As we approach major problems in our lives or in the world, we crave simplistic solutions rather than a true understanding of the situation. We look for solutions that apply universally rather than ones that fit a specific case or variation. We become obsessed with finding the right answer to a question rather than one that meets critical needs. We become irate when others advocate their answers rather than working together to solve problems from a multitude of perspectives.
To solve problems are we down to either/or solutions? Do we benefit from tunnel thinking? Must everyone see it our way? Is advocacy causing us to miss innovative solutions? Can we only move forward in lock-step? One of the most influential books I have ever read was The Ugly American by Lederer and Burdick. The ugly American was a man who worked with the Asian population to improve their lives. He learned their language and worked within their culture to develop simple solutions to everyday problems. Reading William Kisaalita’s book Development Engineering brought back these memories.
This week I will tackle four issues that are global in scope with strong food components. My aim is to broaden the range of possibilities rather than to narrow it. It is ironic as narrowing the scope of action in my personal life is my preferred approach. When viewing global problems, however, it is important to expand opportunities rather than narrow them.
Climate change. Will conservation or technology solve the problem climate change? This debate is elegantly covered in The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles Mann. If we had approached the problem from a conservation perspective fifty years ago, we might have been successful. It appears that nothing short of technology will allow us to succeed, and it may well be too late for technology as well. All of us can practice conservation in our personal lives. We can also lobby our local and national policymakers to take global climate change seriously. Time is running out. The issue is no longer one of conservation vs. technology. It appears to be one of trying to halt change or let it take us over. The goalposts keep moving and the needed actions keep expanding. I am not optimistic that we will meet needed targets in time.
Food insecurity is a major issue around the world. While no one was paying attention, the world made great progress toward decreasing malnutrition. Health-adjusted life expectancy has been growing around the world. That result occurred despite decreases in life expectancy in wealthy countries like the USA. Such decreases are attributed to drug addiction and suicide. The war in Ukraine continues to affect shipment of grain to countries needing them most. Is this crisis a mere blip in the improving food availability around the world or is it the beginning of a downward spiral? An end to the war will help get shipments moving again, but greater diversification of grain crops around the world will reduce the threat as well.
Protein insufficiency becomes a problem in areas of the world where diets are high in carbohydrates. Sufficient animal protein is not an option for vegetarians by circumstance not by choice. Supplementation of these diets with low-cost protein can make a big difference in nutritional quality. Alternative sources to animal protein in diets include plant-based and insect proteins. Only insects provide a low-cost alternative to dairy, egg, fish, and meat.
Most wealthy nations consume animal protein. If continued consumption becomes unsustainable or cost prohibitive, cultured meat and plant-based protein may gain more acceptance. Regenerative agriculture to produce more sustainable meat may also be an option. If protein becomes a focal point of health and sustainability, the battles between sustainability and protein sufficiency will need to stop. Why can’t we pursue all options to ensure a sustainable future without increasing malnutrition in vulnerable populations?
Renewable energy is another flashpoint around the globe. Dependence on fossil fuels as a major source of energy does not appear to have a bright future. Wind, solar, and geothermal energy have their place, but can they replace fossil fuels to meet current and anticipated future needs? Why do we need to rely on non-nuclear sources? Can’t we push full force on wind, solar, other renewables AND nuclear? And are there tradeoffs that we must make even with wind and solar? Are we serious about ending our dependence on oil or only semi-serious?
Take home lesson. We will not solve our global problems by engaging in circular firing squads. The problems are too big to be hampered by petty jealousies. Pursuing a multitude of solutions has a greater chance of success than relying on a single major approach. We set goals for some date in the future then blow past them without assessment. We can always set more goals. The magical, deadline date for all these global problems is 2050. Will we make it? Not if we focus more on our rivals than on the problem.
Technology and business cannot be shut out of the solution space. Neither can they be allowed to dominate. Governments can either enhance the chance of success or hinder it. Middle paths must be fostered. The smallholder in any endeavor must be part of the solution not just recipient of aid or considered an obstacle to fulfillment. Climate change is real, and its devastation will increase the longer the world fails to acknowledge it. Too many families are food insecure. Can we improve conditions and extend health-adjusted life expectancy in less wealthy nations? Access to protein is limited in food-insecure families. How can we supplement their diets to improve their lives? The globe’s insatiable demand for more energy impinges on each of the other global problems. Will we join together to solve them or go down fighting each other to prove that we are right.
