The State of modern food: science, systems, and who feeds us

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This chapter introduces the book’s goal to drive urgent conversations on critical food and nutrition issues pertinent to everyday eaters (and students of food-related disciplines), from farm to fork and far beyond. It discusses contemporary farming and food production, highlight the roles of Big Food, Big Ag, and factory farming in today’s agrifood systems—and the roles women, children, forced labor, and immigrants play. It contrasts traditional plant-based diets with meat-centric Western diets filled with ultra-processed foods (UPFs). It clarifies that nutrition is a science based in biochemistry, utilizing the scientific method to understand how diet impacts health, disease, sustainability, and well-being. It introduces the nutritional ecology framework (health, environment, economy, and society) and the importance of dietary patterns rather than individual nutrients in creating healthy, sustainable diets. And food is so much more than medicine; our diets are source of pleasure, celebration, and culture, central to the human experience.