The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, family-run activities that are highly labour-intensive, to large, capital-intensive and highly mechanized industrial processes. Many food industries depend almost entirely on local agriculture, animal farms, produce, and/or fishing.
Packaged food aisles at an American grocery store
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese produced in a modern factory
Battery cages in Brazil, an example of intensive animal farming
A soybean field in Argentina
Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables. More specifically, the term produce often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same country as where and when they were harvested.
Produce on display at La Boqueria market in Barcelona, Spain
A tomato in a Japanese supermarket on a plastic tray in plastic shrink film. Excessive unnecessary packaging of produce is overpackaging.
Produce may be bagged in the field during harvest.
Produce may be packaged for transport in a plastic crate.
