what do you feel is the most significant factor related to the process of “production to consumption”?!

The most important factor is the attitude of the producer. If they pick tomatoes when they are green, dump them in boxes, store them in a warehouse then gas them with ethylene gas (which is how most tomatoes sold in stores in this country are handled) then you will get crappy under-ripe tomotoes.

If they carefully pick them right when they are ripe and sell them right away you might have good tomatoes.

If you are answering this question for a class on food production they will probably say selling the product at the optimal price with optimal waste, which makes me sad.

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