--- title: Food Systems description: Food systems examine the entire network of food production, processing, distribution, and consumption. Learners will understand the economic, environmental, and social factors that influence global food security and sustainability. category: sciences subcategory: agricultural-science difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/food-systems --- # Food Systems Food systems examine the entire network of food production, processing, distribution, and consumption. Learners will understand the economic, environmental, and social factors that influence global food security and sustainability. ## Available Resources 3 Books • 2 Courses • 3 Websites ## Websites ### 1. FAO Food Systems The UN Food and Agriculture Organization's hub on sustainable food systems, covering production, supply chains, nutrition, and policy. Includes reports, data, and country case studies for understanding how food systems affect climate, health, and livelihoods worldwide. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.fao.org/food-systems/en/ **Tags:** food systems, sustainability, agriculture policy, global food security ### 2. Regeneration International A nonprofit network of farmers, scientists, educators, and policymakers promoting regenerative agriculture and land-use practices, covering soil health, carbon sequestration, and food sovereignty through case studies, webinars, and reports for food-system practitioners. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://regenerationinternational.org/ **Tags:** regenerative-agriculture, food-systems, sustainability, soil-health ### 3. usda.gov The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) site offers authoritative information on U.S. agriculture, nutrition, and food policy, with data, research, and program resources. It covers how food is produced, distributed, and regulated, plus tools to understand and support food systems. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://usda.gov **Tags:** websites, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ## Podcasts ### 1. The Food Chain **Author:** BBC World Service BBC World Service documentary and discussion programme on the global food system, covering farming, supply chains, food businesses, trade, nutrition science and food culture. Listeners come away understanding the economic, scientific and social forces behind how food is produced and reaches consumers. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p028z2z0 **Tags:** food-systems, food-industry, food-supply-chains, food-culture, food-science ## Books ### 1. Food Politics **Author:** Marion Nestle Nutrition policy scholar Marion Nestle examines how food industry lobbying, marketing, and political influence shape US dietary guidelines and nutrition science. Readers learn to critically evaluate food industry claims and understand the politics behind nutrition advice. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0520240677?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ### 2. Black Food Geographies: Race, Self-Reliance, and Food Access in Washington, D.C. **Author:** Ashanté M. Reese Ethnography of Deanwood, a Black neighborhood in Washington, D.C., examining how residents get food amid supermarket disinvestment. Reese challenges the 'food desert' framing and shows how structural racism, community self-reliance and everyday strategies shape food access in urban America. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1469651505?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** food-access, food-geography, urban-geography, structural-racism, ethnography ### 3. Stuffed and Starved **Author:** Raj Patel Raj Patel traces the global food system from farm to plate, explaining how corporate consolidation in agriculture produces simultaneous hunger and obesity. Readers gain a political-economy framework for understanding food inequality, trade policy, and agribusiness power. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1846270111?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ## Courses ### 1. Sustainable Food Systems Throughout this course, you will delve into the intricate details of the food production system through a system-thinking lens. You will examine the grand challenges faced by the food, fiber, and natural resource industries, and their repercussions on people, the planet, and profit. By the end of this course, you will have a clear understanding of the concept of systems thinking, be able to explain the three key pillars of sustainability and link these pillars to social, environmental, and economic systems. This course is part of the College of ACES suite of online programs. To learn more about online programs from the College of ACES and explore ways to apply your Coursera work toward a degree program at the University of Illinois, visit acesonline.illinois.edu.   **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Duration:** 8 weeks, 1-2 hours per week, 9 quizzes | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/sustainable-food-systems **Tags:** courses, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ### 2. Global Food Systems How do we feed 11 billion people? Discover the importance of sustainable food systems on a global scale. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/learn/nutrition/the-university-of-edinburgh-sustainable-global-food-systems **Tags:** courses, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/food-systems