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Food

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Food and agriculture

   A salad of vegetables and cheese.
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   A salad of vegetables and cheese.
   Couscous.
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   Couscous.

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

   cian was here:)!!! Most cultures have a recognizable cuisine: a
   specific set of cooking traditions, preferences, and practices, the
   study of which is known as gastronomy. The study of food is called food
   science. In English, the term food is often used metaphorically or
   figuratively, as in food for thought.

Legal definition

   English-speaking countries usually define four categories of substances
   as food :
     * any substance, intended to be, or reasonably expected to be,
       ingested by humans;
     * water and other drinks;
     * chewing gum;
     * substances used as ingredients in the preparation of food.

Food production

   Food is traditionally obtained through farming, ranching, and fishing,
   with hunting, foraging and other methods of subsistence locally
   important. More recently, there has been a growing trend towards more
   Sustainable agricultural practices. This approach - which is partly
   fuelled by consumer demand - encourages biodiversity, local
   self-reliance and Organic farming methods.

   Major influences on food production are international policy, (e.g. the
   World Trade Organization and Common Agricultural Policy), national
   government policy (or law), and war.

   Food for livestock is fodder and traditionally comprises hay or grain.

Food preparation

   Food being prepared in large quantities
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   Food being prepared in large quantities

   While some food can be eaten without preparation, many foods undergo
   some form of preparation for reasons of safety, palatability, or
   flavor. At the simplest level this may involve washing, cutting,
   trimming or adding other foods or ingredients, such as spices. It may
   also involve mixing, heating or cooling, pressure cooking,
   fermentation, or combination with other food.

   In a home, most food preparation takes place in a kitchen. Some
   preparation is done to enhance the taste or aesthetic appeal; other
   preparation may help to preserve the food; and others may be involved
   in cultural identity. A meal is made up of food which is prepared to be
   eaten at a specific time and place.

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

Cooking

   The term "cooking" encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and
   combinations of ingredients to improve the flavour or digestibility of
   food. It generally requires the selection, measurement and combining of
   ingredients in an ordered procedure in an effort to achieve the desired
   result. Constraints on success include the variability of ingredients,
   ambient conditions, tools, and the skill of the individual cooking.

   The diversity of cooking worldwide is a reflection of the myriad
   nutritional, aesthetic, agricultural, economic, cultural and religious
   considerations that impact upon it.

   Cooking requires applying heat to a food which usually, though not
   always, chemically transforms it, thus changing its flavor, texture,
   appearance, and nutritional properties. Cooking proper, as opposed to
   roasting, requires the boiling of water in a receptable, and was
   practiced at least since the 10th millennium BC with the introduction
   of pottery. There is archaeological evidence of roasted foodstuffs at
   Homo erectus campsites dating from 420,000 years ago.

Food manufacture

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

   Early food processing techniques were limited by available food
   preservation, packaging and transportation. This mainly involved
   salting, curing, curdling, drying, pickling and smoking.

   During the industrialisation era in the 19th century, food
   manufacturing arose. This development took advantage of new mass
   markets and emerging new technology, such as milling, preservation,
   packaging and labelling and transportation. It brought the advantages
   of pre-prepared time saving food to the bulk of ordinary people who did
   not employ domestic servants.

   At the start of the 21st century, a two-tier structure has arisen, with
   a few international food processing giants controlling a wide range of
   well known food brands. There also exists a wide array of small local
   or national food processing companies. Advanced technologies have also
   come to change food manufacture. Computer-based control systems,
   sophisticated processing and packaging methods, and logistics and
   distribution advances, can enhance product quality, improve food
   safety, and reduce costs.

Food trade

   Some brand name foods
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   Some brand name foods
   Gourmet foods
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   Gourmet foods

   Food is now traded on a global basis. The variety and availability of
   food is no longer restricted by the diversity of locally grown food or
   the limitations of the local growing season. Between 1961 and 1999
   there has been a 400% increase in worldwide food exports. Some
   countries are now economically dependent on food exports, which in some
   cases account for over 80% of all exports.

   In 1994 over 100 countries became signatories to the Uruguay Round of
   the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in a dramatic increase in
   trade liberalisation. This included an agreement to reduce subsidies
   paid to farmers, underpinned by the WTO enforcement of agricultural
   subsidy, tariffs, import quotas and settlement of trade disputes that
   cannot be bilaterally resolved. Where trade barriers are raised on the
   disputed grounds of public health and safety, the WTO refer the dispute
   to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which was founded in 1962 by the
   United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health
   Organization. This has greatly affected world food trade.

Food retailing

   In the pre-modern era, the sale of surplus food took place once a week
   when farmers took their wares on market day, into the local village
   market place. Here food was sold to grocers for sale in their local
   shops for purchase by local consumers.

   With the onset of industrialisation, and the development of the food
   processing industry, a wider range of food could be sold and
   distributed in distant locations. Typically early grocery shops would
   be counter-based shops, in which purchasers told the shop-keeper what
   they wanted, so that the shop-keeper could get it for them.

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

   Unlike food processors, food retailing is a two-tier market in which a
   small number of very large companies control a large proportion of
   supermarkets. The supermarket giants wield great purchasing power over
   farmers and processors, and strong influence over consumers.
   Nevertheless, less than ten percent of consumer spending on food goes
   to farmers, with larger percentages going to advertising,
   transportation, and intermediate corporations.

Famine and hunger

   Food deprivation leads to malnutrition and ultimately starvation. This
   is often connected with famine, which involves the absence of food in
   entire communities. This can have a devastating and widespread effect
   on human health and mortality. Rationing is sometimes used to
   distribute food in times of shortage, most notably during times of war.