Coming soon: Hot news in the world of food
In Defense of Processed Food 
Lots of “meat” to respond to.Overall, I see the world as paying a price
for longer life spans which mean more people. And especially more
elders.The communications and industrial revolutions have accelerated
the disintegration of the extended and now the nuclear family as we know
them, which means smaller eating groups and less efficiency (more cost,
more waste). And less children. Also, cultures can change fast, and
the reasons for eating and choosing change too, and often have little to
do with nutrition.This goes along with social change, changing of
interpersonal behavior and production and growing of children Darwin
will not disappear.
A key to food supply problems is reduction of demand: eat less,
which may make nutritional sense here in obese USA/Canada and some of
Europe,but less in most of the rest of the world.China and India have
the most people, but we can’t forget countries like Indonesio, Nigeria
and Pakistan with 200 million each, and not so far behind are Japan,
Russia, Brazil and Mexico.Political stabilityis needed for safe
transportation (current Ukraine crises relevant).Also, personal freedoms
may have to compromise with what’s available.And peace should be an
advantage for everyone.
*Less demand may roil the world economies but maybe we can adapt if we
keep the peace in transportation.Belongingis a strong**driver, and
**that connects with religions which sometimes apply strong food rules,
but even without them, the social/cultural aspects (images) of food will
control its content as well as importance.I remember attending a wedding
in another country, and the dinner afterward was “meh” for me that was
used to events which show how much people can spend.I didn’t pay for my
own wedding (in 1966) but was astonished that they bought swans made of
ice to hold desserts. The swans melted but not too soon, and were
expensive.For my part, I wrote the ceremony music and designed the
invitations, and wasn’t involved in the food.Another story.*
/My comments in bold italics:/
Climate change. Will conservation or technology solve the problem of
climate change? /I doubt it, but food supply and costs will change
because of it./This debate is elegantly covered in /The Wizard and the
Prophet/ https://amzn.to/421FwLp by Charles Mann. If we had approached
the problem from a conservation perspective fifty years ago
https://processedfoodsite.com/2019/12/17/can-we-save-the-planet-through-technology-or-conservation/,
we might have been successful. It appears that nothing short of
technology will allow us to succeed, /and that implies centralized
control private or public./ and it may well be too late for technology
as well. All of us can practice conservation in our personal lives. We
can also lobby our local and national policymakers to take global
climate change seriously/. I think they do but many don’t want to pay
now to live later, another evidence of family disintegration.Relates to
abortion, religion, much else.Time is running out. I’m not sure what
we can do, which is why I think of reduced demand, but not only for
food.And our minds must go beyond fossil fuels./The issue is no longer
one of conservation vs. technology. It appears to be one of trying to
halt change or let it take us over. The goalposts keep moving and the
needed actions keep expanding. I am not optimistic that we will meet
needed targets in time. /Neither am I, so I’m concerned with how and
who will change./
Food insecurityis a major issue around the world. While no one was
paying attention, the world made great progress toward decreasing
malnutrition. Health-adjusted life expectancy
https://processedfoodsite.com/2022/06/14/a-fresh-perspective-on-world-hunger/
has been growing around the world. That result occurred despite
decreases in life expectancy in wealthy countries like the USA. Such
decreases are attributed to drug addiction and suicide
https://processedfoodsite.com/2021/08/10/contribution-of-processed-foods-to-lower-lifespans//.Also
in USA rise in average age, more travel and contact with contagion,
influx of immigrants for more risky work, proliferation of the idea that
health care is a right not a privilege, and underneath, the management
of death in various cultures./**The war in Ukraine continues to affect
shipment of grain to countries needing them most. Is this crisis a mere
blip in the improving food availability around the world or is it the
beginning of a downward spiral? An end to the war will help get
shipments moving again, but greater diversification of grain crops
around the world will reduce the threat as well/.And undemonizing fat,
like it was when it meant life by resisting famines./
Protein insufficiency becomes a problem in areas of the world where
diets are high in carbohydrates. Sufficient animal protein is not an
option for vegetarians by circumstance not by choice
https://processedfoodsite.com/2019/02/12/nourished-planet-sustainability-in-the-global-food-system/.
