The Food System is a fragile structure, each piece relying on multiple parts and interdependent relationships. While many of these relationships and features are mostly hidden from our view, food, and our food systems affect us every day and have a significant impact on our lives and our health, from determining what food is available on our grocery shelves to what ends up on our plates every time we sit down for a meal.
Food Systems are comprised of a web of interlocking structures that include production, aggregation, processing, distribution, access, consumption, waste, and policy.
These structures and dependencies repeat at every scale—from the global food system to our Southcoast region, which includes over 1,500 small farms.
Learning how local and larger food systems interact reveals hidden pieces that shape what we eat. Understanding the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ empowers consumers to make more informed choices, build more resilient and equitable supply chains, manage personal health through food, and support thriving local economies and agricultural communities.
The Main Components of A Food System Are:
The Production of Food (agriculture, fishing, aquaculture)
The Aggregation, Processing, and Distribution of Food (facilities that kill animals or harvest vegetables and fruit to clean, cut, package, and transport)
Access and Consumption of Food (is it affordable, is it near me, is it culturally relevant)
Food Recovery and Waste (organics rescued and moved into food relief programs, or is food composted or thrown in a landfill)
Food Policy is creating policies that support this entire system to create a healthier community and foster robust economic structures.
Starting with our domestic food system, we can see how it is both contingent on the global and international food systems as well as the driving influence on our food systems at the smallest scale.
The United States domestic food system both depends on and drives global and local food systems. As one of the world’s largest food exporters, about 20% of U.S. farm production goes abroad; however, the domestic market remains the largest, and the U.S. exports more than it imports. Yet it faces the same challenges seen globally and on the Southcoast: national structures disadvantage small and local farms, significant waste persists, and environmental degradation from agriculture remains largely unmitigated, threatening the future of farming.
At the global level, The United Nations created 17 Sustainable Development Goals, three of these provide guidance for improving our global food system.
UNSDG Goal #2:
Zero Hunger
End Hunger, Achieve Food Security, and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture
In 2020, 149.2 million children under the age of five worldwide suffered from stunting due to malnutrition.
In the United States, the USDA reported that about 14% of households experienced food insecurity in 2024. In Massachusetts, 40% of households experienced food insecurity in 2025—meaning they were unable to afford enough food or worried about where their next meal would come from. Read more in the Greater Boston Food Bank’s 2025 Massachusetts Food Access Report.
UNSDG Goal #9:
Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Concentration of monopolies across seeds, fishing and aquaculture, livestock, transportation, and other food system nodes reduces resilience and limits the ability to scale supply during crises like COVID-19, especially for small producers and distributors.
UNSDG Goal #12:
Responsible Consumption and Production
Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns
Current production and consumption patterns drive pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Earth’s resource use exceeds its renewal capacity by about 30 percent, agriculture accounts for about 93 percent of extractable water use, and agricultural emissions can contribute up to 29% of greenhouse gas emissions. Reduced biodiversity increases vulnerability to climate impacts, pests, and disease; shifting farming practices and diets are among the most impactful strategies for climate action.
To apply these global goals locally, we must examine the history of U.S. agriculture and today’s food system, then assess each component: production, aggregation and distribution, access and consumption, recovery and waste, policy, and ways to get involved.
Food Production
Globally, agriculture has shifted toward monocropping (corn, soy, wheat, and cotton), with heavy use of fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, and fossil fuels. In the U.S., most field corn goes to animal feed, with about 37 percent fed directly to cattle, swine, and chickens. Seafood reaches consumers through wild-caught or farmed sources (notably shrimp and salmon), but overfishing and fishing gear impacts have left roughly 85% of fisheries depleted, exploited, or in recovery.
Aggregation and Distribution of Food
Grocery prices often hide the true cost of food. Large farms benefit from new technology and farm equipment, subsidies, and bulk inputs, while local farmers typically face higher labor costs and use agroecological practices, which can raise their prices. Hidden costs also appear in the form of environmental degradation and high rates of diet-related diseases, including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
Food Access and Food Consumption
Grocery prices often hide the true cost of food. Large farms benefit from new technology and farm equipment, subsidies, and bulk inputs, while local farmers typically face higher labor costs and use agroecological practices, which can raise their prices. Hidden costs also appear in the form of environmental degradation and high rates of diet-related diseases, including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
Food Recovery and Food Waste
About 40% of the U.S. food supply ends up in landfills, producing one-quarter of the nation’s methane emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Wasted Food Scale prioritizes reducing purchases and consumption, donating edible food, feeding animals, converting oils to fuel, and composting, with landfilling and incineration among the least preferred options.
In the Southeastern Massachusetts counties of Bristol, Norfolk, and Plymouth, we can see other impacts of the local food system in detail.
In our 2021 Southcoast Food System Assessment, a survey of 490 families conducted in 2020 found that 39% often or sometimes worried that food would run out before they had money to buy more. Additionally, 19% lived more than a mile from a grocery store in urban areas or more than 20 miles away in rural areas, and 45% of SNAP-eligible residents were not receiving benefits as of 2020. Pandemic-era labor shortages and wage competition also strained local restaurants and food businesses.
A resilient food system adapts and grows amid shocks such as severe weather or pandemics while remaining flexible and responsive. Food Policy Councils like the Southcoast Food Policy Council (SFPC) convene stakeholders to evaluate the local food system, coordinate resources, and advocate for policies that build a healthy, robust regional food system capable of withstanding crises.
Become a Food System Citizen by learning more about our global, national, and local food systems.
By doing so, you are taking an active role in shaping what we eat, how we grow food, how we make food accessible and affordable, and what actions we can take to lessen climate impacts and create a healthier future for our children and grandchildren. We encourage you to learn more by exploring the resources below and other food system education resources available on our website.
Resources
- The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
- Video: What are The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals
- The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future’s online Food System learning tool: www.foodsystemprimer.org
- Neff, Roni (editor). “Introduction to the US Food System: Public Health, Environment, and Equity” Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. 2015 Published by Jossey-Bass.
- “Introduction to the Food System” certificate from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Agriculture- Robert S. Lawrence, MD Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health)
- Fisheries: Jillian Fry, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health
- The 2021 Southcoast Food System Assessment
- Video: “We are all part of our food system”
- Video: “Why do we need to change the Food System?”
