Direct market the practice of selling agricultural products directly to the consumer, usually by the farmer or producer of the food fair trade the practice of guaranteeing a farmer or grower a fair set price for his or her crop and labor futures contract an investment contract to buy or sell a commodity at a fixed price at a future date global food system the food that travels around the world for processing and sale; the sale may be in any country, and processing may take place in stages in several countries outsourcing using outside labor that is less expensive to complete a specific job or task than hiring an employee; the labor may be domestic or abroad