killing directly not only the target organism, the bark beetle, but other insects, including pollinating species and predatory spiders and beetles. The poison forms a tenacious film over the leaves and bark. Rains do not wash it away. In the autumn the leaves fall to the ground, accumulate in sodden layers, and begin the slow process of becoming one with the soil. In this they are aided by the toil of the earthworms, who feed in the leaf litter, for elm leaves are among their favorite foods. In feeding on the leaves the worms also swallow the insecticide, accumulating and concentrating it in their bodies . . . . Undoubtedly some of the earthworms themselves succumb, but others survive to become ‘biological magnifiers’ of the poison. In the spring the robins return to provide another link in the cycle. As few as 11 large earthworms can transfer a lethal dose of DDT to a robin. And 11 worms form a small part of a day’s rations to a bird that eats 10 to 12 earthworms in as many minutes. Rachel Carson,  Silent Spring  (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1962), pp. 107–108 (emphasis in original).

Bioaccumulation of DDT and other organochlorines drastically reduced populations of bald eagles and other large predatory birds that fed at the top of the food chain. The pesticides disrupted birds’ reproductive systems and caused them to lay eggs with very thin shells that broke before young birds hatched.

DDT accumulation in the food chain © United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Use of DDT was banned in the United States in 1972 because of its persistence, its tendency to bioaccumulate, and its adverse impacts on reproduction, especially in birds.

Organochlorines were replaced in the 1970s with other pesticides that were less toxic and more narrowly targeted to specific pests. However, many of these newer options still killed off pests’ natural enemies, and when the insecticides were used repeatedly over time, pests became resistant to them through natural selection (many types of insects can develop through entire generations in days or weeks). Today hundreds of species of insects and weeds are resistant to major pesticides and herbicides.

In response some farmers have turned to methods such as releasing natural insect predators or breeding resistance into crops. For example, U.S. farmers can buy corn seeds that have been engineered to resist rootworms, corn borers, or both pests, depending on which are present locally, as well as corn that has been developed to tolerate herbicides. Others practice  integrated pest management (IPM) , an approach under which farmers consider each crop and pest problem as a whole and design a targeted program drawing on multiple control technologies, including pesticides, natural predators, and other methods.

In one notable case, Indonesia launched an IPM program in 1986 to control the brown planthopper, a notorious pest that lays its eggs inside rice plant stalks, out of range of pesticides. Outreach agents trained farmers to monitor their fields for planthoppers and their natural predators, and to treat outbreaks using minimal pesticide applications or alternative methods such as biological controls. Over the following decade, rice production increased by 15 percent while pesticide use fell by 60 percent. Yields on IPM lands rose from 6 to almost 7.5 tons of rice per hectare.

Gathering insects for identification during IPM training, Indonesia © J.M. Micaud, Food and Agriculture Organization. Field schools advance IPM programs by enabling farmers to see and compare the results of various pest control methods.

Plowing originally developed as a way to control pests (weeds), but created new issues in the process. Bare lands that have been plowed but have not yet developed crop cover are highly susceptible to erosion. The Dust Bowl that occurred in the United States in the 1930s was caused partly by poor agricultural practices. With support from the federal government, farmers plowed land that was too dry for farming across the Great Plains, destroying prairie grasses that held topsoil in place. When repeated droughts and windstorms struck the central and western states, hundreds of millions of tons of topsoil blew away. Today a similar process is taking place in northern China, where over-plowing and overgrazing are expanding the Gobi Desert and generating huge dust storms that scour Beijing and other large cities to the east.

Excessive plowing can also depress crop production by altering soil microbial communities and contributing to the breakdown of organic matter. To conserve soil carbon and reduce erosion, some farmers have turned to alternative practices such as no-till or direct-drill agriculture, in which crops are sown without cultivating the soil in advance. Direct drilling has been widely adopted in Australia, and some 17.5 percent of U.S. croplands were planted using no-till techniques as of the year 2000 ( footnote 8 ).

No-till agriculture enhances soil development and fertility. It is usually practiced in combination with methods that leave crop residues on the field, which helps to preserve moisture, prevent erosion, and increase soil carbon pools. However, no-till requires an alternative strategy for weed control and thus frequently involves substantial use of herbicides and chemical means to control other pests.

Many subsistence farmers in traditional societies raise livestock along with their crops, either for their families’ use or for sale. But in industrialized nations, animal agriculture has been transformed in much the same way as crop production over the past century. Modern livestock farms are large and specialized and rely heavily on technology inputs. Like major plant crops, meat and dairy products are increasingly produced through a kind of monoculture in which farmers raise one or a few animal strains that have been bred to maximize output—hens that lay more eggs, dairy cows that produce more milk, or pigs that grow quickly and develop lean meat. Producers use technological inputs, such as antibiotics and hormone treatments, to make animals grow larger and more quickly.

To maximize efficiency, large-scale livestock farms confine animals indoors instead of letting them range outside (Fig. 10). Confining animals makes it easier to control the amount and type of feed they receive, administer medications and growth supplements, and artificially inseminate breeding females. But it also generates new management issues. Crowding stresses animals and promotes disease transmission, so many livestock farmers use antibiotics not only to treat sick animals but to prevent illnesses and promote growth. Many of these drugs are identical or similar to antibiotics used in human medicine, so their overuse threatens human health by promoting the development of drug-resistant bacterial strains that can infect humans through the food chain or via direct exposure to farm animals or wastes.

In addition, large farms accumulate massive quantities of animal waste. One cow can produce more than 40 pounds of manure per day. Manure liquefies when it is washed out of barns, so it is too heavy to transport economically over long distances. Many large farms store millions of gallons of manure onsite in tanks or lagoons (which may be lined or unlined, depending on local regulations), until it can be used on neighboring fields.

Confined hog production facility © United States Geological Survey, Toxic Substances Hydrology Program. Large hog farms may house 10,000 or more hogs indoors for their entire life spans. On many U.S. farms, breeding sows are kept for weeks at a time in individual crates too narrow for the animals to turn around.

When manure leaks or spills from storage, it sends large pulses of nutrients into local water bodies, causing algal blooms that deplete dissolved oxygen in the water and kill fish when they die and decompose. Nutrient pollution also occurs when manure is applied too heavily to farmland, so that plants cannot take up all of the available nitrogen and phosphate before the manure leaches into nearby rivers and streams. Excess nutrients, mainly from agricultural runoff, are a major cause of “dead zones” in large water bodies such as the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Manure also pollutes water with bacteria, hormones, and other chemical residues from animal feed.

Large livestock farms also generate air pollution from manure, dust, and greenhouse gases produced in the digestive systems of cattle and sheep. Many people who live near animal feeding operations complain about smells and suffer physical symptoms such as burning eyes, sore throats, and nausea. A 2003 National Research Council study found that livestock farms produce many air pollutants that are significant hazards at scales ranging from local to global (Table 1). However, the report concluded that more analysis was required to develop accurate measurements of these emissions as a basis for regulations and that the United States lacked standards for quantifying odor, which could be caused by various combinations of hundreds of compounds.

World demand for meat and dairy products is increasing, driven by population growth and rising incomes in developing countries. Because of this growth and the trend toward raising animals on large-scale farms, the FAO calls livestock farming “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” According to FAO’s estimates, livestock production generates 18 percent of world greenhouse gas emissions (more than the transport sector), accounts for 8 percent of world water use, and is probably the largest sectoral water pollution source.

With global meat and dairy production predicted to roughly double between 2000 and 2050, these environmental impacts will have to be drastically reduced just to keep agricultural pollution from worsening.

Agriculture and Genetic Technology

Farmers have manipulated the genetic makeup of plants and animals since the dawn of agriculture. Initially they used  selective breeding  to promote qualities that made breeds readily usable for agriculture, such as animals that domesticated well and plants that were easy to harvest. Next, breeders focused on varieties that could be grown outside of their native geographic range—for example, overcoming natural photoperiod requirements (the amount of daylight that plants need to flower). In the twentieth century, plant geneticists selected for traits that would allow plants to use high levels of water and nitrogen to increase yields. Similarly, animal breeders worked to increase the amount of meat or milk that various domestic animal lines produced.

Today classical agricultural breeding is a highly quantitative science that uses genetic markers (specific DNA sequences) to select for desired characteristics. This approach enables scientists to manipulate the genetic makeup of crops with substantial precision, as long as genetic variation exists for particular traits. Agricultural breeders also use biotechnology to move genes across taxonomic barriers, combining genetic material from species that would not cross-breed naturally. For example, Bt corn has been modified by inserting a gene from the bacterium  Bacillus thuringiensis  that kills harmful insects so that farmers do not need to use insecticide.

Since the mid-1990s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved 63 genetically engineered (GE) crops for unrestricted sale, including strains of corn, soybeans, cotton, potatoes, wheat, canola, and papaya. Most of these crops have been developed to tolerate herbicides or resist insects or fungi, while others have been engineered for specific product qualities such as longer shelf life. Products under development include grains, field crops, fruits, vegetables, trees, and flowers designed to achieve desirable growing properties such as cold or drought resistance or efficient use of nitrogen. The extent to which such strategies will be able to enhance agricultural productivity, however, remains to be seen.

An alternative use of biotechnology that some supporters advocate is to develop crops with improved nutritional content to combat nutritional disorders. One widely-publicized product is golden rice, a rice variety into which several “trans” or foreign genes have been added so that the plant produces beta-carotene (vitamin A) in its grains. Vitamin A deficiencies are widespread in societies that consume rice-based diets, causing thousands of cases of blindness and premature deaths among children in developing countries every year. Researchers are currently working to produce golden rice that contains the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A in a 100 to 200 gram serving, as well as to ensure the bioavailability of the beta-carotene contained within the modified rice grains. But not everyone is convinced by this approach: some experts argue that the same goals could be met more cheaply by promoting balanced, diverse diets in the target countries.

Conventional and golden rice © 2007. Golden Rice Humanitarian Board. Along with wheat, maize (corn), and potatoes, rice is one of the world’s most important staple foods. These foods contain widely varying levels of many important micronutrients. Golden rice is designed to eliminate one deficiency by producing vitamin A in its grains.

In addition to questioning whether agricultural and nutritional goals might be more effectively met using more traditional approaches, critics have raised many concerns about GE foods, including potential harm to nearby ecosystems and the possibility that GE crops or animals will hybridize with and alter the genetic makeup of wild species. For example, over-planting Bt-resistant crops could promote increased Bt resistance among pests, while genes from GE crops could give wild plants qualities that make them more weedy and invasive. Although most of these effects will probably be benign, it is hard to predict when and where GE species could have harmful effects on surrounding ecosystems.

A 2002 National Research Council report concluded that genetically modified plants posed the same broad types of environmental risks as conventionally-produced hybrids, like the strains introduced during the Green Revolution. For example, both kinds of plants could spread into surrounding ecosystems and compete with local species. But the report noted that either type of plant could have specific traits that posed unique threats and accordingly called for case-by-case regulation of new GE strains. The committee also observed that future generations of GE plants are likely to have multiple introduced traits and forecast that these products will raise issues that cannot be predicted based on experience with early herbicide- and pest-resistant crops.

Sustainable Agriculture

Growing concern about agricultural intensification in developed countries and its negative environmental impacts spurred an alternative movement in the 1970s to promote what advocates called sustainable agriculture. This perspective drew inspiration from sources that included organic farming (raising crops and animals with minimal synthetic inputs), the international environmental movement, and development advocates who criticized the Green Revolution for relying too heavily on pesticides and fertilizer. Ecology is a central pillar of sustainable agriculture, which treats farmed areas first and foremost as ecosystems, albeit unique ecosystems that have been disturbed and simplified by harvesting.

Few people would argue against the concept of sustainable agriculture, but there is no universally-agreed definition of what it means. Agricultural economist Gordon Conway describes sustainability as “the ability of an agroecosystem [an agricultural ecosystem and its social and economic setting] to maintain productivity in the face of stress or shock.” Farmers use countermeasures to respond to stresses and shocks. They may draw on resources that are internal to the system, such as plants’ natural pest resistance, or on outside inputs like herbicides and fertilizers.

Internal inputs typically rely on natural resources. Figure 15 shows the re-emerging practice of green manuring—tilling fresh plant material into soil to improve its physical and biological qualities. Outside inputs may be equally useful, but they usually cost more and may alter farming systems in unexpected ways—for example, introducing new species that compete with established crops.

Chopping and disking mustard green manure, Washington state, 2003 © Washington State University Extension. Farmers have practiced green manuring for centuries, but the technique has become more sophisticated with growing understanding of soil ecology, plant biochemistry, and nutrient cycling.

Other formulations of sustainable agriculture, including legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in 1990, present it as a compromise between several sets of social goals, including but not limited to environmental conservation. Producing enough food, fuel, and fiber to meet human needs is a major objective, along with improving environmental quality, using non-renewable resources efficiently, and ensuring that farmers can earn reasonable livings from their products ( footnote 17 ). In terms of methods, sustainable agriculture typically stresses treating soil as an ecosystem and using methods to keep it healthy, such as retaining organic matter and preserving diverse communities of soil organisms.

Many people equate sustainable agriculture with  organic farming , which is practiced according to national legal standards in more than 60 countries, including the United States, the European Union, Britain, Canada, and Australia. Generally, organic standards bar the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and genetically modified organisms for crop production and use of antibiotics, hormones, and synthetic feeds for animals. Organic agriculture typically has less severe environmental impacts than intensive farming with synthetic inputs. On average, organic farming conserves biodiversity, improves the structure and organic content of soil, leaches less nitrate into water bodies, and produces much less pesticide pollution.

