ABSTRACT
Increasing food demand, advanced farming and distribution technologies, and corporate consolidation are some of the most notable challenges for the global food supply. Food security is understood as all people having access to enough safe, nutritionally adequate food. It is essential for farmers to participate in the global food economy while producing safe, high-quality food for local, regional and global markets. Genetically modified organisms may provide viable strategies to mitigate impacts of climate change on food production. Knowledge of regional food systems, traceability and transparency, food security and justice, certifications, humane animal handling, food safety regulation and imminent climate-related legislation and trade treaties will be essential for the supply manager. Food and non-food supply chains differ in fundamental ways; food is personal and intimate as we consume it, hence “we are what we eat.” The future food system will have to resolve the tension between the conventional and alternative systems.
