FUTURE OF FOOD
I'm cheating today. A reader sent this to me last week and I thought it was prescient enough to share; he gave me his permission so I'm sharing it in its totality. I will definitely write about this again, but for today, it's long enough as it is.
From Vince Hundt, Wisconsin, St. Brigids Meadow farm:
Forty years ago, when Dawn and I were milking 40 cows here twice a day, our dairy nutritionist told me,” Vince,when you’re feeding the cow, you’re just feeding the ‘bugs’ in the rumen”. I remember at the time, while having some beers with fellow farmers,speculating, “Well then eventually we can just feed the ‘bugs’ and skip the cow entirely right?” and,feeling smarter,”We don’t need cows to make beer do we ?”
In the last few years we have seen a whole bunch of “milk “and “meat” products arrive in the food market derived from a variety of sophisticated microbiological techniques that all involve, “feeding the bugs”. This is happening at an accelerating pace for two good reasons, number one being; we now know how to do it. As predicted by Moore’s Law, every year, food companies have exponentially greater computing power and get more clever at manipulating nature and creating new combinations of the basic building blocks of nutrition. Every year it looks better, tastes better and computes out as being better for you.The other reason ,and the real driver, is that there is a rapidly expanding demand for non-animal proteins. And when the big food-ag companies smell a new market, it is like pouring blood in shark infested water.
This time “the market”, is centered on the well educated millennial generation who,if they can help it , wants absolutely nothing to do with CAFO produced beef ,pork ,chicken, and dairy products, be it conventional or organic. And from what we read, hear, and see of the consequences of industrial ag, who can blame them? But the trend appears to be growing bigger every day and spreading to an ever broader segment of consumers juiced along by high-powered ad budgets. Just today a 55 year old conventional corn and soybean farmer friend of mine startled me by confiding that he is appalled at the low quality of beef and pork that he finds in stores and restaurants these days. He says he feels cheated and has simply stopped buying it. What? Even a 55 year old farmer?
I have a feeling that we are arriving at the “tipping point”. Food and agriculture production is going through a “phase change” —like water turning into steam—and within a few short years, food production will look nothing like the world has ever seen before.
I recently read a convincing report from a highly respected think tank in which they suggest by 2030, 50% of all the livestock in North America will be simply gone and by 2035, 75% of all the protein consumed in this country will be made directly from plants.
Seem like a stretch?
Hardly, just look around.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Burger King, Hardee’s, White Castle, A&W, Hard Rock Cafe,McDonalds, TGI Friday’s , etc. etc. are all offering plant-based imitation meats and sales are increasing at a blistering pace. And then, this week, there was a terrifying thunder clap heard round the world by dairy producers when Starbucks announced it would no longer be offering dairy products. Wow! That is gonna hurt!
Are there hard times ahead for CAFO farming? If people can buy what they perceive to be better, cleaner, more ethical food that is less expensive and has nothing to do with polluting the soil and water and nothing to do with industrial animal incarceration, well, that is where the money will flow. By the way,the same companies that own the CAFO’s will own the new software based food production system.
Meanwhile there will be eccentric small farms like St Brigids Meadows where the farmer-owners live on their land and continue to plug along in an antique love affair with nature and see farming last as an economic undertaking and first a privilege. A privilege to take reverent care of their soil, treat their animals with kindness and respect and produce small quantities of high quality food full of life and love and offer their surplus direct to consumers.
It can be done. It is how it has been for the last 10,000 years. 70% of all the food in the world is produced on farms of 10 acres or less. I suspect there will be many more little St Brigids Meadow’s sprouting and flourishing in the sun.
How often to you drink a glass of milk?