A food system includes the suite of activities and actors in the food chain (i.e., producing, processing and packaging, storing and transporting, trading and retailing, and preparing and consuming food); and the outcome of these activities relating to the three components underpinning food security (i.e., access to food, utilization of food, and food availability), all of which need to be stable over time. Food security is therefore underpinned by food systems, and is an emergent property of the behavior of the whole food system. Food insecurity arises when any aspect of the food system is stressed.
