2 What are Food Systems?

Food systems are complex and dynamic systems. In the Glossary you will find this definition used by Canadian Dietitians: “Food systems are complex, non-linear, systems… that embrace all the elements (environment, people, inputs, processes, infrastructure, institutions, markets, and trade) and activities …[of] production, processing, distribution, marketing, preparation, and consumption of food and the outputs of these activities, including socio-economic and environmental outcomes.”

Food systems are inseparable from the environment on which they depend, and the people who shape them. For example, Andean peoples, the Indigenous inhabitants of the Central Andes in South America, consider food systems to be deeply interconnected with their environment and cultural identity. Their agricultural practices, which have evolved over millennia, include paying tribute to Pachamama (Mother Earth), emphasising sustainable land use and the relationship between the land, environment, and their culture. (Information on Pachamama Day on the Cusco Peru website is available online). Similarly, the Sámi, a group of people Indigenous to what is now called Europe, consider food and food systems as interconnected with broader cultural and geographic contexts. Tervo, et al. (2022)^[1] emphasise that “…traditional Sami food and livelihoods relate to the natural environment and are part of their way of life; they are interlinked with the Sami people’s identity and dignity…”

Thinking of food systems as complex systems is very helpful in the context of sustainability.

Learning Activities

2.1. Watch 

Start by watching the short video below to explore the concept of food systems. (4 minutes)

Note that although waste is listed as a stage of the food system, food loss & waste happens at several stages of the food system.

Interactive Video – What is a Food System? ^[2]

Transcript – What is a Food System? [PDF]

2.2. Read

In this section, we encourage you to read the FCRN Building Block – What are food systems By TABLE [PDF]. It is about 6 pages of content and should take less than an hour to read. At the end of the document, you will find many “recommended resources” and “references” that you can explore. Note that a few of the links are outdated as of 2024, but many are still good.

2.3. Reflect

After reading, reflect on the following questions. (20 minutes)

2.  Why is it helpful to think of food systems as complex systems?*

3.  Based on the videos and readings, how would you personally define a food system?*

4.  Using the “Nourish Food System Map” from the reading as a guide, what roles do you have in the food system as an individual and as a nutrition and dietetics professional?*