As of 2002–2003, about 4 percent of utilized agricultural land in the European Union and up to 4 percent of farmed land for certain crops in the United States was farmed organically. Together, the United States and the E.U. account for 95 percent of global organic food sales.

U.S. certified organic acreage and operations, 2003 © United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Organic farming accounts for a small fraction of land under cultivation worldwide, but interest in organic methods is rising. Organically grown products typically earn significant market premiums over conventional crops.

Organic farming is not without its drawbacks. Output from organic farms is typically lower than from conventional agriculture for at least several years after shifting to organic production, because it takes time to restore soil productivity naturally and establish beneficial insect populations. Organic agriculture is more labor-intensive than conventional farming, so production costs are higher and farmers must receive higher prices to make a profit. And transitioning to organic production takes several years, so it is too expensive and difficult for small-scale farmers without access to technical assistance and transition funding.

With world population projected to rise from 6.5 billion in 2006 to roughly 10 billion by 2050, and growing demand for meat in developing countries (which increases demand for grain as livestock feed), world grain production may have to double in coming decades. If nations take the intensive route to this goal, using even more fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation, nutrient pollution and freshwater depletion will increase well beyond current levels—the antithesis of sustainable agriculture ( footnote 18 ).

One potential solution currently at the experimental stage is “precision agriculture”—using remote sensing to help farmers target fertilizer, herbicides, seeds, and water to exact locations on a field, so that resources are not over-applied or used where they are not needed. For example, satellite data could identify sectors within large cultivated fields that needed additional water or fertilizer and communicate the information to farmers driving machinery equipped with global positioning system receivers (reducing the need to apply inputs uniformly across entire fields).

More broadly, agriculture will have to become more efficient in order to double world grain production without further degrading the environment. No single innovation will provide a complete solution. Rather, feeding the world sustainably is likely to require a combination of many technological inputs and sustainable techniques.

Food Resources Copyright © by Matthew R. Fisher is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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127 Food Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

When it comes to writing essays about food, the possibilities are endless. From exploring the cultural significance of certain dishes to analyzing the science behind food trends, there are countless topics to choose from. If you're looking for inspiration, here are 127 food essay topic ideas and examples to get you started:

• The impact of food advertising on children's dietary habits
• The rise of veganism in mainstream culture
• The history of chocolate and its cultural significance
• The health benefits of a Mediterranean diet
• The environmental impact of meat consumption
• The role of food in shaping cultural identity
• The ethics of food production and consumption
• The psychology of comfort food
• The science behind food cravings
• The cultural significance of street food
• The history of fast food in America
• The impact of food insecurity on public health
• The rise of food delivery services and their impact on traditional restaurants
• The health risks of processed foods
• The cultural significance of food in literature and film
• The impact of food deserts on low-income communities
• The rise of food blogging and its influence on food culture
• The health benefits of fermented foods
• The history of food preservation techniques
• The impact of food packaging on the environment
• The cultural significance of holiday foods
• The rise of food allergies and their impact on the food industry
• The history of food riots and their role in shaping social movements
• The impact of food waste on the environment
• The role of food in social gatherings and celebrations
• The cultural significance of food rituals and traditions
• The rise of food tourism and its impact on local economies
• The history of food safety regulations
• The health benefits of plant-based diets
• The impact of food trends on consumer behavior
• The cultural significance of food in religious ceremonies
• The rise of food trucks and their influence on urban dining
• The history of food as medicine
• The impact of food insecurity on mental health
• The role of food in shaping national identity
• The health risks of sugar consumption
• The cultural significance of food in art and photography
• The impact of food allergies on social interactions
• The rise of food delivery apps and their impact on the restaurant industry
• The history of food preservation techniques in different cultures
• The health benefits of a plant-based diet
• The cultural significance of food in different regions of the world
• The impact of food advertising on consumer behavior
• The role of food in shaping family relationships
• The rise of food waste and its impact on the environment
• The history of food packaging and its evolution over time
• The health risks of processed foods and artificial additives
• The cultural significance of food in different religious traditions
• The impact of food insecurity on children's academic performance
• The rise of food delivery services and their impact on traditional dining experiences
• The history of food preservation techniques in ancient civilizations
• The health benefits of a Mediterranean diet and its impact on longevity
• The cultural significance of street food in different countries
• The impact of food deserts on low-income communities and their access to nutritious foods
• The rise of food blogging and its influence on food trends
• The history of fast food in America and its role in shaping American dietary habits
• The health risks of sugar consumption and its impact on obesity rates
• The cultural significance of food in different social classes
• The impact of food waste on the environment and potential solutions to reduce waste
• The role of food in social gatherings and celebrations and its impact on community bonding
• The rise of food tourism and its impact on local economies and cultural exchange
• The history of food safety regulations and their evolution over time
• The health benefits of plant-based diets and their impact on chronic diseases
• The cultural significance of food in different religious ceremonies and rituals
• The impact of food allergies on social interactions and mental health
• The role of food in shaping national identity and cultural heritage
• The health risks of processed foods and their impact on public health
• The cultural significance of food in art and literature
• The impact of food advertising on children's dietary habits and preferences
• The rise of veganism in mainstream culture and its impact on the food industry
• The history of chocolate and its cultural significance in different cultures
• The health benefits of a Mediterranean diet and its impact on cardiovascular health
• The environmental impact of meat consumption and potential alternatives
• The role of food in shaping cultural identity and preserving traditions
• The ethics of food production and consumption and

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Essays About Food: Top 5 Examples and 6 Writing Prompts

Food is one of the greatest joys of life; it is both necessary to live and able to lift our spirits. If you are writing essays about food, read our guide.

Many people live and die by food. While its primary purpose is to provide us with the necessary nutrients to carry out bodily functions, the satisfaction food can give a person is beyond compare. For people of many occupations, such as chefs, waiters, bakers, and food critics, food has become a way of life.

Why do so many people enjoy food? It can provide us with the sensory pleasure we need to escape from the trials of daily life. From the moist tenderness of a good-quality steak to the sweet, rich decadence of a hot fudge sundae, food is truly magical. Instead of eating to stay alive, many even joke that they “live to eat.” In good food, every bite is like heaven.

5 Top Essay Examples

1. food essay by evelin tapia, 2. why japanese home cooking makes healthy feel effortless by kaki okumura, 3. why i love food by shuge luo.

• 4.  My Favorite Food by Jayasurya Mayilsamy 
• 5. ​​Osteria Francescana: does the world’s best restaurant live up to the hype? by Tanya Gold

6 Prompts for Essays About Food

1. what is your favorite dish, 2. what is your favorite cuisine, 3. is a vegan diet sustainable, 4. the dangers of fast food, 5. a special food memory, 6. the food of your home country.

“Food has so many things in them such as calories and fat. Eating healthy is important for everyone to live a healthy life. You can eat it, but eating it daily is bad for you stay healthy and eat the right foods. Deep fried foods hurt your health in many ways. Eat healthy and exercise to reduce the chances of any health problems.”

In this essay, Tapia writes about deep-fried foods and their effects on people’s health. She says they are high in trans fat, which is detrimental to one’s health. On the other hand, she notes reasons why people still eat foods such as potato chips and french fries, including exercise and simply “making the most of life.” Despite this, Tapia asserts her position that these foods should not be eaten in excess and can lead to a variety of health issues. She encourages people to live healthy lives by enjoying food but not overeating. 

“Because while a goal of many vegetables a day is admirable, in the beginning it’s much more sustainable to start with something as little as two. I learned that with an approach of two-vegetable dishes at a time, I would be a lot more consistent, and over time a large variety would become very natural. In fact, now following that framework and cooking a few simple dishes a day, I often find that it’s almost difficult to not reach at least several kinds of vegetables a day.”

Okumura discusses simple, healthy cooking in the Japanese tradition. While many tend to include as many vegetables as possible in their dishes for “health,” Okumura writes that just a few vegetables are necessary to make healthy but delicious dishes. With the help of Japanese pantry staples like miso and soy sauce, she makes a variety of traditional Japanese side dishes. She shows the wonders of food, even when executed in its simplest form. 

“I make pesto out of kale stems, toast the squash seeds for salad and repurpose my leftovers into brand new dishes. I love cooking because it’s an exercise in play. Cooking is forgiving in improvisation, and it can often surprise you. For example, did you know that adding ginger juice to your fried rice adds a surprisingly refreshing flavor that whets your appetite? Neither did I, until my housemate showed me their experiment.”

In her essay, Luo writes about her love for food and cooking, specifically how she can combine different ingredients from different cuisines to make delicious dishes. She recalls experiences with her native Chinese food and Italian, Singaporean, and Japanese Cuisine. The beauty of food, she says, is the way one can improvise a dish and create something magical. 

4.   My Favorite Food by Jayasurya Mayilsamy 

“There is no better feeling in the world than a warm pizza box on your lap. My love for Pizza is very high. I am always hungry for pizza, be it any time of the day. Cheese is the secret ingredient of any food it makes any food taste yummy. Nearly any ingredient can be put on pizza. Those diced vegetables, jalapenos, tomato sauce, cheese and mushrooms make me eat more and more like a unique work of art.”

Mayilsamy writes about pizza, a food he can’t get enough of, and why he enjoys it as much as he does. He explains the different elements of a good pizza, such as cheese, tomato sauce, other toppings, and the crust. He also briefly discusses the different types of pizzas, such as thin crust and deep dish. Finally, he gives readers an excellent description of a mouthwatering pizza, reminding them of the feeling of eating their favorite food. 

5. ​​ Osteria Francescana: does the world’s best restaurant live up to the hype? by Tanya Gold

“After three hours, I am exhausted from eating Bottura’s dreams, and perhaps that is the point. If some of it is delicious, it is also consuming. That is the shadow cast by the award in the hallway, next to the one of a man strangled by food. I do not know if this is the best restaurant on Earth, or even if such a claim is possible. I suspect such lists are designed largely for marketing purposes: when else does Restaurant magazine, which runs the competition, get global coverage for itself and its sponsors?”

Gold reviews the dishes at Osteria Francescana, which is regarded by many as the #1 restaurant in the world. She describes the calm, formal ambiance and the polished interiors of the restaurants. Most importantly, she goes course by course, describing each dish in detail, from risotto inspired by the lake to parmesan cheese in different textures and temperatures. Gold concludes that while a good experience, a meal at the restaurant is time-consuming, and her experience is inconclusive as to whether or not this is the best restaurant in the world. 

Everyone has a favorite food; in your essay, write about a dish you enjoy. You can discuss the recipe’s history by researching where it comes from, the famous chefs who created it, or which restaurants specialize in this dish. Provide your readers with an ingredients list, and describe how each ingredient is used in the recipe. Conclude your essay with a review of your experience recreating this recipe at home, discuss how challenging the recipe is, and if you enjoyed the experience.

Aside from a favorite dish, everyone prefers one type of cuisine. Discuss your favorite cuisine and give examples of typical dishes, preparations for food, and factors that influence your chosen cuisine. For example, you could choose Italian cuisine and discuss pasta, pizza, gelato, and other famous food items typically associated with Italian food.

Many people choose to adopt a vegan diet that consists of only plant-based food. For your essay, you can discuss this diet and explain why some people choose it. Then, research the sustainability of a plant-based diet and if a person can maintain a vegan diet while remaining healthy and energized. Provide as much evidence as possible by conducting interviews, referencing online sources, and including survey data. 

Fast food is a staple part of diets worldwide; children are often raised on salty bites of chicken, fries, and burgers. However, it has been linked to many health complications, including cancer and obesity . Research the dangers of fast food, describe each in your essay, and give examples of how it can affect you mentally and physically. 

Is there a memory involving food that you treasure? Perhaps it could be a holiday celebration, a birthday, or a regular day when went to a restaurant. Reflect on this memory, retelling your story in detail, and describe the meal you ate and why you remember it so fondly.

Every country has a rich culture, a big component of which is food. Research the history of food in your native country, writing about common native dishes and ingredients used in cooking. If there are religious influences on your country’s cuisine, note them as well. Share a few of these recipes in your essay for an engaging piece of writing.

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

For help picking your next essay topic, check out the best essay topics about social media .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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12.4 Annotated Student Sample: "Healthy Diets from Sustainable Sources Can Save the Earth" by Lily Tran

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Analyze how writers use evidence in research writing.
• Analyze the ways a writer incorporates sources into research writing, while retaining their own voice.
• Explain the use of headings as organizational tools in research writing.
• Analyze how writers use evidence to address counterarguments when writing a research essay.

Introduction

In this argumentative research essay for a first-year composition class, student Lily Tran creates a solid, focused argument and supports it with researched evidence. Throughout the essay, she uses this evidence to support cause-and-effect and problem-solution reasoning, make strong appeals, and develop her ethos on the topic.

