System Description: Food Infrastructure Service

Name: Food Infrastructure Service

Based on: Human Activity Infrastructure Service

Also include any domain definitions or principles that relate to this type of system.

The Food Infrastructure Service is based upon the Enterprise moved up a level to the sector.

This system is a top level food infrastructure service.

The Food Infrastructure Service has supporting international standard sector schemes. The FSSC 22000 is a key sector scheme used across the whole Food Value System. This certification can also be combined with ISO 9001:2026. This forms the basis for an Integrated Management System within an Enterprise. See also ISO 22000:2018 for information about Food Safety Management Systems definitions and requirements

The Food Infrastructure Service covers the entire value system from production to consumption. This infrastructure service also has dependencies on energy, transportation, water and waste. The infrastructure service covers the following:

Safe and secure food and agriculture production and consumption.
Local vs global supply chain (including transportation)
Production methods: organic, factory, permaculture, horticulture, Agroecology / Agroecological Farming
must also address:
- packaging (e.g. single use plastic packing, reusable packaging, transportation packaging)
- storage (refrigeration)
- Ecosystem impacts (loss of soil, pollinators, runoff into water, etc)

Primary SDG Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Primary SDG Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*

This section identifies the system properties. Suggested headings have been included. These can be tailored..

Systemic Measurable Variables

Time from harvest to consumption

Time to produce food

Cost of producing food.

Amount of food waste.

Distance food Travels (production to consumption)

Systemic Capabilities or Functions

Food Production
Food Processing
Food Distribution
Food Preparation
Food Consumption
Food Transportation.
Food Waste.

System States

Operational.
Disrupted

Systemic Quality Properties

Freshness of Food.
Amount of pesticide on or in food.
Amount of water runoff from farms (with top soil and fertilizer / pesticide content).
Amount of water usage
Amount of energy usage
Amount of GHG emissions

System Quantity Properties

The Stakeholders and their concerns or interests in this system-of-interest

Food Producers (Farm, Fishery, etc)
Food Preparation (..)
Food Distribution (..)
Fish population
Animal population
Poachers

Food System Links

See Human Activity Ecosystem (HAES) for a diagram of the environment.

The environment and the potential impacts on the system-of-interest.

Amount of rainfall and water availability during times of year
Amount of runoff from farms
Organizations disrupting the food system (poachers, illegal fishing / hunting, etc)
Natural events and disasters (forest fires, drought, floods, etc)

Other Infrastructure Services:

Transportation Infrastructure Service
Water and Sanitation Infrastructure Service
Energy Infrastructure Service
Waste Infrastructure Service

Other Human Activity Systems:

State (Government)
Enterprise
Household
Financial Institution (e.g. Bank)

Identification and Composition of System elements and their relationships. This section generally includes a system conceptual model.

Subsystem: Identification and Relationships

Food Infrastructure Service Top Conceptual Model

The Farm is a key Subsystem of the Food Producer system. See the Farm System Description.

Describes a specific instance (configuration of components) of a system structure and this systems behaviour.

Describe the response of the system due to various triggers

Configuration / Scenario:

Describes any configuration / scenario attributes for a specific system-of-interest. This may not be appropriate for all system descriptions (e.g. patterns or abstract systems).

Cyclical (Repeating / Regular) Processes

Routine operational processes to maintain the system

Production Cycles

Demand Cycles (periods of high demand for types of food - thanksgiving as an example)

Provides support to deliver the capabilities or functions of the system.

Recycling Food (to fertilizer and energy)

Development Life Cycle Processes

How this system is created, developed, used and released.

Describes the processes for major developmental changes.

Recycling or reducing food packaging

Regrigeration across the distribution and storage mechanisms.

See the Enterprise extensions of the Enterprise to Food.