Linking Nutrition to Food Systems: A Theoretical Perspective

Introduction

Food systems are networks from food production to consumption, traveling through intermediary routes including packaging, processing, transportation, and marketing to reach a person’s table. Each step in the food system can influence a person’s nutritional well-being. Therefore, linking nutrition to food systems examines not only the agricultural and market-driven aspects, but their role as a vehicle for positive change in a community, region or nation’s nutritional welfare.

A Theory of Change serves as a tool for stakeholders to visualize complex real-life problems, understand steps to reach a common long-term goal, find solutions to enable that change, and articulate underlying assumptions. Incorporating nutrition principles

A food system embodies the people, institutions, environment and the processes food undergoes from its production, processing, marketing to consumption and disposal (FAO, 2013). In more detail, it flows through processes of producing, harvesting, processing, storing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consuming and disposing food and food packages; and is governed by social, cultural, political, economic and natural conditions (Eames-Sheavly et al., 2011). It crosses multiple fields including agriculture, nutrition and health, food security, and economic development. The scope can range from community or local food systems to regional, national and global food systems, each having its set of needs and

Good nutrition depends on healthy diets.

2. Healthy diets require healthy food systems — along with education, health, sanitation and other factors.

3. Health food systems are made possible by appropriate policies, incentives and governance.

Nutrition in Food Systems

Every part of the food system affects consumers’ availability, accessibility, and choice of nutritious foods for a healthy diet. In developing countries, food systems are important mechanisms for alleviating hunger and micronutrient deficiencies. Policies, researches and interventions on food systems are now challenged to include nutrition as their primary objective. Integrating nutrition at the onset of policy, program and intervention design is vital to achieve long-term impacts on nutritional outcomes due to a healthy diets springing from healthy food systems.

Nutrition is the foundation of health and immunity. A person’s nutritional well-being is an effect of (Herforth & Harris, 2014):

* Food: access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to support a healthy, active life.

* Health: including (a) the health environment in terms of pathogens and environmental contaminants, water, and sanitation; and (b) access to health