Living by Their Own Words

Food as change.

public domain text For the human race to have a sustainable future, massive changes in the way food is produced, processed, and distributed are necessary on a global scale. end public domain text

annotated text Purpose. Lily Tran refers to what she sees as the general purpose for writing this paper: the problem of current global practices in food production, processing, and distribution. By presenting the “problem,” she immediately prepares readers for her proposed solution. end annotated text

public domain text The required changes will affect nearly all aspects of life, including not only world hunger but also health and welfare, land use and habitats, water quality and availability, energy use and production, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, economics, and even cultural and social values. These changes may not be popular, but they are imperative. The human race must turn to sustainable food systems that provide healthy diets with minimal environmental impact—and starting now. end public domain text

annotated text Thesis. Leading up to this clear, declarative thesis statement are key points on which Tran will expand later. In doing this, she presents some foundational evidence that connects the problem to the proposed solution. end annotated text

THE COMING FOOD CRISIS

public domain text The world population has been rising exponentially in modern history. From 1 billion in 1804, it doubled to approximately 2 billion by 1927, then doubled again to approximately 4 billion in 1974. By 2019, it had nearly doubled again, rising to 7.7 billion (“World Population by Year”). It has been projected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050 (Berners-Lee et al.). At the same time, the average life span also has been increasing. These situations have led to severe stress on the environment, particularly in the demands for food. It has been estimated, for example, that by 2050, milk production will increase 58 percent and meat production 73 percent (Chai et al.). end public domain text

annotated text Evidence. In this first supporting paragraph, Tran uses numerical evidence from several sources. This numerical data as evidence helps establish the projection of population growth. By beginning with such evidence, Tran underscores the severity of the situation. end annotated text

public domain text Theoretically, the planet can produce enough food for everyone, but human activities have endangered this capability through unsustainable practices. Currently, agriculture produces 10–23 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases—the most common being carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor— trap heat in the atmosphere, reradiate it, and send it back to Earth again. Heat trapped in the atmosphere is a problem because it causes unnatural global warming as well as air pollution, extreme weather conditions, and respiratory diseases. end public domain text

annotated text Audience. With her audience in mind, Tran briefly explains the problem of greenhouse gases and global warming. end annotated text

public domain text It has been estimated that global greenhouse gas emissions will increase by as much as 150 percent by 2030 (Chai et al.). Transportation also has a negative effect on the environment when foods are shipped around the world. As Joseph Poore of the University of Oxford commented, “It’s essential to be mindful about everything we consume: air-transported fruit and veg can create more greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram than poultry meat, for example” (qtd. in Gray). end public domain text

annotated text Transition. By beginning this paragraph with her own transition of ideas, Tran establishes control over the organization and development of ideas. Thus, she retains her sources as supports and does not allow them to dominate her essay. end annotated text

public domain text Current practices have affected the nutritional value of foods. Concentrated animal-feeding operations, intended to increase production, have had the side effect of decreasing nutritional content in animal protein and increasing saturated fat. One study found that an intensively raised chicken in 2017 contained only one-sixth of the amount of omega-3 fatty acid, an essential nutrient, that was in a chicken in 1970. Today the majority of calories in chicken come from fat rather than protein (World Wildlife Fund). end public domain text

annotated text Example. By focusing on an example (chicken), Tran uses specific research data to develop the nuance of the argument. end annotated text

public domain text Current policies such as government subsidies that divert food to biofuels are counterproductive to the goal of achieving adequate global nutrition. Some trade policies allow “dumping” of below-cost, subsidized foods on developing countries that should instead be enabled to protect their farmers and meet their own nutritional needs (Sierra Club). Too often, agriculture’s objectives are geared toward maximizing quantities produced per acre rather than optimizing output of critical nutritional needs and protection of the environment. end public domain text

AREAS OF CONCERN

Hunger and nutrition.

annotated text Headings and Subheadings. Throughout the essay, Tran has created headings and subheadings to help organize her argument and clarify it for readers. end annotated text

public domain text More than 820 million people around the world do not have enough to eat. At the same time, about a third of all grains and almost two-thirds of all soybeans, maize, and barley crops are fed to animals (Barnard). According to the World Health Organization, 462 million adults are underweight, 47 million children under 5 years of age are underweight for their height, 14.3 million are severely underweight for their height, and 144 million are stunted (“Malnutrition”). About 45 percent of mortality among children under 5 is linked to undernutrition. These deaths occur mainly in low- and middle-income countries where, in stark contrast, the rate of childhood obesity is rising. Globally, 1.9 billion adults and 38.3 million children are overweight or obese (“Obesity”). Undernutrition and obesity can be found in the same household, largely a result of eating energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars. The global impact of malnutrition, which includes both undernutrition and obesity, has lasting developmental, economic, social, and medical consequences. end public domain text

public domain text In 2019, Berners-Lee et al. published the results of their quantitative analysis of global and regional food supply. They determined that significant changes are needed on four fronts: end public domain text

Food production must be sufficient, in quantity and quality, to feed the global population without unacceptable environmental impacts. Food distribution must be sufficiently efficient so that a diverse range of foods containing adequate nutrition is available to all, again without unacceptable environmental impacts. Socio-economic conditions must be sufficiently equitable so that all consumers can access the quantity and range of foods needed for a healthy diet. Consumers need to be able to make informed and rational choices so that they consume a healthy and environmentally sustainable diet (10).

annotated text Block Quote. The writer has chosen to present important evidence as a direct quotation, using the correct format for direct quotations longer than four lines. See Section Editing Focus: Integrating Sources and Quotations for more information about block quotes. end annotated text

public domain text Among their findings, they singled out, in particular, the practice of using human-edible crops to produce meat, dairy, and fish for the human table. Currently 34 percent of human-edible crops are fed to animals, a practice that reduces calorie and protein supplies. They state in their report, “If society continues on a ‘business-as-usual’ dietary trajectory, a 119% increase in edible crops grown will be required by 2050” (1). Future food production and distribution must be transformed into systems that are nutritionally adequate, environmentally sound, and economically affordable. end public domain text

Land and Water Use

public domain text Agriculture occupies 40 percent of Earth’s ice-free land mass (Barnard). While the net area used for producing food has been fairly constant since the mid-20th century, the locations have shifted significantly. Temperate regions of North America, Europe, and Russia have lost agricultural land to other uses, while in the tropics, agricultural land has expanded, mainly as a result of clearing forests and burning biomass (Willett et al.). Seventy percent of the rainforest that has been cut down is being used to graze livestock (Münter). Agricultural use of water is of critical concern both quantitatively and qualitatively. Agriculture accounts for about 70 percent of freshwater use, making it “the world’s largest water-consuming sector” (Barnard). Meat, dairy, and egg production causes water pollution, as liquid wastes flow into rivers and to the ocean (World Wildlife Fund and Knorr Foods). According to the Hertwich et al., “the impacts related to these activities are unlikely to be reduced, but rather enhanced, in a business-as-usual scenario for the future” (13). end public domain text

annotated text Statistical Data. To develop her points related to land and water use, Tran presents specific statistical data throughout this section. Notice that she has chosen only the needed words of these key points to ensure that she controls the development of the supporting point and does not overuse borrowed source material. end annotated text

annotated text Defining Terms. Aware of her audience, Tran defines monocropping , a term that may be unfamiliar. end annotated text

public domain text Earth’s resources and ability to absorb pollution are limited, and many current agricultural practices undermine these capacities. Among these unsustainable practices are monocropping [growing a single crop year after year on the same land], concentrated animal-feeding operations, and overdependence on manufactured pesticides and fertilizers (Hamilton). Such practices deplete the soil, dramatically increase energy use, reduce pollinator populations, and lead to the collapse of resource supplies. One study found that producing one gram of beef for human consumption requires 42 times more land, 2 times more water, and 4 times more nitrogen than staple crops. It also creates 3 times more greenhouse gas emissions (Chai et al.). The EAT– Lancet Commission calls for “halting expansion of new agricultural land at the expense of natural ecosystems . . . strict protections on intact ecosystems, suspending concessions for logging in protected areas, or conversion of remaining intact ecosystems, particularly peatlands and forest areas” (Willett et al. 481). The Commission also calls for land-use zoning, regulations prohibiting land clearing, and incentives for protecting natural areas, including forests. end public domain text

annotated text Synthesis. The paragraphs above and below this comment show how Tran has synthesized content from several sources to help establish and reinforce key supports of her essay . end annotated text

Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change

public domain text Climate change is heavily affected by two factors: greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration. In nature, the two remain in balance; for example, most animals exhale carbon dioxide, and most plants capture carbon dioxide. Carbon is also captured, or sequestered, by soil and water, especially oceans, in what are called “sinks.” Human activities have skewed this balance over the past two centuries. The shift in land use, which exploits land, water, and fossil energy, has caused increased greenhouse-gas emissions, which in turn accelerate climate change. end public domain text

public domain text Global food systems are threatened by climate change because farmers depend on relatively stable climate systems to plan for production and harvest. Yet food production is responsible for up to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions (Barnard). While soil can be a highly effective means of carbon sequestration, agricultural soils have lost much of their effectiveness from overgrazing, erosion, overuse of chemical fertilizer, and excess tilling. Hamilton reports that the world’s cultivated and grazed soils have lost 50 to 70 percent of their ability to accumulate and store carbon. As a result, “billions of tons of carbon have been released into the atmosphere.” end public domain text

annotated text Direct Quotation and Paraphrase. While Tran has paraphrased some content of this source borrowing, because of the specificity and impact of the number— “billions of tons of carbon”—she has chosen to use the author’s original words. As she has done elsewhere in the essay, she has indicated these as directly borrowed words by placing them within quotation marks. See Section 12.5 for more about paraphrasing. end annotated text

public domain text While carbon sequestration has been falling, greenhouse gas emissions have been increasing as a result of the production, transport, processing, storage, waste disposal, and other life stages of food production. Agriculture alone is responsible for fully 10 to 12 percent of global emissions, and that figure is estimated to rise by up to 150 percent of current levels by 2030 (Chai et al.). Münter reports that “more greenhouse gas emissions are produced by growing livestock for meat than all the planes, trains, ships, cars, trucks, and all forms of fossil fuel-based transportation combined” (5). Additional greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide, are produced by the decomposition of organic wastes. Methane has 25 times and nitrous oxide has nearly 300 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide (Curnow). Agricultural and food production systems must be reformed to shift agriculture from greenhouse gas source to sink. end public domain text

Social and Cultural Values

public domain text As the Sierra Club has pointed out, agriculture is inherently cultural: all systems of food production have “the capacity to generate . . . economic benefits and ecological capital” as well as “a sense of meaning and connection to natural resources.” Yet this connection is more evident in some cultures and less so in others. Wealthy countries built on a consumer culture emphasize excess consumption. One result of this attitude is that in 2014, Americans discarded the equivalent of $165 billion worth of food. Much of this waste ended up rotting in landfills, comprised the single largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste, and contributed a substantial portion of U.S. methane emissions (Sierra Club). In low- and middle-income countries, food waste tends to occur in early production stages because of poor scheduling of harvests, improper handling of produce, or lack of market access (Willett et al.). The recent “America First” philosophy has encouraged prioritizing the economic welfare of one nation to the detriment of global welfare and sustainability. end public domain text

annotated text Synthesis and Response to Claims. Here, as in subsequent sections, while still relying heavily on facts and content from borrowed sources, Tran provides her synthesized understanding of the information by responding to key points. end annotated text

public domain text In response to claims that a vegetarian diet is a necessary component of sustainable food production and consumption, Lusk and Norwood determined the importance of meat in a consumer’s diet. Their study indicated that meat is the most valuable food category to consumers, and “humans derive great pleasure from consuming beef, pork, and poultry” (120). Currently only 4 percent of Americans are vegetarians, and it would be difficult to convince consumers to change their eating habits. Purdy adds “there’s the issue of philosophy. A lot of vegans aren’t in the business of avoiding animal products for the sake of land sustainability. Many would prefer to just leave animal husbandry out of food altogether.” end public domain text

public domain text At the same time, consumers expect ready availability of the foods they desire, regardless of health implications or sustainability of sources. Unhealthy and unsustainable foods are heavily marketed. Out-of-season produce is imported year-round, increasing carbon emissions from air transportation. Highly processed and packaged convenience foods are nutritionally inferior and waste both energy and packaging materials. Serving sizes are larger than necessary, contributing to overconsumption and obesity. Snack food vending machines are ubiquitous in schools and public buildings. What is needed is a widespread attitude shift toward reducing waste, choosing local fruits and vegetables that are in season, and paying attention to how foods are grown and transported. end public domain text

annotated text Thesis Restated. Restating her thesis, Tran ends this section by advocating for a change in attitude to bring about sustainability. end annotated text

DISSENTING OPINIONS

annotated text Counterclaims . Tran uses equally strong research to present the counterargument. Presenting both sides by addressing objections is important in constructing a clear, well-reasoned argument. Writers should use as much rigor in finding research-based evidence to counter the opposition as they do to develop their argument. end annotated text

public domain text Transformation of the food production system faces resistance for a number of reasons, most of which dispute the need for plant-based diets. Historically, meat has been considered integral to athletes’ diets and thus has caused many consumers to believe meat is necessary for a healthy diet. Lynch et al. examined the impact of plant-based diets on human physical health, environmental sustainability, and exercise performance capacity. The results show “it is unlikely that plant-based diets provide advantages, but do not suffer from disadvantages, compared to omnivorous diets for strength, anaerobic, or aerobic exercise performance” (1). end public domain text

public domain text A second objection addresses the claim that land use for animal-based food production contributes to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and is inefficient in terms of nutrient delivery. Berners-Lee et al. point out that animal nutrition from grass, pasture, and silage comes partially from land that cannot be used for other purposes, such as producing food directly edible by humans or for other ecosystem services such as biofuel production. Consequently, nutritional losses from such land use do not fully translate into losses of human-available nutrients (3). end public domain text

annotated text Paraphrase. Tran has paraphrased the information as support. Though she still cites the source, she has changed the words to her own, most likely to condense a larger amount of original text or to make it more accessible. end annotated text

public domain text While this objection may be correct, it does not address the fact that natural carbon sinks are being destroyed to increase agricultural land and, therefore, increase greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. end public domain text

public domain text Another significant dissenting opinion is that transforming food production will place hardships on farmers and others employed in the food industry. Farmers and ranchers make a major investment in their own operations. At the same time, they support jobs in related industries, as consumers of farm machinery, customers at local businesses, and suppliers for other industries such as food processing (Schulz). Sparks reports that “livestock farmers are being unfairly ‘demonized’ by vegans and environmental advocates” and argues that while farming includes both costs and benefits, the costs receive much more attention than the benefits. end public domain text

