Broadly speaking, this process comprises three relatively interdependent segments: a) Primary production (upstream): encompassing agricultural, livestock, fishing, and input activities; b) Transformation and logistics (midstream): including industrial processing, local and international transportation, storage, refrigeration, certifications, and sanitary control; c) Commercialization and consumption (downstream): involving wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, food services, and the final recipients—consumers43. In addition to involving many countries and multiple actors at different levels (from raw materials to final production)44, what becomes evident are astronomical figures: a market operating at USD 1.9 trillion in 2022; daily per capita food consumption increased from 930 kcal in 2000 to 1,640 kcal in 2021; unprocessed or minimally processed foods represent 65% of traded calories, while processed and ultra-processed foods account for 7% and 1%, respectively; in 2021, nearly 5,000 trillion kilocalories were traded—more than double the energy traded in 200045. Global food trade plays a fundamental role insofar as it shifts food from countries with production surpluses to those with low productivity, contributing to nutritional access. Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Canada, Australia, and Russia stand out as net exporters of calories, whereas China, India, and North African countries qualify as net importers (particularly due to population density or unfavorable agroecological conditions). These are global markets that seek to meet the basic needs of millions of people while reciprocally providing income for farmers and workers in the agri-food sectors46. As a superstructure, however, the global food chain is characterized by constant challenges. Foremost among them is the inhumane issue of hunger47: despite this network legitimately and systematically aiming at profitability48 and financial 43 Aris, N.F.M., Abidin, M.N.Z., Muhamad, M.Z., Abdul Fatah, F., Khondoker, M. (2025). Food Supply Chain: Basic Concepts and Features. In: Preedy, V.R., Patel, V.B. (eds) Handbook of Public Health Nutrition. Springer, Cham. 44 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM. Here’s how we make the global food supply chain sustainable. 2024. 45 FAO. The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2024. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2024. Available at: https://openknowledge.fao.org/content/state-of-agricultural-commoditymarkets/2024. Accessed on Jan. 14, 2026. 46 FAO. 2022. O Estado dos Mercados de Produtos Agrícolas 2022. A geografia do comércio de alimentos e produtos agrícolas: abordagens políticas para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Roma. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0471. Accessed on Jan. 14, 2026 47 LODY, Raul. O poder da comida: filosofia e antropologia da alimentação. São Paulo: Editora Senac, 2024, p. 12. Alert: “Hunger brings the sense of confrontation, as a phenomenon of malnutrition and of the absence of nutrition, and the loss of eating habits is also the loss of the power to manifest otherness.” 48 NUSSBAUM, Martha C. Sem fins lucrativos: por que a democracia precisa de humanidades. Trad. Fernando Santos. São Paulo: WMF Martins Fontes, 2015, p. 14. Sustains: “According to this model of development, the nation’s objective must be economic growth. Forget distributive and social equality, forget the quality of racial and gender 78 FERNANDO RODRIGUES MARTINS | MIGUEL CABRAL DE ARAÚJO MARTINS
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