What are the criteria for determining what you designate as food items, and what are the criteria for discounting other, non-food items?

Your task: In an essay of 4 pages, define what “food” is: from taste to preparation to how it’s obtained and cultivated, what counts (or doesn’t count) as “food,” and why do you consider it to be food?

What are the criteria for determining what you designate as food items, and what are the criteria for discounting other, non-food items?