FUTURE GENERATIONS

public domain text The EAT– Lancet Commission calls for a transformation in the global food system, implementing different core processes and feedback. This transformation will not happen unless there is “widespread, multi-sector, multilevel action to change what food is eaten, how it is produced, and its effects on the environment and health, while providing healthy diets for the global population” (Willett et al. 476). System changes will require global efforts coordinated across all levels and will require governments, the private sector, and civil society to share a common vision and goals. Scientific modeling indicates 10 billion people could indeed be fed a healthy and sustainable diet. end public domain text

annotated text Conclusion. While still using research-based sources as evidence in the concluding section, Tran finishes with her own words, restating her thesis. end annotated text

public domain text For the human race to have a sustainable future, massive changes in the way food is produced, processed, and distributed are necessary on a global scale. The required changes will affect nearly all aspects of life, including not only world hunger but also health and welfare, land use and habitats, water quality and availability, energy use and production, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, economics, and even cultural and social values. These changes may not be popular, but they are imperative. They are also achievable. The human race must turn to sustainable food systems that provide healthy diets with minimal environmental impact, starting now. end public domain text

annotated text Sources. Note two important aspects of the sources chosen: 1) They represent a range of perspectives, and 2) They are all quite current. When exploring a contemporary topic, it is important to avoid research that is out of date. end annotated text

Works Cited

Barnard, Neal. “How Eating More Plants Can Save Lives and the Planet.” Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine , 24 Jan. 2019, www.pcrm.org/news/blog/how-eating-more-plants-can-save-lives-and-planet. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Berners-Lee, M., et al. “Current Global Food Production Is Sufficient to Meet Human Nutritional Needs in 2050 Provided There Is Radical Societal Adaptation.” Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene , vol. 6, no. 52, 2018, doi:10.1525/elementa.310. Accessed 7 Dec. 2020.

Chai, Bingli Clark, et al. “Which Diet Has the Least Environmental Impact on Our Planet? A Systematic Review of Vegan, Vegetarian and Omnivorous Diets.” Sustainability , vol. 11, no. 15, 2019, doi: underline 10.3390/su11154110 end underline . Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Curnow, Mandy. “Managing Manure to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” Government of Western Australia, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, 2 Nov. 2020, www.agric.wa.gov.au/climate-change/managing-manure-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions. Accessed 9 Dec. 2020.

Gray, Richard. “Why the Vegan Diet Is Not Always Green.” BBC , 13 Feb. 2020, www.bbc.com/future/article/20200211-why-the-vegan-diet-is-not-always-green. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Hamilton, Bruce. “Food and Our Climate.” Sierra Club, 2014, www.sierraclub.org/compass/2014/10/food-and-our-climate. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Hertwich. Edgar G., et al. Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production. United Nations Environment Programme, 2010, www.resourcepanel.org/reports/assessing-environmental-impacts-consumption-and-production.

Lusk, Jayson L., and F. Bailey Norwood. “Some Economic Benefits and Costs of Vegetarianism.” Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , vol. 38, no. 2, 2009, pp. 109-24, doi: 10.1017/S1068280500003142. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Lynch Heidi, et al. “Plant-Based Diets: Considerations for Environmental Impact, Protein Quality, and Exercise Performance.” Nutrients, vol. 10, no. 12, 2018, doi:10.3390/nu10121841. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Münter, Leilani. “Why a Plant-Based Diet Will Save the World.” Health and the Environment. Disruptive Women in Health Care & the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2012, archive.epa.gov/womenandgirls/web/pdf/1016healththeenvironmentebook.pdf.

Purdy, Chase. “Being Vegan Isn’t as Good for Humanity as You Think.” Quartz , 4 Aug. 2016, qz.com/749443/being-vegan-isnt-as-environmentally-friendly-as-you-think/. Accessed 7 Dec. 2020.

Schulz, Lee. “Would a Sudden Loss of the Meat and Dairy Industry, and All the Ripple Effects, Destroy the Economy?” Iowa State U Department of Economics, www.econ.iastate.edu/node/691. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Sierra Club. “Agriculture and Food.” Sierra Club, 28 Feb. 2015, www.sierraclub.org/policy/agriculture/food. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Sparks, Hannah. “Veganism Won’t Save the World from Environmental Ruin, Researchers Warn.” New York Post , 29 Nov. 2019, nypost.com/2019/11/29/veganism-wont-save-the-world-from-environmental-ruin-researchers-warn/. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Willett, Walter, et al. “Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT– Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems.” The Lancet, vol. 393, no. 10170, 2019. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

World Health Organization. “Malnutrition.” World Health Organization, 1 Apr. 2020, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutrition. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.

World Health Organization. “Obesity and Overweight.” World Health Organization, 1 Apr. 2020, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.

World Wildlife Fund. Appetite for Destruction: Summary Report. World Wildlife Fund, 2017, www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2017-10/WWF_AppetiteForDestruction_Summary_Report_SignOff.pdf.

World Wildlife Fund and Knorr Foods. Future Fifty Foods. World Wildlife Fund, 2019, www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-02/Knorr_Future_50_Report_FINAL_Online.pdf.

“World Population by Year.” Worldometer , www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-by-year/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.

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Food Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on food.

Food is the basic human need to stay alive. Moreover, it is the need of every living organism . Therefore it is important that we should not waste food. Our world consists of different types of cultures. These cultures have varieties of dishes of food in them.

Thus, all the dishes have different taste. Furthermore, our nature provides us a variety of food. From fruits to vegetables, from Dairy food to seafood everything is available. Different countries have their own specialty of dishes. Therefore some of them are below:

World-famous Cuisines

Italian Cuisines – Italian cuisines is one of the most popular cuisines around the world. Moreover, it is widely available in our India too. Dishes like pizza, pasta, and lasagna own a special place in the hearts’ of people.

Furthermore, restaurants like Dominos and Pizza hut are available all over the country. People of every age love the taste of these Italian dishes. Also, Italian dishes are famous for their’ cheese filling. Every dish is load with cheese. Which enhances the taste of these Italian dishes.

Indian cuisine – Indian cuisine is always filled with a lot of herbs and spices. Furthermore, the specialty of Indian dishes is, it is always filled with curries. Whether veg or non-veg the dishes are in curry form. Moreover, Indian cuisine has so many varieties of food that has further branches. The Branch consists of Mughal cuisine which is mostly of non-vegetarian dishes. Also, almost every Indian love Muglia dishes.

Chinese Cuisine – Chinese cuisine in India is also very popular. There are many Chinese theme-based restaurants here. Moreover, in these restaurants Chinese are preferable chefs because they can only give the perfect Chinese blend. Chinese cuisines have a wide variety of dishes. Some of them are Chinese noodles, fried rice, Dumplings, etc. Dumplings have a different name here. They go by the name of momos in India and people love the taste of it.

These were some of the favorites of Indian people. Moreover, these are in almost every part of the city. You can find it anywhere, whether be it in 5-star restaurants or at the side of the street as street foods.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Importance of Food in Our Life

We cannot deny the importance of food in our lives. As it is the basic need to survive. Yet some people waste not thinking that there are still some people that do not get any of it. We should always be careful while taking a meal on our plates.

In other words, we should take only that much that our stomach can allow. Or else there will be wasting of food . In India there are many people living in slums, they do not have proper shelter. Moreover, they are not able to have even a one-time meal. They starve for days and are always in a state of sickness.

Many children are there on roads who are laboring to get a daily meal. After seeing conditions like these people should not dare to waste food. Moreover, we should always provide food to the needy ones as much as we can.

Q1. Name any two different types of cuisines available in India.

A1. The two different types of cuisines available in India are Italian and Chinese cuisine. These are famous apart from Indian cuisine.

Q2. How can we not waste food?

A2. You cannot waste food by taking only a sufficient amount of it. Moreover, people should seal pack the leftover food and give it to the beggars. So that they can at least stay healthy and not starve.

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Essay on Importance of Food

Students are often asked to write an essay on Importance of Food in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Importance of Food

The vital role of food.

Food plays a crucial role in our lives. It provides us with the energy we need to carry out our daily activities. We cannot survive without food, as it is the fuel for our body.

Nutrition and Growth

Nutrition is essential for growth, especially in children. It helps in building strong bones and muscles. A balanced diet ensures we get all the nutrients required for healthy growth.

Food and Health

Eating healthy food helps prevent diseases. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains boost our immunity, keeping us healthy and strong. It’s important to eat a variety of foods for overall wellbeing.

Food and Culture

Food also brings people together. It’s a vital part of our culture and traditions, helping us connect with our roots and each other. Every culture has unique dishes that reflect its history and lifestyle.

Also check:

• Paragraph on Importance of Food

250 Words Essay on Importance of Food

Introduction.

Food is the fundamental necessity of life. It provides us with the energy to carry out daily tasks, supports our immune system, and contributes to the healthy functioning of our body and mind. Understanding the importance of food transcends beyond the realm of basic sustenance and delves into the realms of health, culture, and socio-economic dynamics.

Nutrition and Health

Food is the primary source of nutrients that our bodies need to function effectively. It provides us with carbohydrates for energy, proteins for muscle development, fats for cell function, and vitamins and minerals for immune support and other essential bodily functions. A balanced diet can prevent malnutrition and a multitude of health issues, emphasizing the importance of food in maintaining good health.

Cultural Significance

Food also carries cultural significance. It is an integral part of traditions, rituals, and celebrations, reflecting the unique identity of different cultures. Food brings people together, fostering a sense of community and belonging.

Economic Implication

On a larger scale, food plays a pivotal role in the economy. The food industry generates employment, contributes to GDP, and is a significant factor in trade relations between countries. Moreover, food security is a critical aspect of national security, underlining the strategic importance of food.

In conclusion, food is much more than mere sustenance. It is a vital cog in the wheel of life, impacting our health, culture, and economy. Understanding the importance of food can lead us towards a healthier, more inclusive, and sustainable world.

500 Words Essay on Importance of Food

Introduction: the necessity of food.

Food is an indispensable part of our lives. It is not just about satisfying our taste buds, but it is a basic necessity for survival. Beyond survival, food plays a pivotal role in our overall growth, development, and well-being.

The Biological Importance of Food

Food is the primary source of energy for all organisms. The human body needs a variety of nutrients to function optimally, and these nutrients are obtained from the food we consume. Proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals are all critical for various biological processes. For instance, proteins are essential for tissue repair and muscle growth, carbohydrates provide energy, fats serve as energy storage, and vitamins and minerals are crucial for several metabolic activities.

Food and Physical Health

The link between food and physical health is undeniable. A well-balanced diet can help maintain a healthy weight, strengthen the immune system, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Conversely, poor dietary choices can lead to obesity, malnutrition, and various health complications. Therefore, understanding the nutritional value of food and making informed dietary choices is crucial for maintaining physical health.

Food and Mental Health

The importance of food extends to our mental health as well. Various studies suggest a strong correlation between diet and mental health. Certain nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, and antioxidants are known to support brain health. They can enhance cognitive functions, improve mood, and even reduce the risk of mental disorders like depression and anxiety. On the other hand, a diet high in processed foods and sugars can adversely affect brain function and mood.

Food and Cultural Significance

Food also holds significant cultural and social value. It is an integral part of our cultural identity and heritage. Different cultures have unique cuisines, food habits, and rituals, reflecting their history, geography, and lifestyle. Sharing meals is a universal way of fostering social connections and community bonds.

Food and Environmental Impact

The food we consume also has a profound impact on the environment. Sustainable food practices can help conserve natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote biodiversity. Conversely, unsustainable agricultural practices and food wastage can lead to environmental degradation. Therefore, conscious food choices can contribute to environmental sustainability.

