What Is Food, and Why Is It Important?

Food is any material taken from an organisms to provide essential nutrition for it. Food is generally of animal, plant or even fungal origin and is generally made up of various nutrients, including vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, or minerals, which are needed in the metabolic processes of an individual. It may also be known as the food of life, because it is the fuel that keeps the human body running. Most of what we eat is food, because all living things feed off of it. In fact, plants only eat food, so much so that without it they would soon die from lack.

The food crisis is a growing concern around the world. Millions of people have been forced to seek better ways to eat, while millions more have become concerned about their own personal food security. The major cause for the increasing food insecurity around the world is the lack of adequate agricultural production. As a result of this, farmers all over the world have been forced to use pesticides, fertilizers, hormones, and other chemicals, at greater concentrations than ever before in order to grow enough food to feed their people. These practices have led to a serious increase in the amount of food allergy symptoms experienced by allergy sufferers around the world.

Because all living things feed off of food, humans are experiencing a serious lack of nutrition as a result of their diet. In this respect, humans are not unique among animals. All creatures eat food, but humans have developed a system, which enables them to digest and absorb most of the food they consume without having serious consequences. Humans have evolved over the course of thousands of years to be able to process food, much like other animals do, in order to maintain a healthy and safe weight.