Supplementation of these diets with low-cost protein can make a big
difference in nutritional quality. Alternative sources to animal protein
in diets include plant-based
https://processedfoodsite.com/2022/09/06/advances-in-the-science-and-technology-of-plant-based-proteins/
and insect proteins
https://processedfoodsite.com/2022/07/05/growing-insects-for-food-another-alternative-protein/.
Only insects provide a low-cost alternative to dairy, egg, fish, and
meat./Sounds like you’ve given up on high-protein plants like lentils
and peanuts, but (next para) you haven’t. ///
Most wealthy nations consume animal protein. If continued consumption
becomes unsustainable or cost prohibitive, cultured meat
https://processedfoodsite.com/2019/03/13/cultured-meat-production-what-is-it-what-should-we-expect-by-kelsey-tenney/
and plant-based protein may gain more acceptance. Regenerative
agriculture
https://www.wellandgood.com/what-is-regenerative-meat/#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20regenerative%20meat%20describes%20meat%20products%20that,matter%20in%20soil%20and%20restoring%20degraded%20soil%20biodiversity.
to produce more sustainable meat may also be an option. If protein
becomes a focal point of health and sustainability, the battles between
sustainability and protein sufficiency will need to stop. Why can’t we
pursue all options to ensure a sustainable future without increasing
malnutrition in vulnerable populations? /Big question needs addressing,
I don’t have answer/.Closest food cultures today are Japan/China and
Italy where animal protein is topping to a grain.
Renewable energy *is another flashpoint around the globe. Dependence on
fossil fuels as a major source of energy does not appear to have a
bright future. Wind, solar, and geothermal energy have their place, but
can they replace fossil fuels to meet current and anticipated future
needs? Why do we need to rely on non-nuclear sources? Can’t we push full
force on wind, solar, other renewables AND nuclear? And are there
tradeoffs that we must make even with wind and solar? */Yes, who pays
for them and repairs and are they centralized?/Are we serious about
ending our dependence on oil or only semi-serious?/No need 100% of most
anything/.
Take home lesson.We will not solve our global problems by engaging in
circular firing squads. The problems are too big to be hampered by petty
jealousies. Pursuing a multitude of solutions has a greater chance of
success than relying on a single major approach. We set goals for some
date in the future then blow past them without assessment. We can always
set more goals. The magical, deadline date for all these global problems
is 2050
https://processedfoodsite.com/2022/07/26/challenges-to-feeding-the-world-from-now-to-2050/.
Will we make it? Not if we focus more on our rivals than on the
problem./Team philosophy: rivals are teammates, but this maybe different./
Technology and business cannot be shut out of the solution space.
Neither can they be allowed to dominate. Governments can either enhance
the chance of success or hinder it. Middle paths must be fostered. The
smallholder in any endeavor must be part of the solution not just
recipient of aid or considered an obstacle to fulfillment
https://processedfoodsite.com/2023/03/02/a-third-way-to-fight-hunger-in-africa/.
Climate change is real, and its devastation will increase the longer the
world fails to acknowledge it. Too many families are food insecure. Can
we improve conditions and extend health-adjusted life expectancy in less
wealthy nations? Access to protein (/and fat-carbs?)/ is limited in
food-insecure families. /Can we convert food and ag waste to
digestibles?/How can we supplement their diets to improve their lives?
The globe’s insatiable demand for more energy impinges on each of the
other global problems. Will we join together to solve them or go down
fighting each other to prove that we are right.
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WOW. I awakened the sleeping giant! I think we are two opinionated old people who have a diversion of perspective here. I agree that we have a demand problem which accompanies a maldistribution problem. The point I was trying to make is that there are many potential solutions to complex problems, and that there needs to be room for many different paths to a solution. You point out some weaknesses in my argument. If we put as much time and energy into our solutions as we do in trying to shoot down others, maybe we would be better off. Perhaps I should refrain from waxing so philosophical! Thanks for your comments.
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