Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth.
Historically, people secured food through two methods: hunting and gathering, and agriculture. Today, most of the food energy consumed by the world population is supplied by the food industry.
Food safety and food security are monitored by agencies like the International Association for Food Protection, World Resources Institute, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Food Information Council. They address issues such as sustainability, biological diversity, climate change, nutritional economics, population growth, water supply, and access to food.
The right to food is a human right derived from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), recognizing the "right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food", as well as the "fundamental right to be free from hunger".
Read more about Food: Food Sources, Production, Taste Perception, Cuisine, Famine and Hunger, Safety, Nutrition and Dietary Problems, Legal Definition, Types of Food
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... In industrial and food applications, radiation is used for sterilization of tools and equipment ... An emerging use in food production is the sterilization of food using food irradiation ... Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation in order to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food ...
... Comfort food Fast food Junk food Natural food Organic food Slow food Whole food ...
... Baking is a food cooking method using prolonged dry heat acting by convection, and not by thermal radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot ... desired temperature is reached within the heating instrument, the food is placed inside and baked for a certain amount of time ... casseroles and pasta dishes such as lasagna, and various other foods, such as the pretzel ...
... at Hogwarts amongst other duties provide all food to students and staff ... At meal times the food is magically transported up, giving the façade of appearing for the students ... The majority of the food prepared are traditional British dishes ...
... Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly ... While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and ... The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951 ...
Famous quotes containing the word food:
“When no food is given to the ear,
Then let a little be given to the stomach.”
—Tiruvalluvar (c. 5th century A.D.)
“From my experience with wild apples, I can understand that there may be reason for a savage’s preferring many kinds of food which the civilized man rejects. The former has the palate of an outdoor man. It takes a savage or wild taste to appreciate a wild fruit.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I’m the only woman reporter they have, so I get all the meat boycott stories and all the meatless food stories.... Actually, I’ve only cooked three meals in my life. The most uncomfortable place for me in the whole world is in a kitchen.”
—Theresa Brown (b. 1957)