A4NH compiles glossary on food systems

CGIAR News – 21 Jan 2020

What is a food system? How does a food system differ from a value chain? What is the difference between food security and nutrition security? To help answer these questions and more, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) has compiled a glossary of key terms related to food systems to help create a common understanding of these many elements.

Food system: A food system gathers all the elements (environment, people, inputs, processes, infrastructures, institutions, etc.) and activities that relate to the production, processing, distribution, preparation, consumption and disposal of food, and the outcomes of these activities, including nutritional, food security but also socio-economic and environmental outcomes.

Food environment: the physical, economic, political and socio-cultural context in which consumers engage with the food system to make their decisions about acquiring, preparing and consuming food (HLPE, 2017). It includes food availability and physical access (proximity); economic access (affordability); promotion, advertising, and information; convenience and time savings, and food quality and safety (Herforth & Ahmed, 2015).

Consumer Behavior: considering the entire process from acquisition to consumption of food as reflective of all the choices and decisions made by consumers, at the individual, household or collective levels, on what food to acquire, store, prepare, cook and eat –and how to dispose the waste-, and on the allocation of food within the household (including gender repartition and feeding of children (HLPE, 2017). Food choices are determined by personal attitudes and motives, such as familiarity with the foods, taste preferences, convenience, perceived safety of foods, nutritional and health-related motives and desirability, as well as societal norms regarding the symbolic, cultural, and economic values of food. Nutrition knowledge, as well as skills and availability of time for food preparation can have an impact on consumer food choices and can lead people to opt for healthier foods.

Food availability and access (in the food environment): The quantity and diversity of the food items that are available in different food outlets (markets, stores, restaurants) and that can be physically accessed by the people living in the surrounding area. This concept can also be extended to other settings where people spend most of their time, such as offices, schools and universities, where food is often acquired through vending machines, canteens, nearby kiosks and street food vendors (FAO, 2016; HLPE, 2017).

See more: http://a4nh.cgiar.org/2020/01/26/glossaor+Nutrition+and+Health%29