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The food industry is the complex, global collective of diverse businesses that together supply much of the food energy consumed by the world population. A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to Food energy is the amount of Energy in food that is available through Digestion. The world population is the total number of living Humans on Earth at a given time Only subsistence farmers, those who survive on what they grow, can be considered outside of the scope of the modern food industry. Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficient farming in which farmers grow only enough food to feed the family and to pay taxes or feudal dues Food is any substance usually composed primarily of Carbohydrates Fats water and/or Proteins that can be eaten or drunk by an For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious"

The food industry includes:

Contents

Overview

Definitions

Food industry is not a formally defined term; however, it is usually used in a broadly inclusive way to cover all aspects of food production and sale. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand Packaging is the science art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution storage sale and use Public relations (PR is the practice of managing the flow of Information between an Organization and its Publics Public relations - often referred Wholesaling is the sale of Goods or Merchandise to Retailers to industrial commercial institutional or other professional Business users Food distribution, a method of distributing (or transporting food from one place to another is a very important factor in public Nutrition. Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another Logistics is the management of the flow of Goods, Information and other resources including Energy and people between the point of origin and the point Customer divider barjpg|thumb|In supermarkets sellers periodically change prices for classes of goods in response to market conditions rather than negotiating the price of each good A restaurant is a retail establishment that serves prepared Food to Customers. The Food Standards Agency, a government body in the UK, describes it thus:

". . . the whole food industry – from farming and food production, packaging and distribution, to retail and catering. "[1]

The Economic Research Service of the USDA uses the term food system to describe the same thing:

"The U. S. food system is a complex network of farmers and the industries that link to them. Those links include makers of farm equipment and chemicals as well as firms that provide services to agribusinesses, such as providers of transportation and financial services. The system also includes the food marketing industries that link farms to consumers, and which include food and fiber processors, wholesalers, retailers, and foodservice establishments. "[2].

Industry size

Processed food sales worldwide are approximately US$3. 2 trillion (2004).

In the U.S., consumers spend approximately US$1 trillion annually for food, [3] or nearly 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Consumers refers to individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy. Over 16. 5 million people are employed in the food industry.

Agriculture

Main article: Agriculture

Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by the cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture The practice of agriculture is also known as "farming", while scientists, inventors and others devoted to improving farming methods and implements are also said to be engaged in agriculture. More people in the world are involved in agriculture as their primary economic activity than in any other, yet it only accounts for four percent of the world's GDP.

Food processing

Main article: Food processing

Food processing is the methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for human consumption. Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw Ingredients into Food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by Food processing takes clean, harvested or slaughtered and butchered components and uses them to produce marketable food products.

Wholesale and distribution

A vast global transportation network is required by the food industry in order to connect its numerous parts. These include suppliers, manufacturers, warehousing, retailers and the end consumers. There are also those companies that, during the food processing process, add vitamins, minerals, and other necessary requrements usually lost during preparation.

Retail

With populations around the world concentrating in urban areas,[4] food buying is increasingly removed from all aspects food production. This is a relatively recent development, taking place mainly over the last 50 years. The supermarket is a defining retail element of the food industry, where tens of thousands of products are gathered in one location, in continuous, year-round supply.

Food preparation is another area where change in recent decades has been dramatic. Today, two food industry sectors are in apparent competition for the retail food dollar. The grocery industry sell fresh and largely raw products for consumers to use as ingredients in home cooking. The food service industry offers prepared food, either as finished products, or as partially prepared components for final "assembly". The foodservice (or food service) industry (US English catering industry in British English encompasses those places institutions and companies responsible

Food industry technologies

Sophisticated technologies define modern food production. They include many areas. Agricultural machinery, originally led by the tractor, has practically eliminated human labor in many areas of production. Biotechnology is driving much change, in areas as diverse as agrichemicals, plant breeding and food processing. Many other areas of technology are also involved, to the point where it is hard to find an area that does not have a direct impact on the food industry. Computer technology is also a central force, with computer networks and specialized software providing the support infrastructure to allow global movement of the myriad components involved.

Marketing

As consumers grow increasingly removed from food production, the role of product creation, advertising, publicity become the primary vehicles for information about food. With processed food as the dominant category, marketers have almost infinite possibilities in product creation.

Regulation

Labour and education

Until the last 100 years, agriculture was labor intensive. Farming was a common occupation. Food production flowed from millions of farms. Farmers, largely trained from generation to generation, carried on the family business. That situation has changed dramatically. In North America, over 50% of the population were farm families only a few decades ago; now, that figure is around 1-2%, and some 80% of the population lives in cities. The food industry as a complex whole requires an incredibly wide range of skills. Several hundred occupation types exist within the food industry.

Research and development

Research in agricultural and food processing technologies happens in great part in university research environments. Projects are often funded by companies from the food industry. There is therefore a direct relationship between the academic and commercial sectors, as far as scientific research.

Prominent Food Companies

The Food World is the biggest directory for food, beverage and agriculture industries, worldwide.

DuPont and Monsanto are the leading producers of pesticide, seeds, and other farming products. E I du Pont de Nemours and Company (,) is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a Gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée The Monsanto Company ( is a multinational Agricultural biotechnology Corporation.

Both Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill process grain into animal feed and a diverse group of products. The Archer Daniels Midland Company ( is a conglomerate based in Decatur Illinois. Cargill Incorporated is a privately held, Multinational corporation, and is based in the state of Minnesota in the United States. ADM also provides agricultural storage and transportation services, while Cargill operates a finance wing.

Bunge is a global soybean exporter and is also involved in food processing, grain trading, and fertilizer.

Dole Food Company is the world's largest fruit company. Dole Food Company Inc is an American -based Agricultural Multinational corporation headquartered in Westlake Village California and is Chiquita Brands International, another US based fruit company, is the leading distributor of bananas in the United States. Chiquita Brands International Inc ( is a Cincinnati Ohio -based producer and distributor of Bananas and other Produce, under a variety of Subsidiary Sunkist Growers, Incorporated is a U. Sunkist Growers Incorporated is a Citrus grower's non-stock membership Cooperative comprised of 6000 members from California and Arizona. S. based grower’s cooperative.

Tyson Foods is the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken and the largest beef exporter from the United States. Tyson Foods Inc ( is an American Multinational corporation based in Springdale Arkansas, that operates in the Food Industry Smithfield is the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. Smithfield is the name of several places In the UK Smithfield Cumbria Smithfield London (sometimes referred to as West Smithfield

Nestlé is the world's largest food and beverage company. Nestlé is a multinational packaged food company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland Kraft Foods is the largest U. Kraft Foods Inc ( is the second-largest Food and Beverage company headquartered in North America (behind PepsiCo) and the third S. based food and beverage company. Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch company that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods and beverages. Unilever is a Multi-national corporation, formed of Anglo - Dutch parentage that owns many of the world's Consumer product brands

Sysco Corporation, mainly catering to North America and Canada, is one of the world's largest food distributors. Sysco Corporation is the largest Foodservice distributor in North America.

References

  1. ^ "Industry", Food Standards Agency (UK).
  2. ^ " Food market structures: Overview", Economic Research Service (USDA)
  3. ^ Food Industry Overview, Plunkett Research. Retrieved 17 February 2006. Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  4. ^ World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (United Nations).

External links

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