Food

Global food production must increase by 70% in the next 40 years...according to a report by the UN council for food. In the news report, as I haven't gone hunting up the original as UN pages are always so slow loading, there is a certain hysteria that nags me to say something about the state of food.

And I find it is now that I must say this because I have recently gained a house gremlin. That is a strange creature who likes to buy food and bring it to my house. And leave it there for me to eat. I like to buy food cook it and then eat it that day or maybe the next day for breakfast. I keep certain stock foods like salt sugar and rice. But most other things I pick up once or twice a week at the market. This is because if i buy more food it will end up in the garbage. As I tried to explain to my house gremlin.

And this is the point I want to make. It seems that 70%, presumably above the regular rate of increase in production is a lot. And I just wonder how much of it could be made up for by eating smarter not harder. In developed countries, so much food everyday gets used helping keep up the diversity of local landfills and incinerators. I wonder if merely learning to waste less food would be sufficient to account for food shortages in developed countries?

Obviously or well presumably a large part of the shortage trouble is and will be in densely populated, poorly developed countries and areas of countries, but seeing as cities are going to do nothing but grow, perhaps we need to help grow a culture of wasteless living in them. Before we go mowing down more forest, "reclaiming" more ocean for land, and irrigating desertland. Helping city dwellers be more conscious of wasted food, may also help us become more conscious of food issues around the world. And perhaps inspire some fabulous thinker to find more creative solutions than just uping production.