A broad label for the programmes — usually governmental — that most directly shape the food chain. It covers food’s role in international trade, farm-price policies, food aid, food security, nutrition planning and food control — shaping how food is produced, traded and regulated. National food policies set dietary guidelines, school-meal standards and labelling rules, while trade policy — tariffs, sanitary and phytosanitary measures — shapes global food flows. Food-security strategies, biofuel mandates and competition rules all fall under the umbrella, and policy coherence across health, agriculture and environment portfolios is a persistent governance challenge.