Food politics is a term which encompasses not only food policy and legislation, but public discourse around all aspects of the food system, including production, control, regulation, inspection, distribution and consumption of commercially and home grown food.

All aspects of the food system are affected by economic, ethical, cultural and health concerns. For food production, this may play out with regards to environmental concerns such as water usage and climate change. Many technologies used for food production, such as pesticides or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) crops, have been subject to regulation and public debate. For food supply chains, trade, and retail, food politics also encompasses the international food market, food aid, food security, food sovereignty, labor practices and the regulation of all of these things. More broadly, discourse around the role of food systems in social and economic inequality, public health issues such as obesity, and cultural heritage are all part of food politics.

Government policies around food production, distribution, and consumption influence the cost, availability, and safety of the food supply domestically and internationally. On a national scale, food policy work affects farmers, food processors, wholesalers, retailers and consumers. Commodity crops, such as corn, rice, wheat, and soy are most often at the heart of agricultural policy-making.

Historian Xaq Frohlich in 2017 observed an 'informational turn' in food politics in recent decades, as governments respond to food-related issues by mandating transparency (e.g. detailed information labels, such as Nutrition Facts labels) rather than direct bans or mandates. This approach positions consumer choice – guided by labels – as a primary way to govern food markets.

While most food policy is initiated domestically, there are international ramifications. Globally, protectionist trade policies, international trade agreements, famine, political instability, and development aid are among the primary influences on food policy. Increasingly, climate change concerns and predictions are gaining the attention of those most concern with ensuring an adequate worldwide food supply.

Sociologist Michaela DeSoucey in 2010 described the concept of gastronationalism as the use of food and its history, production, control, and consumption as a way of promoting nationalism. It may involve arguments between two or more regions or countries about whether a particular dish or preparation is claimed by one of those regions or countries and has been appropriated or co-opted by the others.

Atsuko Ichijo and Ronald Ranta have called food "fundamentally political" and "one of the essential commodities with which political powers at various levels are concerned". Food historian Michelle T. King suggests that cuisine is a natural focus for studies of nationalism, pointing out dozens of such treatments over the first decades of the 21st century. Examples of gastronationalism include efforts by state bodies, nongovernmental bodies, businesses and business groups, and individuals.

New York University professor Fabio Parasecoli has defined food as an expression of identity. Conflict between two or more regions or countries about whether a particular dish or preparation is claimed by one of those regions or countries and has been appropriated or co-opted by the others is not uncommon, especially in areas where there has been violent conflict. Dishes affected by these culinary wars tend to be those with "a clearly symbolic ethnic significance". They also tend to be dishes that "represent territorial aspirations" and can be developed and prepared only by settled – and therefore indigenous – peoples.