In Warren Belasco’s piece of writing “The Future of Food”, he informs the reader about the current condition of global food consumption and production and the impact this trend will have on future generations if it continues to grow at an exponential pace. He highlights the belief that resources in the world are finite where there is “no free lunch” – the actions we commit to today all have consequences on our children as we are “stealing” from them instead of “inheriting land” from our fathers. This view of finite resources is also incorporated in religion whereby in Genesis, mankind was punished because of Adam and Eve’s urges to eat the apple.
Currently, both food consumption and production are interconnected whereby the former stimulates the latter to increase - as the human population increases there is more labor available to increase production. Humans are consuming more meat and poultry products than ever before, highlighted by the rapid increase of obesity in China. What’s more, the standard of living nowadays has also become significantly more expensive and energy-consuming. This increase in demand and production of food has consequently resulted in the dwindling of natural resources such as land, water and minerals. For example, in order to supply enough grains to feed the expected population in 2025, there needs to be approximately enough water to fill 24 Niles. Rich nutritious soil is also being eradicated due to excessive farming and abuse of the land with artificial chemicals. Although there is a belief that mankind will always find a way to overcome such “natural shortages”, there are always setbacks to the application of manmade inventions to the environment. An example Belasco points out is the use of irrigation to increase the productivity of land – although it can lead to a higher yield of crops, such an approach requires the construction of dams, pipes, etc which can incur conflicts over water rights and increase energy usage.
Belasco also proposes two solutions to this possible catastrophe. The first he points out is the “Technological Fix” whereby technological advancements will help alleviate the situation by overpowering nature. He suggests that technology can be used to make the transportation of food much faster, more efficient and more energy conservative. Other possibilities include “high tech smart farming” and genetic modification/engineering of crops to make more durable. The second solution is the “anthropological fix” where instead of fixing the environment, the problem which needs to be addressed lies in humans ourselves. In this proposal, he suggests that humans need to have their values reevaluated and geared towards more sustainable dietary choices. This includes eating locally and seasonally and getting to know their farmers personally as to have a greater appreciation for sustainable farming. Belasco also proposes that people should learn how to cook in order to promote more sustainable dieting.
In my opinion, there is a serious issue ongoing in the world right now with food waste; the fact that we are capable of producing so much food suppresses our conscience about wasting food and the fact that there are those out there who do not have anything to eat. Realistically, I also feel that the anthropological fix would be an ineffective approach to raising awareness about the current/future food situation due to the fact that because the world is so industrialized and globalized, people would be unwilling to change their dietary habits. People are too comfortable living in such a luxurious lifestyle that their “short term pleasures” from eating foods they want to eat always overpowers their “long term” conscience about the environment. Thus, I honestly feel that technology is the only viable option in terms of sustaining food production in future generations. We have developed such a dependence on technology that there is no way back; the only way forward is the further advancement of technology. Furthermore, I also feel that in the future, there will be the development of artificial foods which will allow us to feel satiated for longer periods of time which will reduce food consumption, which will then lead to a reduction in food production correspondingly. However, until that time arrives, it doesn’t hurt for governments to incorporate more education about smart dietary choices in school curriculums to encourage children to become more aware about their environments from a younger age – the younger they learn, the more likely they are to follow through in their actions.
Questions which I have regarding this reading include:
- 50 years from now, will food be organic or will it all be artificially created/engineered?
- If the growth of the human population did stabilize an plateau off, what will the impacts be on food production in the world?
- What are the effects of increased international trade and globalization on food production?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think you are absolutely right in saying "People are too comfortable living in such a luxurious lifestyle that their 'short term pleasures' from eating foods they want to eat always overpowers their 'long term' conscience about the environment." Its a simple fact that people are more worried about the immediate consequences (satisfaction with food) than the ones that may not be so clear or direct (environmental costs). Technology is definitely something that will be necessary in the future to help us work off of what little environmental adequacies we have left ourselves with. But also the task of using our food supply (whatever it consists of) appropriately and responsibly will fall on each individual consumer. People will need to take a stand to be responsible for their own consumption- we can not depend on technology to make up for our laziness...
ReplyDelete