Conclusion: The Multifaceted Importance of Food

In conclusion, food is not just a means of survival. It is a complex entity that influences our physical and mental health, reflects our cultural identity, fosters social connections, and impacts the environment. Understanding the importance of food in these multiple dimensions can guide us towards healthier, more sustainable, and culturally rich lifestyles. As we move forward, let us acknowledge the power of food and use it responsibly to nourish ourselves and the planet.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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• Executive Summary
• Scope of the Challenge and Menu of Possible Solutions
• Course 1 Reduce Growth in Demand for Food and Other Agricultural Products (Synthesis)
• Course 2 Increase Food Production Without Expanding Agricultural Land (Synthesis)
• Course 3 Protect and Restore Natural Ecosystems and Limit Agricultural Land-Shifting (Synthesis)
• Course 4 Increase Fish Supply (Synthesis)
• Course 5 Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agricultural Production
• The Complete Menu: Creating a Sustainable Food Future
• Cross-Cutting Policies for a Sustainable Food Future
• Conclusions
• Authors and Contributors, Acknowledgments
• About this Report
• Table of Contents

WRI Homepage

Course 1: Reduce Growth in Demand for Food and other Agricultural Products (Synthesis)

Course 2: Increase Food Production without Expanding Agricultural Land (Synthesis)

Course 3: Protect and Restore Natural Ecosystems and Limit Agricultural Land-Shifting (Synthesis)

Course 4: Increase Fish Supply (Synthesis)

Course 5: Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agricultural Production (Synthesis)

• Scope of the Challenge and Menu of Possible Solutions (Synthesis) This World Resources Report addresses a fundamental question: How can the world adequately feed nearly 10 billion people by the year 2050 in ways that help combat poverty, allow the world to meet climate goals, and reduce pressures on the broader environment? Read more
• Cross-Cutting Policies for a Sustainable Food Future (Synthesis) The menu items for a sustainable food future, described and analyzed in our five courses, focus heavily on technical opportunities. However, menu items cannot be implemented in isolation, and they are all subject to a variety of cross-cutting public and private policies. Read more

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Great argumentative essay topics about food with essay prompts, bob cardens.

• July 31, 2022
• Essay Topics and Ideas , Samples

It can be hard to think of a good Argumentative Essay Topics About Food. You want something that will engage your audience and get them thinking, but you also need to pick a topic that you feel passionate about. In this article, we’ll give you a list of some great Argumentative Essay Topics About Food to get you started!

What You'll Learn

Great Argumentative Essay Topics About Food

Differences Between Food Intoxication and Food Infection

Essay Prompt: Food infections occur when individuals consume food contaminated by infectious organisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins. Food contamination can happen during the production of food.

Food as a Way to Showcase African Americans’ Identity

Essay Prompt: For the majority, there is not much to think about food. Food is simply a means to an end. We eat so we could be full. However, others understand that food is not just a means. They understand that what they eat is a representation of who they are.

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Why Do People Waste Food?

Essay Prompt: Evidence reveals that the food wasted annually could be enough to feed an enormous number of people. There are two main reasons why people waste food. First, when people visit restaurants, they are usually starving. Consequently, they are likely to order more food than they need.

The Food we Eat

Essay Prompt: The food we eat contains nutrients necessary for nourishing and proper functioning of the body. It is important to understand well the food we put into our mouths because it determines our health and wellbeing. The food we eat contains nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins…

Food Preference Identifies Identity

Essay Prompt: Although food variations can be found anywhere in the world whether it is local or adopted; that people are liking food regardless of their roots and preferences; those food varieties these days are being adopted and reformulated from culture to culture, food variation identifies the individual’s culture.  

Please watch the documentary “Food Chains”. Literature & Language

Essay Prompt: Food Chains is a documentary that was produced by Eva Longoria on November 24, 2014. This documentary reveals how farmworkers in the United States are abused by the multibillion-dollar supermarkets and food industries

Essay Prompt: Food wastage refers to the loss of unconsumed food. Food wastage occurs in various stages, such as production, processing, distribution, retail, and consumption. Conversely, food loss refers to the removal of food intended for consumption from the food chain. In most cases, food that ends up.

Unique Argumentative Essay Topics About Food

The topic is fast Food and health

Essay Prompt: Fast food refers to types of foods that are prepared within a short time before they are served. They are relatively cheaper than ordinary food cooked in homes. In most restaurants, fast foods are readily available and one does not need time to wait for it to be prepared.  

Food Security and Reasons Why LDCs Are Food-Deficit Countries

Essay Prompt: Food security entails the availability of adequate, nutritious, sufficient, and safe food that enable people to maintain their health and have active lives. In particular, food security comprises of three primary elements, namely availability, access, and utilization. (Argumentative Essay Topics About Food)

The Slow Food Movement will improve the Condition of the Environment

Essay Prompt: The slow food movement has been popularized due to the positive effects that it has on the environment. The movement supports the consumption of locally manufactured food instead of imported foods, which ultimately cuts the use of fossil fuel in the transportation of food.

The Concept of Right to Food, Justice, and Sovereignty and the Food Insecurity

Essay Prompt: From the video, key concepts discussed are the right to food, justice, and sovereignty. Every human being has a right to food, which involves the right to have adequate food which is correspondent to their cultural tradition, as well as enhance physical and mental status for a dignified and fulfilling life.

Here are additional  60+ Top And Best Argumentative Essay Topics For Different Contexts

Food Policy and Public Health’s Impacts on Mexican Food System

Essay Prompt: Food policy and public health are always a major concern to different countries across the globe. Food policy is the way a government manages and regulates the food system and industry, the laws governing the trading of food products and inputs.

Food History. Could slow Food be the best choice for producing Food for humanity?

Essay Prompt: Slow Food mainly seeks to attain the goal of producing food that is good, clean, and fair. Additionally, it also seeks to continue feeding the world without necessarily harming the environment. Unique Argumentative Essay Topics About Food.

Find out more on  Argumentative Essay Topics About Social Media [Updated]

Reflection on the Lecture About Food Justice

Essay Prompt: This lecture explores diverse concepts, with food justice attracting significant attention. Food justice ensures that everybody acquires access to nutritional and affordable food, not forgetting the safety of those involved in food production.

Research Paper Topics on Food

Cause and Effect Eating out at Fast Food

Essay Prompt: Fast food was made famous in the 1950s through Mc Donald’s company. The industry has been growing vast in the past years. This has been a result of the high demand from customers and improvements in the products and services.

Facts Impacting Food Choices

Essay Prompt: The state of human health is predominantly a faction of food choices that an individual makes every day. My daily food choices are mostly affected by cultural influences, time, and cost. My cultural background affects my daily food choices.

How Food Affects Human Health

Essay Prompt: Currently, the numbers of teenagers with poor eating habits have drastically improved as the sizes of fast-food restaurants also increase. Specifically, the issue has been observed in the US where several new fast-food businesses continue to emerge which produce unhealthy food products.

Global Food Politics

Essay Prompt: After viewing the week eight lecture recording, different key concepts can be unpacked from the discussion, such as student overall essay performance, global food politics, and diabetics. Global food politics is one of the critical concepts that caught my attention.

Traceability, Suitability, and Regenerative Agriculture in Food Supply Chain

Essay Prompt: The Food Industry plays a significant part in providing fundamental necessities and essentials with which diverse human behaviors and activities are given. When food is harvested or manufactured, it must go through several processes.

How can Food supply chains prepare for the future in terms of traceability, suitability, and regenerative agriculture?

Food Insecurity and the Strategies for Solving It

Essay Prompt: A key concept that was clarified in the Zoom Lecture is food insecurity. Food insecurity is an issue that faces a significant number of households globally. During the pandemic, many people experienced food insecurity.

Eating Unhealthily and Our Expectations in How Others Eat

Essay Prompt: Is It Ethical to Eat Unhealthily? People’s food intake comprises the food systems, which are composed of elements such as the workforce, infrastructures, environment, institutions, and other activities associated with food.

How should a developing country improve its Food security? Select a single developing country to consider?

Essay Prompt: Food is critical to human sustenance. Through mankind’s journey, food has been front and center of major events including wars, social rituals, worship and child-bearing.

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Should Ban or Limit GMO Food

Essay Prompt: In the recent years, the GMO foods have flooded the consumer market with over 30,000 different food products.

Global Food Politics: The Food System

Essay Prompt: The movement of people across Mexico and the USA has been on the rise in recent years. There have been several cases of undocumented migration. According to the zoom meeting lecture, the policies put on the line to prevent the undocumented migration of people have not been effective.

Pros of a Single Food Agency

Essay Prompt: Master’s level Essay: Pros of a Single Food Agency: What are some of the pros and cons of creating a single food agency?

Food Industry’s System Structure and Misaligned Interests with Public Health

Essay Prompt: The food industry has introduced a fierce competition for consumers’ money through aggressive advertising efforts and their display of products on supermarket shelves. The fierce competition imposes poor diets worldwide, characterized by immense consumption of ultra-processed packaged food products manufactured.

Why People Work to Reduce Food Wastage?

Essay Prompt: The primary reason why people work to reduce food wastage is because of hunger and saving the resources used to produce food; for example, 28 percent of global land coverage is used for producing food, which eventually goes to waste. Not everybody can afford to buy food from the supermarket, and the grocery.

Is GMO Food safe? They are more nutritious. FDA has approved GMO Foods

Essay Prompt: The safety of GMO foods has sparked heated debates and, in many countries, there is legislation on their consumption. The proponents of GMO foods assert that they cannot be dismissed as categorically harmful….

Write a topic About Food that affects health. Is GMO Food safe?…

The Relationship Between Overproduction and Hunger with the Commodification of Food

Essay Prompt: A commodity is a primary resource utilized as a raw material in manufacturing goods and services. Coffee, beans, and wheat are just a few examples of commodities. The transformation of resources and services into commodities is a significant factor influencing all cultures.

You can also check out  150+ Top-Notch Argumentative Essay Topic Ideas

Identifying the Meaning of Organic

Essay Prompt: Organic implies that the food or agricultural products meet quality standards without the use of synthetic chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Fruits, vegetables, grains, and even meat can be produced organically but is mostly the food crops than meat…

College Students Who Go Full Time to School Should Be Able to Get Free Food

Essay Prompt: While in high school, many students yearn for the opportunity to complete their studies and join college little do they know what one goes through in college. College comes with huge expenses and it may be costlier for those who reside in the campus.

Food Symbolism in Society

Essay Prompt: Research on food thrives, from the history of contradictory types of charge to the relationship between provisioning and values, gender responsibilities, and eating maladies.

Raw Fresh Foods versus Cooked Processed Foods: Which is better for the Body?

Essay Prompt: The irony that while most people agree that raw fresh foods are better for the body and yet most people also eat more processed food than fresh food.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Nutrition — Persuasive Essay On Eating Healthy

Persuasive Essay on Eating Healthy

• Categories: Nutrition Persuasion

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Published: Mar 5, 2024

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Fast Facts – What are sustainable food systems?

A sustainable food system is a food system that delivers food security and nutrition for all. The system encompasses everything from the processing, packaging and the transporting of food to consumers. Currently, these systems are not efficient or sustainable, and in 2022, about 9.2 per cent of the world population was facing chronic hunger, equivalent to about 735 million people – 122 million more than in 2019. In addition, these unsustainable practices are one of the main contributors to the climate crisis – they account for a third of greenhouse gas emissions and 70 per cent of the usage of the world’s freshwater.

There are three key indicators of whether a food system is sustainable or not:

• Economic sustainability – it is profitable throughout
• Social sustainability – it has broad-based benefits for society
• Environmental sustainability – it has a positive or neutral impact on the natural environment

“Broken food systems are not inevitable. They are the result of choices we have made. There is more than enough food in the world to go around. More than enough money to fund efficient and sustainable food systems to feed the world, while supporting decent work for those who grow the food we eat.” Secretary General, Antonio Guterres in his remarks to the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment.

But mounting pressures from population growth, urbanization, changing consumption patterns, and climate change are all contributing factors to the strain on food systems, meaning that an overhaul in our current practices is needed for our food systems to become sustainable.

A stressed global food system

Today, the world is facing a food emergency. Together, conflict, economic shocks, climate extremes and soaring fertilizer prices have created a food crisis of unprecedented proportions . Food inflation is impacting everyone around the world, and it is an opposing force to the economic gains made after Covid, which had led to improved access to food.

According to the 2023 SDG Progress Report , Western Asia, the Caribbean and all sub-regions of Africa are experiencing an increase in hunger, however, most sub-regions in Asia and Latin America have experienced improvements in food security.

The recently concluded Black Sea Initiative has also exacerbated the situation. This agreement allowed the transportation of commercial food and fertiliser from three main ports in Ukraine. Developing countries – which already had issues with food supply, are hit particularly hard by the situation.

Alongside being a source of nutrition, food systems are a source of employment across the world such as in agriculture, forestry and fishing . The majority of rural poor – nearly two thirds – work in small-scale agriculture, where poverty rates are more than four times higher than among non-agricultural workers.

The triple threat of overconsumption, unsustainable practices and malnutrition

Overconsumption is a key issue in food shortages, and wealthier countries are the biggest contributors to the problem. According to UNICEF , if everybody in the world consumed resources at the rate people in the United States, Canada or Luxembourg do, we would require the equivalent of more than five earths to satisfy their needs.

Food shortages also affect our health – malnutrition impacts children from low and lower-middle-income countries the most. Not getting the right nutrients can lead to stunting (growing less than average for their age), micronutrient deficiencies and being overweight which can place children at risk with poor growth and development.

Water, Food and Energy

Water, food and energy form a nexus at the heart of sustainable development. With a growing population, there is a growing demand for all three. Agriculture is the largest consumer of the world’s freshwater resources, and more than one-quarter of the energy used globally is expended on food production and supply.

What can we do about the global food crisis?

As outlined in the 2023 SDG Progress Report , we need urgent coordinated action, and policy solutions are imperative to address entrenched inequalities, transform food systems, invest in sustainable agricultural practices, and reduce and mitigate the impact of conflict and the pandemic on global nutrition and food security.

