Related topics: children , food and drug administration , obesity , nutrition , healthy food



Food

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Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol. Although many human cultures sought food items through hunting and gathering, today most cultures use farming, ranching, and fishing, with hunting, foraging and other methods of a local nature included but playing a minor role.

Most traditions have a recognizable cuisine, a specific set of cooking traditions, preferences, and practices, the study of which is known as gastronomy. Many cultures have diversified their foods by means of preparation, cooking methods and manufacturing. This also includes a complex food trade which helps the cultures to economically survive by-way-of food, not just by consumption.

Many cultures study the dietary analysis of food habits. While humans are omnivores, religion and social constructs such as morality often affect which foods they will consume. Food safety is also a concern with foodborne illness claiming many lives each year. In many languages, food is often used metaphorically or figuratively, as in "food for thought".

For more information about Food, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with food

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Balancing protein intake, not cutting calories, may be key to long life

Balancing protein intake, not cutting calories, may be key to long life

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (18) | comments 5

Getting the correct balance of proteins in our diet may be more important for healthy ageing than reducing calories, new research funded by the Wellcome Trust and Research into Ageing suggests.


Of girls and geeks: Environment may be why women don't like computer science

Of girls and geeks: Environment may be why women don't like computer science

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (20) | comments 26

(PhysOrg.com) -- In real estate, it's location, location, location. And when it comes to why girls and women shy away from careers in computer science, a key reason is environment, environment, environment.


Sucking Up To Survive

Sucking Up To Survive

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0

Shrink a human being down to the size of an insect, and you would no longer be able to sip lemonade from a straw. The forces that hold liquid together would simply be too great to overcome at that tiny scale.


Headwater stream nutrient enrichment disrupts food web

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Human activity is increasing the supply of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, to stream systems all over the world. The conventional wisdom -- bolstered by earlier research -- has held that these additional nutrients ...


Stuffing the turkey and other Thanksgiving food-safety mistakes

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- What would a Thanksgiving turkey be without its stuffing, and what better place for that stuffing than inside the turkey? Despite the tradition involved, a food-safety specialist in Penn State's College of ...


Global study of salmon shows: 'Sustainable' food isn't so sustainable

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 24, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1

Popular thinking about how to improve food systems for the better often misses the point, according to the results of a three-year global study of salmon production systems. Rather than pushing for organic or land-based ...


Fish food fight: Fish don't eat trees after all, says new study

Fish food fight: Fish don't eat trees after all, says new study

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 24, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- What constitutes fish food is a matter of debate. A high-profile study a few years ago suggested that fish get almost 50 percent of their carbon from trees and leaves, evidence for a very ...


New study levels new criticisms at food industry

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

A new study released Monday, Dec. 14, in Washington, D.C., criticizes the nation's food and beverage industry for failing to shift their marketing efforts aimed at children. The report said television advertising continues ...


America's increasing food waste is laying waste to the environment

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (4) | comments 3

Food waste contributes to excess consumption of freshwater and fossil fuels which, along with methane and carbon dioxide emissions from decomposing food, impacts global climate change. In a new paper published in the open-access, ...


Overeating can set stage for obesity, researchers say

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 27, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 2

It doesn't seem like a fair fight. In one corner loomed the Thanksgiving table, groaning with poultry, pie and mashed potatoes.


Stopping a Stroke in its Tracks: Catheter Device Restrores Blood Flow to Brain by Suctioning Blood Clots

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Bobbie Laird was suffering a life-threatening stroke triggered by a blood clot in her brain that was nearly half an inch long.


Marine aquaculture could feed growing world population

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

The oceans could become the source of more of humanity's food if steps are taken to expand and improve marine aquaculture, according to a study published in the December 2009 issue of BioScience.


Study shows flavanol antioxidant content of US chocolate and cocoa-containing products

Chemistry / Other

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 2 / 5 (4) | comments 1

A recent study confirms that the antioxidants and other plant-based nutrients in chocolate and cocoa products are highly associated with the amount of non-fat cocoa-derived ingredients in the product. The study expands on ...


Study reveals how Arctic food webs affect mercury in polar bears

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

With growing concerns about the effects of global warming on polar bears, it's increasingly important to understand how other environmental threats, such as mercury pollution, are affecting these magnificent Arctic animals.


Impact of Menu-Labeling: Study Shows People Eat Less When They Know More

Impact of Menu-Labeling: Study Shows People Eat Less When They Know More

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 18, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The restaurant industry has lobbied hard against mandatory menu labeling in restaurants, highlighting the importance of a new study from Yale University measuring the impact of such regulations. ...