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About Food Systems

The Food System

Introduction

In San Francisco, the public, city departments and elected officials have a growing awareness about the negative environmental and health impacts of the current agricultural and food system practices.

There is better understanding of the health effects of pesticides; the exposure of farm workers to agro-chemicals; the environmental impacts of food production, transportation and processing; effects of real estate development on farm land in California; and the importance of ensuring that farmers (especially those that practice good stewardship practices) have reliable markets for their products while ensuring access for San Francisco’s most vulnerable populations to high quality, healthy food.

What is a Food System?

A food system describes the cycle of growing, distributing, eating and recycling our food, and all the factors that affect it.

"Creating and sustaining a healthy, living and vibrant food system is important because it means that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food. It means that people have the opportunity to contribute and participate in producing, distributing, consuming and recycling food in a way that respects the principles of social justice, democracy, and environmental sustainability."
from the 2005 San Francisco Food Systems Assessment (pdf)
published by San Francisco Food Systems

More resources on food systems:

For more information on food systems, please explore the following sites:

Local projects improving the San Francisco food system.  Here's a more extensive list of local efforts organized by steps in the food system.

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