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Food is any substance, composed of carbohydrates, water, fats and proteins , that can be eaten or drunk by animals, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure.[1] Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus. Although many human cultures sought food items through hunting and gathering, today most cultures use farming, ranching, and fishing, with hunting, foraging and other methods of a local nature included but playing a minor role.

Most traditions have a recognizable cuisine, a specific set of cooking traditions using various spices or combinations of flavors unique to that culture. Other differences include preferences (hot or cold, spicy etc), and practices, the study of which is known as gastronomy. Many cultures have diversified their foods by means of preparation, cooking methods and manufacturing. This also includes a complex food trade which helps the cultures to economically survive by-way-of food, not just by consumption.

Many cultures study the dietary analysis of food habits. While evolutionarily speaking (as opposed to culturally) humans are omnivores, religion and social constructs such as morality or environmentalism will often affect which foods they will consume. Food safety is also a concern with foodborne illness claiming many lives each year typically due to contaminated or dirty water or undercooked meats. In English, food is often used metaphorically or figuratively, as in "food for thought".

Almost all foods are of plant or animal origin. However water and salt (both inorganic substances) are important parts of the human diet. Salt is added as a flavoring but is typically a preservative in canned foods in modern times. Salt has a long history of being used to preserve meats and fish to the point where it has been used as a means of payment (see salary etymology).

Other foods not from animal or plant sources include various edible fungi, such as mushrooms. Fungi and ambient bacteria are used in the preparation of fermented and pickled foods such as leavened bread, alcoholic drinks, cheese, pickles, and yogurt. Many cultures eat seaweed, a protist, or blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) such as Spirulina.[2] Additionally baking soda, another inorganic substance, is used in food preparation. In Japanese culture, seaweed (known as Nori) is used to wrap sushi or sashimi.

Many plants or plant parts are eaten as food. There are around 2,000 plant species which are cultivated for food, and many have several distinct cultivars.[3]

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