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

Food aid

   Food aid can benefit people suffering from a shortage of food. It can
   be used to improve peoples' lives in the short term, so that a society
   can increase its standard of living to the point that food aid is no
   longe required. Conversely, badly managed food aid can create problems
   by disrupting local markets, depressing crop prices, and discouraging
   food production. Sometimes a cycle of food aid dependence can develop.
   Its provision, or threatened withdrawal, is sometimes used as a
   political tool to influence the politics of the destination country.
   Sometimes, also, food aid provisions will require certain types of food
   be purchased from certain sellers, and food aid can be misused to
   enhance the markets of donor countries. International efforts to
   distribute food to the neediest countries are often co-ordinated by the
   World Food Programme.

Food safety

   Foodborne illness, commonly called "food poisoning," is caused by
   bacteria, toxins, viruses, parasites, and prions. Roughly 7 million
   people die of food poisoning each year, with about 10 times as many
   suffering from a non-fatal version.

   The two most common factors leading to cases of bacterial foodborne
   illness are cross-contamination of ready-to-eat food from other
   uncooked foods and improper temperature control. Less commonly, acute
   adverse reactions can also occur if chemical contamination of food
   occurs, for example from improper storage, or use of non-food grade
   soaps and disinfectants. Food can also be adulterated by a very wide
   range of articles (known as 'foreign bodies') during farming,
   manufacture, cooking, packaging, distribution or sale. These foreign
   bodies can include pests or their droppings, hairs, cigarette butts,
   wood chips, and all manner of other contaminants. It is possible for
   certain types of food to become contaminated if stored or presented in
   an unsafe container, such as a ceramic pot with lead-based glaze.

   Food poisoning has been recognised as a disease of man since as early
   as Hippocrates. The sale of rancid, contaminated or adulterated food
   was commonplace until introduction of hygiene, refrigeration, and
   vermin controls in the 19th century. Discovery of techniques for
   killing bacteria using heat and other microbiological studies by
   scientists such as Louis Pasteur contributed to the modern sanitation
   standards that we enjoy today. This was further underpinned by the work
   of Justus von Liebig whose work led to the development of modern food
   storage and food preservation methods. In more recent years, a greater
   understanding of the causes of food-borne illnesses has led to the
   development of more systematic approaches such as HACCP, which can
   identify and eliminate many risks.

Food allergies

   Some people have allergies or sensitivities to foods which are not
   problematic to most people. This occurs when a person's immune system
   mistakes a certain food protein for a harmful foreign agent and attacks
   it. About 2% of adults and 8% of children have a food allergy. The
   amount of the food substance required to provoke a reaction in a
   susceptible individual can be minute. For instance, tiny amounts of
   food in the air, too minute to be smelled, have been known to provoke
   lethal reactions in sufficiently sensitive individuals. Commonly food
   allergens are gluten, corn, shellfish (mollusks), peanuts, and soy.
   Most patients present with diarrhea after ingesting certain foodstuffs,
   skin symptoms ( rashes), bloating, vomiting and regurgitation. The
   digestive complaints usually develop within half an hour of ingesting
   the allergen.

   Rarely, food allergy can lead to anaphylactic shock: hypotension (low
   blood pressure) and loss of consciousness. This is a medical emergency.
   An allergen associated with this type of reaction is peanut, although
   latex products can induce similar reactions. Initial treatment is with
   epinephrine (adrenaline), often carried by known patients in the form
   of an Epi-pen.

Dietary habits

   Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture
   makes when choosing what foods to eat. Although humans are omnivores,or
   who eats all the time. each culture holds some food preferences and
   some food taboos. Dietary choices can also define cultures and play a
   role in religion. For example, only Kosher foods are permitted by
   Judaism, and Halal/Haram foods by Islam, in the diet of believers. In
   addition, the dietary choices of different countries or regions have
   different characteristics. This is highly related to a culture's
   cuisine.

   Dietary habits play a significant role in the health and mortality of
   all humans. Imbalances between the consumed fuels and expended energy
   results in either starvation or excessive reserves of adipose tissue,
   known as body fat. Poor intake of various vitamins and minerals can
   lead to diseases which can have far-reaching effects on health. For
   instance, 30% of the world's population either has, or is at risk for
   developing, Iodine deficiency. It is estimated that at least 3 million
   children are blind due to vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin C deficiency
   results in scurvy. Calcium, Vitamin D and Phosphorus are inter-related;
   the consumption of each may affect the absorption of the others.
   Kwashiorkor and marasmus are childhood disorders caused by lack of
   dietary protein. Obesity, a serious problem in the western world, leads
   to higher chances of developing heart disease, diabetes, and many other
   diseases.

   Many individuals choose to limit what foods the eat for reasons of
   health, morality, or other factors. For instance vegetarians choose to
   forgo food from animal sources to varying degrees. Others choose a
   healthier diet, avoiding sugars or animal fats and increasing
   consumption of dietary fibre and antioxidants.

   More recently, dietary habits have been influenced by the concerns that
   some people have about possible impacts on health or the environment
   from genetically modified food. Further concerns about the impact of
   industrial farming on animal welfare, human health and the environment
   are also having an effect on contemporary human dietary habits. This
   has led to the emergence of a counterculture with a preference for
   organic and local food.

Nutrients in food

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

   Nutrients in food are grouped into several categories. Macronutrients
   means fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Micronutrients are the minerals
   and vitamins. Additionally food contains water and dietary fibre.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
