Common plant could help reduce food insecurity, researchers find

An often-overlooked water plant that can double its biomass in two days, capture nitrogen from the air—making it a valuable green fertilizer—and be fed to poultry and livestock could serve as life-saving food for humans ...

Snakes: The new, high-protein superfood

Farmed pythons may offer a sustainable and efficient new form of livestock to boost food security, according to new research from Macquarie University.

Potassium depletion in soil threatens global crop yields

Potassium deficiency in agricultural soils is a largely unrecognized but potentially significant threat to global food security if left unaddressed, finds new research involving researchers at UCL, University of Edinburgh ...

How the Tudors dealt with food waste

More than 10 million tons of food is wasted in the UK each year. Leftovers perish in their plastic Tupperware tombs, supermarket bins heave with damaged but perfectly edible produce, and fields are littered with spoiled harvests. ...

Researchers uncover a feasible biomarker for coffee consumption

Millions of people around the world drink coffee every day. The beverage contains a large number of bioactive substances, and its health effects on the human metabolism are therefore frequently subjects of scientific studies. ...

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Food

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".

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA