The food industry is a vast, global network of diverse businesses responsible for supplying most of the world's food, ranging from small, traditional family-run activities to large, highly mechanized industrial processes. This complex system, often described as a "food system" by organizations like the USDA, encompasses everything from agriculture (raising crops, livestock, seafood) and manufacturing of farm supplies to food processing, marketing, wholesale distribution, retail, and foodservice. Crucially, it also includes essential supporting functions such as regulation, research and development, education, and financial services.
Only subsistence farmers and hunter-gatherers operate outside the modern food industry's scope, which predominantly sources food through terrestrial agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing. Dominant companies within this sector are sometimes collectively referred to as "Big Food," a term coined by writer Neil Hamilton.