The future of food
What is global food security and why should we be concerned about it?
Food security is a really serious issue facing all of humanity. In essence, it’s about how we feed a growing population at a time of climate change, which is unpredictable and not fully understood. Globally, we are reliant on a very slender thread of genetic diversity. According to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), more than 50% of all human calories come from just three plants: rice, maize, and wheat.
Why are meat-rich diets such a big problem?
One of the greatest causes of biodiversity loss and therefore extinction is the conversion of forest and woodland into grazing for cattle. A kilogram of beef is about 30-times more demanding on the environment than a kilogram of plant protein. For a sustainable future, I suspect that quite radical change to our diets is needed. One of the pressures is that developing societies are shifting to a meat-based diet. If the populations of India or China were to adopt the same meat-rich diet as America that would be extremely demanding on global resources.
Is this the future?
“Meatless meats” are gaining traction but there’s also resistance to the idea of eating food grown in test tubes. There will always be resistance to new technologies. But it’s interesting because they are marketing plant-based burgers not to vegans or vegetarians, but to people who enjoy a beef burger. They are basically saying: try this, this tastes just as good, it’s healthier for you, it’s less expensive and it’s certainly a lot better for the environment. Genetic modification (GM) is another issue where a poor public understanding of the underlying technology has led to an understandable concern. It’s often alleged that GM is not natural. Well, orthodox agriculture is not natural, it’s extremely damaging to the environment and if GM crops can be produced that require less herbicide, or pesticide, or water, then I think we as a society have to understand that there are some benefits involved. by Joseph Hincks / Hong Kong March 28, 2018 Time Magazine
Harmony Hall - Vampire Weekend
We took a vow in summertime
Now we find ourselves in late December
I believe that New Year's Eve
Will be the perfect time
For their great surrender
But they don't remember
Anger wants a voice
Voices wanna sing
Singers harmonize
Till they can't hear anything
Thought that I was free
From all that questioning
But every time a problem ends
Another one begins
And the stone walls of Harmony Hall bear witness
Anybody with a worried mind can never forgive the sight
Of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified
I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die
(Ooh ooh ooh ooh)
I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die
Within the halls of power lies
A nervous heart that beats
Like a Young Pretender's
Beneath these velvet gloves I hide
The shameful crooked hands
Of a money lender
'Cause I still remember
Anger wants a voice
Voices wanna sing
Singers harmonize
Till they can't hear anything
Thought that I was free
From all that questioning
But every time a problem ends
Another one begins
And the stone walls of Harmony Hall bear witness
Anybody with a worried mind can never forgive the sight
Of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified
I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die
(Ooh ooh ooh ooh)
I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die
And the stone walls of Harmony Hall bear witness
Anybody with a worried mind can never forgive the sight
Of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified
I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die
I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die
And the stone walls of Harmony Hall bear witness
Anybody with a worried mind can never forgive the sight
Of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified
I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die
Ezra Koenig
Harmony Hall lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group