Food and Nutrition Systems: Conclusion

The food and nutrition system includes a broad scope of interrelated and integrated processes that link stages in the food chain from agriculture to health outcomes, relate components of the food web ranging across many food sectors, and relate the food and nutrition system to other systems such as the economy and the environment. The U.S. food and nutrition system involves highly industrialized agricultural production that is integrated with an extensive food processing and distribution network that serves consumers who often do not cook for themselves and frequently eat away from home. This practice has led to high-fat and low-fiber nutrient intakes that promotes chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Considering the American food and nutrition system as a whole offers a broad perspective about food and health, identifies pathways of specific foods and beverages, and reveals links between different aspects of agriculture, food, eating, nutrition, and medicine.