Cheap Food at what Price?
Where does your hamburger come from? Yes, that’s almost a cliche question and we’ve trained ourselves to selectively ignore issues such as pollution and animal cruelty when we shop for food. The focus of attention, at least for most of us, is on price. Time Magazine have a must read article titled Getting Real about the High Price of Food. Its not new information, but its what we need to hear.
The real problem is we’re all screwed up with the idea that cheaper is better. We’re buying into the free market paradigm with this unwavering faith that short term cost savings driven by market forces comes above all else – including the environment, our health and other social interests. My question to economists – where is our end game? Because I don’t see that short term market forces without conscience can get us to the end game unless we’re discussing the end of life on this planet game.
That’s serious shit, I know. It makes me sound like the unabomber, I know. And I’m aware that view marginalises my opinion because not many people want to hear the question – in 200 years where do you see the state of our resources, environment, food supplies, and overall social well-being?
And I want a reasonable answer to that question – don’t tell me no trees, no fish, no energy, famine and war. What end game are we buying into with 1000 varieties of cotton buds available at our fingertips? Because if the answer to that question is that our scientists will invent something – dude, we’re pretty much up shit creek without a paddle if that’s your strategy. Eventually invention will fail us as a strategy. Eventually. And intuitively we all know it. Greed is a strange bed-fellow, friends – kicks like a mule on the way out the door.
Someone last week coined a profound question: what do you do with a few billion hungry Chinese all demanding their government do something? How do you deal with that? Society is only as strong as the food in our bellies. Its a great idea to outsource our food production to other countries, and our manufacturing, but ultimately where’s the end game? Who manufactures after they get skilled up and polluted? Who grows the food after their rivers are depleted from cotton production.
Take a small peek at the earth’s projected population forecasts. Currently we are approaching 6.8 billion with the year 2040 forecast to approach around 9 billion. We have to feed an extra 2 billion people by 2040 – and that is almost tomorrow! Now run over and have a fast look at environmental impacts of our systems of production on resources and the environment.
When you swallow that hamburger at lunchtime consider the real product you’re consuming. Ask that tough question about the end game. Where are we headed? Faster and cheaper? Or will we have to pay the piper eventually?
