ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the environmental, political, social and economic factors that affect food supply and influence consumers choices and consumption practices, focusing primarily on food environments in Western developed countries. Obesity is thus a consequence of individuals having exerted insufficient selfcontrol rather than a function of the environment that shapes their choices. Changes in food supply have occurred at many levels and typically come about in response to political and economic influences; those that have occurred post-World War II have emphasized agricultural production as a means of achieving economic prosperity. Industrialization has also been supported by government policies, particularly within major producer groups such as the United States and the European Union. Education strategies assume consumers' behaviour will be influenced more by information than by the incentives and rewards offered in marketing programmes. Policy makers have been reluctant to implement measures that would reduce the adverse consequences of the changed food environment.
