Download Chapter 1-How food affects Life

Chapter 1-How Food
Affects Life
Factors that Affect the Food Supply
Agriculture and Environment
 Agriculture-the use of knowledge and skill to
tend soil, grow crops, and raise livestock.
 Environment- such factors as air, water, soil,
mineral resources, plants and animals

The interactions among these factors ultimately
affect the survival of life on earth.
 In the US, regional agriculture does not affect
the availability of foods as much as it affects
their cost.
Government
 Laws govern the way foods are grown,
processed, packaged, and labeled.
 Government policies affect foods exported to
and imported from other countries.
 United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA)-enforces standards for the quality and
wholesomeness of meat, poultry, and eggs.
 Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-ensures
the safety and wholesomeness of all other
foods.

Inspects food processing plants
Economics
 Law of supply and demand


If consumers are willing to pay for a product,
producers will provide it.
Example: ethnic foods in a certain ethnic
neighborhood
 World Hunger

Many people around the world do not have
access to the same agricultural resources as
Americans have
Technology
 Food scientists and technologists are applying
what they know to change the composition of
certain foods.
 They are trying to improve crop yields and
ensure the safety of foods.
 Nutrient content



Take out fats, sugars, etc.
Keep taste
Use of artificial sweeteners (aspartame,
acesulfame K, sucralose, and sacharin) and fat
replacers (olestra)
 Availability




Researchers are studying ways to increase
the amount of crops a given piece of land can
produce
Looking for ways to feed the growing number
of people
Developing plants that can resist disease and
pests
Studying plants that can grow faster and larger
 Safety

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Each year, millions of people get sick because
of something in the food they ate
Researchers are trying to develop foods that
are less likely to transmit disease
Working on improving packaging and
preservation methods