In July 2023, the UN Food Systems Summit + 2 Stocktaking Moment took place, with the purpose of reviewing progress made from the 2021 Food Systems Summit. The UN Secretary-General, António Gueterres noted in his keynote speech: “Over 100 countries have submitted voluntary progress reports on food systems transformation. Countries are taking decisive steps to reflect this priority in national and sub-national laws, policies and programming,”.

The Secretary General’s report on UN Food Systems explains that in order to bring the Sustainable Development Goals back from the brink, our Food Systems’ transformation play a vital role and their objectives must be integrated into global and national policy discussions, commitments and targets.

Learn more about actions you can take to contribute to a more sustainable world: https://un.org/actnow.

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6.2: Sample Student Research Essay Draft- Food Deserts

• Last updated
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• Page ID 124432

• Gabriel Winer & Elizabeth Wadell
• Berkeley City College & Laney College via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)

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Reading: Draft of student essay on food deserts

Note: This sample is a rough draft that is not intended to be a model of a polished, finished essay. Since the chapter focuses on clarity and style, the essay can be used as the "before'" version for practicing revision.

17 May 2019

Accessibility and Affordability of Healthy Food Dependent Upon Socioeconomic Status

Have you ever had trouble finding a supermarket when you wanted to purchase fresh vegetables and fruits? Have you ever wondered why there are no supermarkets in certain areas? This phenomenon is especially interesting as people have begun to pay more attention to a healthy diet and lean towards purchasing healthy food, and more and more natural and organic-food stores have opened in recent years. As explained by Michael Pollan, a food detective and expert and the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma , organic food is considered healthy because “it is grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides” (133). Even though there are organic grocery stores like Whole Foods seemingly everywhere, it is difficult for some people of lower socioeconomic status, who live in food deserts, to access healthy food due to lack of accessibility and affordability. According to American FactFinder, the median family income in the United States was $70,850 in 2017 (“American FactFinder—Results”). This means that families with a median income below $70,850 are considered to have lower socioeconomic status. Gloria Howerton, professor in the Geography Department at the University of Georgia and the author of “‘Oh Honey, Don't You Know?’ The Social Construction of Food Access in a Food Desert,” mentions that people of lower socioeconomic status usually live in food deserts (741). A food desert is an area where there is a lack of fresh vegetable and fruit providers, such as supermarkets or farmers' markets. Food deserts that exist in places like West Oakland, California, contribute to inequitable health outcomes; however, some solutions are in place to improve this situation.

It’s difficult for people of lower socioeconomic status who live in food deserts to access healthy food because there is a lack of outlets for fresh produce in their community. As Alana Rhone, an Agricultural Economist, and colleagues report, there’s a website known as the Food Access Research Atlas (FARA) that “allows users to investigate access to food stores at the census-tract level” (1). According to the United States Department of Agriculture ERS, the measure of food access is based on proximity to the nearest store, and the number of households without a vehicle (“Documentation” para 2). As specified by FARA, 33% of residents in West Oakland are at least one mile away from any supermarket, and one-third of its residents do not have vehicles. For urban areas, such as West Oakland, the USDA defines that “a tract is considered low access if at least 100 households are more than a half-mile from the nearest supermarket and have no access to a vehicle” (“Documentation” para 8). Given the facts above, one can reasonably assume that if people don’t have a car and need to take a bus to access healthy food, it will cause inconvenience and lower their willingness to purchase healthy food. It’s harder to calculate the time it will take to go on the supermarket trip when one is taking public transportation. As a result, if one buys fresh milk but has to spend much time on taking public transportation to return home from a supermarket, the fresh milk may spoil. In contrast, if people own private vehicles, they can easily plan the trip and be willing to travel longer distances to a supermarket to purchase healthy food. Therefore, it’s hard for residents of West Oakland who live in food deserts to access healthy produce since there are insufficient outlets to fresh food in their community.

It’s also tough for people of lower socioeconomic status to buy healthy food because they cannot afford high-end organic food. According to American FactFinder, the median family income in West Oakland was $35,037  in 2017, which is below the U.S. median family income of $70,850. Based on the data above, residents in West Oakland are considered to be of a lower socioeconomic status. As mentioned previously, organic food has no chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and as stated by Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, the 6th Edition. 2019, “organic farming requires more manual labor and attention” (“Organic food.”), so its price is higher than conventional food. Take salted butter as an example; one box of four bars of organic salted butter costs $5.29, while one box of non-organic salted butter only costs $3.49 (as listed on the Whole Foods website). Additionally, as reported by an article, “Socioeconomic Status and Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease: Impact of Dietary Mediators,” written by many Medical Doctor and Doctor of Philosophy, “Low-income families purchase low-cost items” because “the price of fruit and vegetables was the most determinative barrier in the consumption of these products from low-income families” (Psaltopoulou Chapter: 2.2. Cost). People with lower income may face the difficulty of living a self-sufficient life, much less purchase high-end organic food. Due to the lower income, if people of lower socioeconomic status frequently purchase high-end organic food, it will increase their financial burden. They often tend to consume cheaper and less healthy produce such as processed food because the price point is lower, and the portion is larger than that of organic food. As a result, it will be challenging for people with lower income to access healthy food.

However, many residents of West Oakland believe that corner liquor stores are cheaper and more convenient than supermarkets. Admittedly, it is true. They think this because there are many corner liquor stores nearby, and that is convenient for them. They can buy everything they need in a corner liquor stores store and don’t have to travel long distances to a supermarket to access healthy food. Research on Google Maps shows there are at least ten corner liquor stores but no supermarkets like Whole Foods in West Oakland. As stated by Sam Bloch, the author of “Why Do Corner Stores Struggle to Sell Fresh Produce” and a professional writer for  The New York Times , L.A. Weekly , and Artnet, most of the corner stores “don’t have walk-in refrigerators” (para 13). Thus, they cannot sell many types of fresh produce because they do not have refrigerators to keep the produces fresh; the food may spoil before being sold. As a result, liquor stores rarely provide healthy food choices, such as fresh vegetables and fruits, meat, or dairy. Hence, even if many liquor stores nearby are convenient, one is barely able to find healthier produce. In the long-term, those that constantly shop at corner liquor stores may only gain convenience but lose in health and well-being.

Although the lack of accessibility and affordability may obstruct people of lower socioeconomic status who live in food deserts to access healthy food, luckily there are some existing resources that one can make good use to improve this situation, such as food hubs and community gardens. According to Jim Downing, the executive editor of UCANR's research journal California Agriculture, food hubs are nonprofit organizations and “are designed to enable small and mid-scale farms to efficiently reach larger and more distant market channels like campuses and school districts, hospitals and corporate kitchens” (para 5). For instance, Mandela Foods Distribution, a Mandela Marketplace social enterprise, delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to corner stores in low-income neighborhoods in West Oakland (Downing para 6). Food hubs supply fresh vegetables and fruits to low-income communities, and it increases access to healthy foods for residents of West Oakland. Residents can obtain fresh and healthy food through food hubs at Mandela Marketplace. Another resource that helps residents to access healthy food is learning how to grow vegetables and fruits in community gardens. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Establishing a community garden where participants share in the maintenance and products of the garden and organizing local farmers markets are two efforts that community members themselves can do” (“Food Desert” para 4). Community gardens provide places that allow people to plant food for themselves. One of the famous community gardens is known as City Slicker Farms. The goal of City Slicker Farms is “to empower West Oakland community members to meet the basic need for fresh, healthy food by creating sustainable, high-yield urban farms and backyard gardens” (para 1). There are many plots provided to residents to plant vegetables and fruits and to exchange and discuss their gardening experiences at the farm. If residents can make good use of food hubs or community gardens, they can access to healthy food and learn how to grow fresh vegetables and fruits themselves.

This case study shows that the difficulties people of lower socioeconomic status who live in food deserts face in accessing healthy food are lower-income and a lack of supermarkets. Helping people of lower socioeconomic status increase their income to afford healthy produce or building many supermarkets that sell healthy produce may be not easy to achieve. However, to recognize this situation and make good use of existing resources to access healthy food are significant and feasible. For long-term health, people need to consume more healthy food instead of less healthy food such as processed food. In other words, people who consistently consume processed food may negatively affect their health. Since many processed foods have high amounts of added sugar and sodium, they may be associated with some diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. In brief, people should consume unhealthy food as least as possible. Planting fresh vegetables and fruits in community gardens or going to Mandela Foods Distribution where food hubs supply much fresh food for residents are some of the ways for people who have trouble finding fresh food to access healthy produce. These may be the best ways for people who live in food deserts and belong to a lower socioeconomic status to receive the greatest benefits from limited resources.

Works Cited

“American FactFinder—Results.” American F actFinder - Results , 5 Oct. 2010.

Bloch, Sam. “Why Do Corner Stores Struggle to Sell Fresh Produce?” New Food E conomy , 21 Feb. 2019.

“Documentation.” Economic Research Service , United States Department of Agriculture.

Downing, J. “Food Hubs: The Logistics of Local.” California Agriculture , University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, 13 Sept. 2017.

“Food Desert: Gateway to Health Communication: CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and P revention , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Sept. 2017.

Howerton, Gloria, and Amy Trauger. “‘Oh Honey, Don’t You Know?’ The Social Construction of Food Access in a Food Desert.” ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies , vol. 16, no. 4, Dec. 2017, pp. 740–760. EBSCOhost .

“Organic Food.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition , Jan. 2019, p. 1. EBSCOhost.

Psaltopoulou, Theodora, et al. “Socioeconomic Status and Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease: Impact of Dietary Mediators.” Hellenic Journal of Cardiology , Elsevier, 1 Feb. 2017.

Pollan, Michael. Young Readers Edition: The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets behind What You Eat. New York: Dial, 2009. Print.

Rhone,  Alana, et al. “Low-Income and Low-Supermarket-Access Census Tracts, 2010-2015.” A gEcon Search , 1 Jan. 2017.

"Salted Butter". Whole Foods.  P roducts.wholefoodsmarket.com.

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Food Resources

Improvement in food resources.

Food is one of the essential requirements for all living beings and Organisms. Food provides various nutrients such as fats, protein, carbohydrate, Minerals, and vitamins. The main sources of Food are animal husbandry and Agriculture. India is a nation that is strongly oriented to Agriculture but still there is a lack of Food owing to the rising population. 

There are different ways in which the lack of Food for people can be prevented. One is improving production efficiency.  The 2nd is providing Food access to all the people that live in the Food deserts, and finally people must have the sufficient funds for buying Food. 

Green Revolution

The Green Revolution is the project that was launched in various countries, especially poor nations, for increasing the production of Food through the use of proper irrigation, improved seeds, and modern technology. 

Types of Crops

There are a wide range of different types of Crops that are manufactured in India. The primary types of Crops grown in India include Cereals, Pulse, Oil seeds, and Vegetables.. The Cereals: Millet, Rice, Wheat, Sorghum, and Maize provide us with Carbohydrates. The Pulses: lentil, gram, pigeon pea, black gram, pea, and Green gram provide us with the proteins. Oil seeds: Mustard, linseed, castor, sunflower, ground nut, soya bean, and sesame provide us with the fats. The fruits, vegetables, and spices give us vitamins & Minerals. 

There are different types of crop season in India. The different Crops need varying weather conditions and different photo-periods for the efficient growth and the completion of their life-cycle. There are two distinct and main seasons that exist in the country: Kharif season and Rabi season. The kharif season is between June and October and involves the rainy season. The monsoon provides more water and the main kharif season Crops grown in India are Green gram, black gram, paddy, soya bean, maize, rice, and pigeon pea. The rabi season falls between November and April and the Crops grown in this period require less water. The main rabi season Crops grown in India include gram, wheat, linseed, mustard, and peas. 

Nutrient Management

The plants also need specific elements for the growth similar to other Organisms. Some of the sources and the nutrients that they provide includes Air- Oxygen, and carbon. Water - Oxygen, and hydrogen. The soil gives macronutrients and micronutrients. The macronutrients given by soil are potassium, nitrogen, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and sulphur. The micronutrients provided by soil are: Zinc, copper, iron, chlorine, boron, manganese, and molybdenum. 

The lack of nutrients has harmful effects including lack of proper growth, less resistance to the diseases, and no proper flowers and fruits. The addition or use of fertilizers and manure in the soil helps in increasing the plant nutrients plus organic matter within the soil. 

Food is one of the elementary needs for all living organisms. Food provides nutrients like carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals.

Sources of Food: Agriculture & animal husbandry. India is a country oriented towards agriculture but still lacks food because of the growing population.

How to Prevent

Improve the efficiency of production.

Food access for people living in food deserts (urban neighborhoods and rural towns).

People should have sufficient money to buy food.

Revolution is a project launched in many poor countries to increase food production by use of modern technology, proper irrigation, improved seeds, etc.

White Revolution

White Revolution is a project implemented in India to increase production of milk in India. 

White Revolution is a project launched in India to increase production of milk in India. 

Cereals (wheat, Millet, Rice, Maize, Sorghum) supply us carbohydrates.

Pulse (pigeon pea, lentil, gram, pea, black gram, green gram) supply us proteins.

Oil Seeds (castor, mustard, linseed, sunflower, soya bean, ground nut sesame,) supply us fats.

Vegetables, spices, fruits supply us vitamins & minerals.

Crop Season

Different crops require different conditions (temp, moisture, etc.), different Photo-periods (duration of sunlight) for their growth and completing the life cycle.

There Are Following Two Distinct Season Crops

Kharif Season

June - October (Rainy season).

Monsoon requires more water.

