The food apocalypse

I've read The New Yorker magazine a handful of times and always enjoy it. The articles are long and extremely well-written. Me saying "I'd like to write for The New Yorker someday" — which I would — is like a hockey player saying "I'd like to play in the NHL." The difference is that writers get better and better all through their decades-long careers, so I've still got time and opportunity. Anyway...Andrew Allentuck directed me to an article in The New Yorker called "The last bite" by Bee Wilson. (Andrew writes the excellent Farm Financial Planner series for Grainews along with his regular column on bonds. He also writes for the Globe & Mail.) The Wilson article was basically a summary of four recent books on food consumption and food production and the obscenity of our western habits. I will list the books at the bottom.

The gist is that despite our amazing ability to produce enough food to feed a fast-rising population, the problem remains that people in the developed world eat too much and a billion poor people don't have enough. This is getting worse. As Chinese and Indians get richer, Wilson notes, they too will start eating too much. One of the book authors, Paul Roberts, wrote — as Wilson quotes — "that in India "obesity is now growing faster than either the government or traditional culture can respond," and the demand for gastric bypasses is soaring."

        You might assume that more overeaters means ever increasing demand — and continued high prices — for the food farmers produce, but Wilson reminds us that the food crises of today stems from prices that are TOO HIGH. Farmers around the world are producing enough calories to feed everyone adequately, but it comes back to the old question of distribution. Wilson writes: "The World Bank recently announced that 33 countries are confronting food crises, as the prices of various staples have soared."

So who are your allies? The book authors look down upon modern food production techniques, but they also argue that farmers should be paid more. Then there are the organizations, such as the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, trying to find solutions — including more western aid — to help people starving because they can't afford to buy the staples they need. The message for farmers: It seems the world doesn't really like high grain prices after all.

The authors and their books:

Raj Patel, "Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System"

Taras Grescoe, "Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood"

Michael Pollan, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto"

Paul Roberts, "The End of Food"