Food – It is one of our most basic needs and an essential component of every aspect of living – Not just as a provider of calories, but also as a fundamental part of every culture and social connection. Despite its relevance in everything that makes us human, it is frightening to me how capitalistic motivations and low education about the stuff we eat harms our bodies, our brains, our environment and the next generations to come. Incorporating the simple fact that our world is changing faster than ever before and with it our culture, that is getting more globalized as time progresses, we need to change the way we think about food and the way food is delivered to us.
Data shows that a majority of calories consumed worldwide are provided by just a tiny amount of large corporations, that obesity is on the rise and food accounts for 30 percent of global emissions, making it one of the main drivers of climate change. Bad dietary choices have now overtaken tobacco as the leading cause of death with all the associated health consequences. While 2 billion people are overweight, nearly 1 billion people are undernourished and currently we are wasting a staggering amount of a third of all food produced.
When going to the supermarket with the eye of someone who spent countless hours reviewing studies, understanding nutritional needs and components, my current knowledge forbids me to buy the majority of food that is available, when I prioritize my health and mental wellbeing. Ultra processed low value calories, irritating marketing claims and invisible logistic chains all for profit maximization are deteriorating every core aspect of what makes food enjoyable regardless of its main function and most people are not aware of the big picture as getting to educated answers is challenging with studies financed by these corporations making neutrality and information comprehension nearly impossible for the majority of us.
My proposal is that for our own wellbeing, a simple way of uncommerzialized education, a transparent food system and taxing on imported and ultra-processed foods are essential components for change that can be implemented directly if the hurdles of lobbyism are skipped. A more natural low-processed plant-based approach to food is not as tempting as food designed to exploit our psychological weaknesses, but unprocessed food is generally the most affordable, most nutritious, best for our health and great for our planet in the long run. Also a redesign in supply chains is crucial, eliminating unnecessary imports and exports, when they don’t provide essentials and exist just for monetary gain.
In my opinion we should see our planet as a closed-circuited resource that should be evaluated with the options it provides, to develop a strategy that enables a dignified nutrition of everyone, while everything is part of circular systems that are benefiting a long-term vision of climate neutrality and personal wellbeing on a multilayered scale. Also I believe that our food system needs to be designed in a way, that eliminates bad choices from a consumer perspective, as the consumer of today is forced to make good decision for themselves, which is as stated before quite challenging.
Further additional solutions also need more funding, specially technologies like vertical farming and cultured meat:
- Vertical farming – It can provide a controlled environment to produce healthy plants over the course of the year without destroying natural land or taking natural cycles into account. It also eliminates the need for pesticides and the food will be much healthier, cheaper to produce and the land that is not required anymore for farming can grow back to forests, not only encapsulating more CO2 emissions but also providing natural land for wildlife animals, insects and microorganisms. A personal theory of mine is that this will be the future, when vertical farming is cheaper than conventional farming
- Cultured-meat (aka Lab grown meat): While I believe a vegan diet is the most sustainable option and when executed educated the most healthy (I am going to elaborate in an upcoming post my personal experience in going vegan) alternatives like cultured meat promises the reduction of animal cruelty, while providing an alternative for people that won’t give up on meat. But further research and development needs to be done, before it can be economically viable on a large scale
The current state of societal perception and economic background of our food system allows space for cynicism, but technological advancement and higher awareness in context of climate change, specially in younger generations also allow space for optimism and gives me hope, that tangible solutions are achievable.
I truly advocate for a bigger vision of our priorities that align with our nutritional needs, to have a focal point in the way our food system gets redesigned pointing towards the realization of this goal, benefiting the lives of everyone while also making our planet a better place!