Paddy, black gram, green gram, soyabean, pigeon pea, maize,  and rice are Kharif season crops.

Rabi Season

Nov - April.

Needs less water.

Wheat, linseed, gram, peas, mustard are rabi season crops.

Improvement in Crop Yield

Yield increases in the same time period as production increases from the same amount of land.

Approaches That Improve Crop Yield Are as Follows

Crop variety improvement, crop production improvement, crop protection improvement.

Some of the factors that can be used to improve the variety are:

Good & Healthy Seeds.

Hybridization Technology: It is cross - breeding process-breeding two different crop varieties to produce a new variety with good properties of both crops.

Genetic Improvement: In genetic improvement, a crop 's genes are modified so as to retain the desired properties and suppress undesired properties.

Improved seed properties to be owned by:

Should give high yield.

Improved Quality: Should supply more nutrients, such as carbohydrates, proteins etc.

Biotic Resistance: Disease resistance due to living microbes–organisms, insects.

Abiotic Resistance: Non-problem resistance-living things such as drought, wind, heat, cold, frost, water logging, salinity (excess salt).

Less Maturity Duration: Cutting for short duration requires less cost and more crop rounds.

Wider Adaptability: Crops that can develop under different conditions would help to establish high production.

Desired Agronomic Traits: Crops containing desired agronomic characteristics (height, branching, leaves), establish high production.

It involves various farming practices to achieve higher standards of crop production.

Cropping Patterns

Plants also require certain elements for their growth, as do other organisms. These are also Nutrients.

Macronutrients: Macronutrients are large amounts of the nutrients required by plants.

Micronutrients are small amounts of the nutrients required by small plants.

Harmful Effects of Lack of Nutrients

No proper growth.

Low resistance to diseases.

No proper fruits and flowers.

Manure & Fertilizer

The addition of manures and fertilizers into the soil will increase plant nutrients and organic matter in the soil.

It is known as the decomposition of excreta and plant waste from the animals. Manure contains essentially small amounts of organic matter and also some nutrients. The manures are of three types, based on the biological material used.

Compost: Animal excreta (like cow dung, etc.), kitchen waste, leftovers from plants, waste wood, etc., are long left in the pit. They slowly decompose to form compost. They use this compost as manure. This is called composting.

Vermi Compost: The earthworms are left in the pit to make the decomposition process swift. Earthworms are eating up the waste and excreting organic matter as excreta. The thus formed compost is called vermi-compost. This is a vermin process-composing

Green Manure: Rapidly growing plants like sun hemp, guar is cultivated. They are then mulched by ploughing into the soil. They deteriorate to form organic matter. The main plants are cultivated after sometime. Old plant remains enrich the soil with nitrogen and phosphorous.

How Does Manure Helps?

It provides plenty of organic matter making soil porous.

It generally increases soil fertility.

It contains several tiny amounts of nutrients.

As it is made from waste products, it cleanses the environment.

Fertilizers

Fertilizers are chemicals which are produced in factories. They are highly nutrient richm chemicals, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

They provide large quantities of nutrients and thus ensure better plant growth.

Disadvantages of Fertilizers

Beings chemical fertilizers can harm the micro - organism and soil insects.

Fertilizers give little organic matter.

Long-term overuse of fertilizers can damage soil fertility.

If excessive irrigation is executed, some fertilizers may flow into water bodies with excess water. They will cause water pollution, as fertilizers are chemicals.

For water, we can not rely on rain, because it is not fully reliable. A proper irrigation system will ensure that crops get adequate and timely water. That will result in greater yield.

Some Most Commonly Used Irrigation Systems

Wells: These are installed in the region where adequate groundwater is available. They come in two different styles:

Dug Well: Water is collected in the dug wells by bullock-operated devices or by pumps. That method is inexpensive.

Tube Well: It provides for irrigation with very deep underground water. Motor pump used for water lifting. High cost of this method is required.

Canals: Man - made rivers or water canals-reservoirs. They are specifically designed to take water to different parcels of agriculture.

River Lift System: In this network water is taken by pumps directly from the rivers. This system is useful for irrigation in riverfront areas.

Tanks: Tanks are small reservoirs used for storing the rainwater.

Rain Water Harvesting: The harvesting of rain water is an accumulation of rain water in tanks for later use. That also prevents erosion of the soil. Soil erosion is unwanted How to flowing water from top layer of soil. High cost of this method is required.

Crop Patterns

Various patterns are employed to optimize crop field yield.

Mixed Cropping

Inter cropping, crop rotation.

Seeds of two or more crops are combined in this pattern and distributed into fields..

How Crops Are Chosen?

Should it require similar environmental conditions such as heat, growth temperature.

Should require different nutrients, in order to use all soil nutrients.

Advantage: Lowest harm. If one crop fails, then others might survive.

This is an advanced form of mixed crop production. Two or more crops are cultivated in a definite pattern on the same field. Few one rows followed by few other rows.

Examples: soybean + maize, finger millet (bajra) +cowpea (lobia)

Similar environmental conditions such as rain, temp, should be needed. To grow.

Crop rotation is the method of growing different crops on the same filed one after another.

If the same crop is grown again and again on the same field, the same nutrients are again and again extracted from the soil. So we should select different crops so that all soil nutrients are used.

Environmental conditions

Nutrients required by crops.

Soil fertility is maintained.

Less use of fertilizers.

High yield.

When the crop is in the field, it needs to be protected from weeds, insect pests and other conditions. These problems are controlled using the following methods.

Pest Control during Growth

Storage of Grains

Pest control during growth.

Pest is any destructive organism that is able to destroy or damage crops or products obtained from it.

Pests Are of Many Types:

Weeds: Unwanted plants like xanthium, parthenium, cyperinus rotundus are found in the cultivated field.

They compete for food, space, and light on ideal crops. The desired crops therefore, get less nutrients, and are adversely affected.

Insects: Insects can harm plants in such ways as to:

They can cut down plant roots, stems, and leaves.

They can get into plants ' fruits, flowers and steam which destroys them.

They can suck out plant food and water.

Pathogens: Any organism that can cause disease is referred to as pathogens. Example; bacteria , fungi, virus.

Plants are able to derive these organisms from soil, air or water. These-caused diseases can spread in all field crops and destroy the whole cultivation.

Killing Pests

Different types of pesticides are sprayed over the plants to consume various pests. Those chemicals are poisonous. Herbicides are killing Weeds. Insecticides kill insects. Fungicides kill champignons.

Disadvantages of Using Pesticides

Toxic to many useful plants and animals.

Weed Control

Weed control means precautionary measures to avoid the growth of weeds.

Manual removal of weeds.

Seed Bed Preparation: The fields are thoroughly ploughed. Thus weed seeds come on top and will germinate in a couple of days. Then, they can be removed before specific crops are planted.

Crop Rotation: Such crops kill weeds in the field.

Proper Sowing Time: conditions like Warm and humid climate not favourable.

Inter Cropping: The presence of multiple crops makes more efficient use of environmental resources.

They are stored in secure storage to get seasonal food throughout the year.

Biotic problems: Living organisms such as insects , birds, mites, bacteria , and fungi.

Abiotic problems: Moisture, inappropriate temperature etc. due to non - living factors.

These factors affect degradation of the quality, weight loss, color change, germinability loss.

Proper Service and Warehouse Cleaning.

Goods are dried before shipping.

To kill pests and insects, fumigation (drugs that form toxic fumes that can kill pests)

Organic Farming

The use of fertilisers and pesticides has its own disadvantages. They cause pollution, and long - term damage to soil fertility. Grains, fruits and vegetables obtained may contain a small number of harmful chemicals.

Organic farming is a farming technique without the use of chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides, or very little.

Process of Organic Farming

Use of dung.

Use of bio fertilizers: Blue-algae (organism) green. They transfer the nitrogen from soil to atmosphere. Some micro - organism can kill pests as well. They are deliberately put into soil to combat pests. We act as bioengraisers.

Use of bio pesticides: Neem and the turmeric can destroy some pests.

Weed & Pest control systems are being implemented. So pesticide use is not needed.

Using different crop types, such as mixed cropping, crop rotation and intercropping.

Animal Husbandry

Animal husbandry is the effective scientific management of domestic animals for obtaining from them food and other useful products.

Cattle Farming

Purpose of cattle farming.

For getting milk.

Ploughing fields.

Bull Cart for transportation.

Types of Cattle

Cow (Bos indicus).

Buffalo (Bos bubalis).

Milch Animals: These include animals which produce milk (female cattle).

Draught Animals: Animals which do not produce milk and which are used for livestock.

Lactation Period

Female cattle give milk to calf (baby) after birth. The duration of time she is giving milk is called the lactation period. Typical of a year or less.

How to Increase Lactation Period?

Cross Breeding: Cross breeds are acquired by hybridization or the crossing of animals of various species. The produced offsprings are called "Hybrids." Hybrids exhibit good parent characters such as high lactation period , high disease resistance.

Proper diet.

Care of Cattle

Cleanliness.

Roofed, well ventilated shelter to protect against rain, heat and cold.

Routine cleaning of cattle skin.

Sloping shelter floor for water avoidance-logging.

Roughage containing mainly fibre.

Concentrates which contain proteins.

Micronutrient-containing foods (vitamins and minerals) for improved milk production.

Proper food is necessary for good health, and special diet during lactation.

Disease can cause death, and can reduce the production of milk.

Parasites are small organisms which live inside or outside another organism's body (host). They derive food from host body.

External parasites on cattle 's skin cause skin disease

Internal parasites such as worms cause problems in the stomach and intestine, and fluids cause problems in the liver.

Bacteria, virus causes infectious diseases (diseases that can be transmitted easily from one to the next).

Poultry Farming

Poultry Farming is done for meat and eggs. Both of these provide our diet with protein.

Broilers: Birds which are grown to get meat are called broilers.

Layers: Birds raised to acquire an egg are known as layers. They can be used after 20 weeks when attempts have been made to lay eggs on sexual maturity.

Breeding is Done to Improve the Properties Following in the Hens:

More and better-quality chicks.

Low maintenance.

Breeding is done for the development of dwarf broilers (meat-birds). The biggest expense on poultry farms is feeding costs. Dwarf broilers need less food, and can cut costs by 30%. They can also tolerate more heat.

Management Practices in Poultry Farms

Proper diet: Layers also eat a diet of fibres. Broilers need protein - rich diet, fat, and vitamin A and K.

Maintain proper temperature.

Hygienic setting and proper sanitation.

Regular spraying of disinfectants to kill bacteria , viruses, champignons and parasites that otherwise can cause disease.

Controlling quality canvass. Canvass consistency refers to the ratio of flesh to bone in chicken.

Avoid mortality.

Providing adequate bird space. This is critical to their proper growth.

Fish Production

The production of fish is a perfect protein source for our diet.Fish production is of two types:

Finned Fish Production / True Fish Production: Cartilaginous and bony fish production and management such as pomphret, tuna, cod, catla, prawns, rohu, mrigal, etc.

Unfinned Fish Production: Shellfish production like prawns, mollusks. Fishing is of two types, depending on the way fish are caught:

Capture Fishing: Living fish are naturally captured in different bodies of water.

Culture Fishing: Fish of desired variety are cultivated with utmost care in confined areas to obtain maximum yield. This is known as aquaculture too. You can do aquaculture in oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds etc. When it is finished it is called the oceans.

Marine Fishing

Fishing at sea includes the production of fish in ponds, rivers , lakes, reservoirs.

India has an incredible 7500 km long coastline.

Popular sea fishes include pomphret, mackerel, tuna, sardines, duck bombay. Many costly fish live in the sea, such as mullets, prawns, musks, algae, oysters.

Areas of high fish population in the sea can be found using satellites. Echo-Sounders are used as well

Areas of high fish population in the sea can be found using satellites. Echo-Sounders are used as well.

Inland Fishing

It includes freshwater fish production (e.g. ponds, rivers , lakes, reservoirs) and brackish water (e.g., estuaries, lagoons).

Compared to marine fishing, this method of fishing gives less yield.

Composite Fish Culture

Single fish pond variations 5 to 6.

They are selected so as not to fight for food. They should have different demands on food

Bee – Keeping

To obtain honey & wax, it's the custom of keeping, caring & handling honeybees on a large scale.

Often farmers use bee – keeping for small extra income. There are also large farms which are called apiaries / bee farms.

FAQs on Food Resources

1. How Can We Improve the Crop Variety?

Improvement of the crop variety may be achieved through the selection process. The selection criteria are high yield, disease resistance, fertiliser response, climate tolerance, etc. Improving crop production is protecting crops that grow or have been harvested.

2. Why Do We Need Improvement in Food Resources?

For the following reasons we need to boost the food resources:

1) To increase the nutritional value and consistency of the food.

2) Keeping the food and crops free from diseases and pests.

3) To reduce the food products' costs and increase their availability.

3. What is manure and the different types of manure?

Manure is the decomposition of plant waste and excreta from animals. The manure contains some nutrients and little quantities of organic matter. The different types of manure that are available for farming include  Green manure, compost, and vermicompost. Each of the different types of manure has its own characteristics that contribute to improving the productivity of Crops and increasing the nutrients of the plants that are grown in the farms.

4. What are the disadvantages associated with fertilizers?

The chemical fertilizers can potentially harm the soil insects and microOrganisms. The fertilizers also give a little amount of organic matter. The long-term usage of the fertilizers can potentially damage soil fertility. If excessive irrigation is implemented then some of the fertilizers might flow into the water bodies through excess water. This can lead to water pollution since fertilizers are chemicals. These are the primary drawbacks associated with the use of chemical fertilizers. 

