The Future Of Food

Discussions about the future of food production and consumption have been going on for quite some time. The positivistic belief that hard science can solve all our problems has to some aspect been replaced by a softer more holistic approach. These two camps have debated a lot - at worst it can seem like people in aluminum hats arguing with fundamentalist science worshipers - at best transpire new great ideas and solutions. On this page I will discuss how food might be produced, transported and consumed in the future, not siding with any of the two "religions".

How will we eat in the future?

Environment
It is quite clear that our current food production has to be made more sustainable. Here are some ideas on what could be done:
Energy production Procuring cleaner energy alternatives is one of the areas where a lot of things have happened. Lately great advances in making solar cells cheaper and more effective is just an example.
Transport Some argue that locally produced food is the way forward since transports become shorter. At least getting away from fossil fuels would make a great difference. Actually most transport pollution come from individual cars going back and forth to the supermarket and that is up to you and me to stop.
Food Production Limiting the use of pesticides, not over using fresh water and making sure to take care of any waste generated by food production.
Packaging and Recycling Getting away from unnecessary packaging, overuse of plastic bags. Recycling has started and that is good, but there is so much more to do. Using easily recyclable materials. Reusable containers where the added weight of it doesn´t null the benefits. Read more about food and environment here

Animals Or Plants
This is part a environmental, a distributional and ideological discussion.
Environmental The fact is that meat production is a lot less energy efficient and more damaging to the environment than plant production. If we want to relate to that fact or not is up to us.
Distributional When discussing the future of food it is important to remember that we have a growing world population to feed. Can we sustain a world population of meat eaters? Probably not. The fact is that more and more meat is consumed every day. We might be forced to at least limit meat production.
Ideological This is a hot potato to handle. Whether or not we have the right to kill animals can be discussed. At least we could join up to make sure that animals doesn´t suffer too much in production. Overfishing is also a big problem. Cultivation of fish and seafood is growing bigger and bigger, it is not unproblematic however - when species that doesn´t belong in one biotop has escaped or been introduced, domestic animals have become extinct following competition or diseases.

GM Food
There has been many discussions about GM food, we know very little about the real effects on us and on nature. In the European Union a very cautious approach has been adapted and seriously, that must be the best way. Too many times have hasty decisions led to disasters. But I don´t want to close the door on GM food, just because it is manipulated genetically doesn´t mean it will be harmful. There is a possibility it can make food production more sustainable but it has to be tested and proved properly by neutral scienctists, ie. not financed by the food industry. A lot of the future of food might lie in genetical manipulation, what remains are moral issues surrounding the fact that we tamper with nature. Click this link and you come to my Genetically Modified Food page

Conclusion
Many of these issues bounce down to us as individuals. We actively choose what we buy to eat, where we buy it and how we get it home. If everone decides to recycle it has a great effect. Instead of blaming the industry, the government or any other "they" we should realize that we do have choices. Your action counts more than anything else, because it is joined with millions of people doing the same thing. The future of food is for you to make.

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