5. How can I download the notes on “Improvement in Food Resources” from Vedantu?

Vedantu provides excellent notes with detailed explanations, and high-quality illustrations on “Improvement in Food Resources”. If you want to download these notes for your reference then you just need to visit the relevant section under Biology and then click on the “Download PDF” option. This will download the Vedantu notes on your device so that you can refer to them at your own convenience. 

Biology • Class 9

Environmental Studies

Lesson 5. FOOD RESOURCES

Module 2. Natural resources

FOOD RESOURCES

‘A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body ’ -- Benjamin Franklin

5.1 Introduction

Food is essential for growth and development of living organisms. These essential materials are called nutrients and these nutrients are available from variety of animals and plants. There are thousands of edible plants and animals over the world, out of which only about three dozen types constitute major food of humans.

5.1.1 Food sources

The majority of people obtain food from cultivated plants and domesticated animals. Although some food is obtained from oceans and fresh waters, but the great majority of food for human population is obtained from traditional land-based agriculture of crops and livestock.

Table 5.1 Indian food production in 2010-11

5.1.2 Food crops

It is estimated that out of about 2,50,000 species of plants, only about 3,000 have been tried as agricultural crops. Under different agro-climatic condition, 300 are grown for food and only 100 are used on a large scale.

Some species of crops provide food, whereas others provide commercial products like oils, fibres, etc. Raw crops are sometimes converted into valuable edible products by using different techniques for value addition .At global level, only 20 species of crops are used for food. These, in approximate order of importance are wheat, rice, corn, potatoes; barley, sweet potatoes, cassavas, soybeans, oats, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, sugar beets, rye, peanuts, field beans, chick-peas, pigeon- peas, bananas and coconuts. Many of them are used directly, whereas other can be used by changing them by using different techniques for enhancing calorific value.

5.1.3 Livestock

Domesticated animals are an important food source. The major domesticated animals used as food source by human beings are ‘ruminants’ (e.g. cattle, sheep, goats, camel, reindeer, llama, etc.).

Ruminants convert indigestible woody tissue of plants (cellulose) which are earth’s most abundant organic compound into digestible food products for human consumption. Milk, which is provided by milking animals, is considered to be the complete food. Other domestic animals like sheep, goat, poultry and ducker can be used as meat.

5.1.4 Aquaculture

Fish and seafood contributes 17 million metric tonnes of high quality protein to provide balance diet to the world. Presently aquaculture provides only small amounts for world food but its significance is increasing day by day.

5.2 World Food Problems

As per estimates of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 840 million people remain chronically hungry and out of this 800 million are living in the developing world. In last decade, it is decreasing at the rate of 2.5 million per year, but at the same time world’s population is increasing. Target of cutting half the number of world’s chronically hungry and undernourished people by 2015 will difficult to meet, if the present trend continues. Due to inadequate purchasing power to buy food, it is difficult to fulfil minimum calorific requirement of human body per day. Large number of people are in India are poor which can be attribute to equitable distribution of income. Food insufficiency can be divided into two categories into under-nourishment and malnourishment. Both of these insufficiencies are global problems.

5.2.1 Under-nourishment

The FAO estimates that the average minimum daily caloric intake over the whole world is about 2,500 calories per day. People who receive less than 90% of their minimum dietary intake on a long-term basis are considered undernourished. Those who receive less than 80% of their minimum daily caloric intake requirements are considered ‘seriously’ undernourished. Children in this category are likely to suffer from stunted growth, mental retardation, and other social and developmental disorders. Therefore, Under-nourishment means lack of sufficient calories in available food, resulting in little or no ability to move or work.

5.2.2 Malnourishment

Person may have excess food but still diet suffers from due to nutritional imbalance or inability to absorb or may have problem to utilize essential nutrients. If we compare diet of the developed countries with developing countries people in developed countries have processed food which may be deficient in fibre, vitamins and other components where as in the diet of developing countries, may be lack of specific nutrients because they consume less meat ,fruits and vegetables due to poor purchasing power .

Malnourishment can be defined as lack of specific components of food such as proteins, vitamins, or essential chemical elements.

The major problems of malnutrition are:

• Marasmus : a progressive emaciation caused by lack of protein and calories.
• Kwashiarkor : a lack of sufficient protein in the diet which leads to a failure of neural development and therefore learning disabilities.
• Anemia: it is caused by lack of iron in the diet or due to an inability to absorb iron from food.
• Pellagra : it occurs due to the deficiency of tryptophan and lysine, vitamins in the diet.

Every year, food problem kill as many people as were killed by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II. This shows that there is drastic need to increase food production, equitably distribute it and also to control population growth. Although India is the third largest producer of staple crops, it is estimated that about 300 million Indians are still undernourished. India has only half as much land as USA, but it has nearly three times population to feed. Our food problems are directly related to population.

5.2.3 Balanced diet

Supply of adequate amount of different nutrient can help to improve malnutrition and its ill effects. Cereals like wheat and rice can supply only carbohydrate which are rich in energy supply, are only fraction of nutrition requirement. Cereal diet has to be supplemented with other food that can supply fat, protein and minor quantity of minerals and vitamins. Balanced diet will help to improve growth and health.

5.3 Changes Caused by Agriculture and Overgrazing

From centuries, agriculture is providing inputs to large number of industries involved in production, processing and distribution of food. Accordingly, agriculture has significant effect on environment. The effects of agriculture on environment can be classified as local, regional, and global level. The agriculture also makes impact on the usage of land generally as follows:

• Deforestation
• Soil Erosion
• Depletion of nutrients
• Impact related to high yielding varieties (HYV)
• Fertilizers related problems include micronutrient imbalance, nitrite pollution and eutrophication.
• Pesticide related problems include creating resistance in pests and producing new pests, death of non-target organisms, biological magnification.
• Some other problems include water lo gging, salinity problems and such others.

The carrying capacity of land for cattle depends upon micro climate and soil fertility. If carrying capacity is exceeded than land is overgrazed. Because of overgrazing the agricultural land gets affected as follows,

• Reduction in growth and diversity of plant species
• Reduce plant cover leads to increased soil erosion
• Cattle trampling leads to l and degradation

5 .4 Effects of Modern Agriculture

For sustainable production modern techniques are used to enhance productivity of different cropping systems under different agro-eco-zones. Adoption of modern agricultural practises has both positive and negative effects on environment. Effects of modern agriculture are briefly discussed under different heads as under:

5.4.1 Soil erosion

Raindrops bombarding bare soil result in the oldest and still most serious problem of agriculture. The long history of soil erosion and its impact on civilization is one of devastation. Eroded fields record our failure as land stewards.

5.4.2 Irrigation

Adequate rainfall is never guaranteed for the dry land farmer in arid and semiarid regions, and thus irrigation is essential for reliable production. Irrigation ensures sufficient water when needed and also allows farmers to expand their acreage of suitable cropland. In fact, we rely heavily on crops from irrigated lands, with fully one-third of the world's harvest coming from that 17% of cropland that is under irrigation. Unfortunately, current irrigation practices severely damage the cropland and the aquatic systems from which the water is withdrawn.

5.4.3 Agriculture and the loss of genetic diversity

As modern agriculture converts an ever-increasing portion of the earth's land surface to monoculture, the genetic and ecological diversity of the planet erodes. Both the conversion of diverse natural ecosystems to new agricultural lands and the narrowing of the genetic diversity of crops contribute to this erosion.

5 .4.4 Fertilizer- pesticide problems

For photosynthesis apart from water, sunshine and CO 2, plants need micro and macro nutrients for growth. These nutrients are supplied in the shape of fertilizers. There is lot of potential to increase food productivi ty by increasing fertilizer use . On one hand application of artificial chemical fertilizers increases the productivity at faster rate as compare to organic fertilizers, on the other hand app lication of fertilizers can be a serious problem of pollution and can create number of problems. Excessive level of nitrates in ground water has created problems in developed countries. These are:

a. Accumulated phosphorous as a consequence of use of phosphor ic fert ilizer are posing serious threat as residues in domestic water supply and for ecology of river and other water bodies. Increased level of phosphates in different water results in eutropication.

b. Effect of chemical fertilizer is long term, therefore l eads to net loss of soil organic matter.

To control insects, pests, diseases and weeds which are responsible for reduction in productivity different chemicals are used as insecticides, pesticides and herbicides. Successful control of insects, pests and wee ds increases productivity and reduces losses and provide security for harvest and storage. Applicati on s of these synthetic chemicals have great economic values and at the same time cause number of serious problems such as :

a. A ffects human health which includes acute poisoning and illness caused by higher doses and accidental exposes

b. As long term effect, cause cancer, birth defects, Parkinson’s disease and other regenerative diseases.

c. Long term application of pesticides can aff ect soil fertility.

d. Danger of killing beneficial predators.

e. Pesticides resistance and pest resurgence

5 .5 Water L ogging

High water table or surface flooding can cause water logging problems .Water logging may lead to poor crop productivity due to anaerobic condition created in the soil. In India, deltas of Ganga, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and some areas of Kerala are pron e to frequent water logging.

5 .6 Salinity

Due to adoption of intensive agriculture practices and increased concentration of soluble salts leads to salinity. Due to poor drainage, dissolved salts accumulate on soil surface and affects soil fertility. Exces s concentration of these salts may form a crust on the surface which may injurious to the plants. The water absorption process is affected and uptake of nutrient is disturbed. According to an estimate, in India, 7 million hectare of land is saline and area is showing in increasing trends due to adoption of intensive agriculture practises .

5 .7 Case Studies

• A study on birth defects in water birds, in Kesterson wildlife refuge in California , indicated that these defects where due to high concentration of selenium.
• Recent reports from cotton growing belt of Punjab which covers Abohar, Fazalka and part of Bathinda indicates that over use of pesticides for control of insect pest in cotton to enhance productivity has not only affected soil health, but also caused cancer in human being.
• Diclofenac is the drug for veterinary use to treat the livestocks which have strong residual nature, which leads to high persistence throughout the foodchain .Due to biomagnification it becomes more dangerous to the vultures as they are consumers of diclofenac treated cattle. Diclofenac is responsible for bringing three South Asian species of Gyps vultures to the brink of extinction. It has been banned in India since 2006.

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What do epa’s new pfas drinking water regulations mean for the food industry.

By Dr. Shelby Furman, Director, Food and Product Safety Programs, FMI 

It is essential to ensure that water that is consumed is safe and free of contaminants. A contaminant in drinking water is defined as anything other than water molecules. These can be classified in four ways: physical, chemical, biological and radiological. Though not all contaminants in water are considered harmful, some contaminants have potential health effects and have been or are starting to be regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  

Of the standards set by the EPA, there is one regulation in particular that has made headlines recently: the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) , which are legally enforceable standards and treatment methods that apply to public water systems (PWS). This regulation is intended to protect public health by limiting the levels of contaminants in public drinking water, such as microorganisms, disinfectants and inorganic/organic chemicals.  

A set of contaminants that are of particular interest are chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These substances are man-made chemicals that are used for their water, oil and grease resistance properties. However, they also do not break down easily and have the ability to accumulate in the environment and the body, leading to a growing concern over their potential health effects.  

In April 2024, the EPA announced final regulations on six PFAS and established health-based, non-enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) that range from 0-10 parts per trillion (ppt): 

• PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid)
• PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)
• PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonate)
• PFNA (Perfluorononanoic acid)
• HFPO-DA (Gen-X chemicals)
• Mixture containing two or more of PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and PFBS (Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid)

EPA also finalized legally enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) that are more easily achievable, which range from 4-10 ppt. As a part of the regulation, by 2027, public water systems must have completed initial monitoring for the listed PFAS. The water systems must also provide the levels of PFAS in their drinking water beginning in 2027. By 2029, water systems must implement solutions to reduce the monitored PFAS if they exceed the Maximum Contaminant Levels. Beginning in 2029, public water systems that violate one or more of the MCLs must take action on reducing the level of PFAS in the water supply and must notify the public of such violation.

What impact does the NPDWR have on the food industry?

With this regulation, FMI members might have some questions about what this means for their operations. The ruling specifically regulates public water systems and does not require action from the food industry at this time. That said, operations relying on PWS should work cooperatively with utility officials to ensure compliance and uninterrupted service at their facilities. Food facilities have the responsibility to ensure the use of water that is safe and of adequate quality in their operations to comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements. FDA considers using water that meets the standards for household drinking water would also be acceptable for the production of food products, and facilities can rely on the standards in EPA’s NPDW regulations to satisfy the GMP requirements.

What impact does the NPDWR have on bottled water?

Bottled water is regulated by the FDA; therefore, EPA’s rule does not apply directly. Currently, FDA has not established standards for PFAS in bottled water. Because EPA has finalized these standards, FDA is now required to evaluate what PFAS standards are appropriate. The agency is in its initial phase of research and is currently conducting a targeted survey for PFAS in bottled water. Results from its 2016 targeted survey did not detect PFAS in bottled water.

FMI will continue to monitor regulatory changes and the impact on the food industry and will update our members promptly with any new information.

• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) FMI Backgrounder
• Final PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation
• Fact Sheet: Treatment Options for Removing PFAS in Drinking Water
• Fact Sheet: Benefits and Costs of Reducing PFAS in Drinking Water
• Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food

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