Find a new balance



To survive we should stay in balance (photo by RBisschops)

Someday soon the earth will welcome her 7 milliard inhabitant. Usually something like this will lead to a party. Is there time to celebrate if we know that within forty years there will be 2 milliard more inhabitants in this world?

It is a strange world. There is an enormous wealth for one part of the inhabitants, while another part has to survive each day. People eating so much that they will get all kinds of diseases. So called nutritional diseases which refers to a lack of nutrients because those people eat too much processed foods containing lots of fats and sugars but hardly any vitamins and nutrients necessary to have a healthy body. Other people get ill for the same reason (lack of vitamins and nutrients). Not because they eat too much but because their diets are too narrow and contains not enough energy.

It’s like people complaining about the weather. In moderate climates this could be talk of the day while actually those people should be happy about the ‘extremes’ they have to live in. Especially because their ‘extremes’ do not last that long and because they are not that extreme compared to real extremes like the floods in Bangladesh or the draughts in Chile.

People complaining about long traffic jams when going out shopping for – again – new clothes should think again when they know people have to walk a few hours each day to fill-up their water supply.

While European consumers waste 179 kilo of foods per person each year people in developing countries should be happy to eat this amount of food each year. It seems not a very efficient way of distributing food over all the earth’s inhabitants.

We in the West might have to reconsider what we complain about. Of course we cannot and should not compare our lifestyle with those of others living in completely different circumstances. But we should at least consider if what we complain about is really worth it. Maybe it is just a problem which can be blamed by the wealth we live in.

So maybe we should just celebrate the birth of the earth’s 7th milliard inhabitant. Let’s celebrate it with the poor and the rich, the fat and the frail, the healthy and the sick. Let’s share our stories and create respect. Not just during the party but also afterwards when reconsidering our behavior and becoming more responsible and acting more respectful towards our co-occupants. Starting now.

Bees and the boring countryside

See the diversity in a city!

The countryside is often found boring by people living in vibrating cities. The choices between shops is very small since there are only a few (if you are lucky) and definitely not more than one per type. Inhabitants do not only know their neighbors but also the people in their street by name and maybe even the rest of the inhabitants of the village by face. This is not only because they meet each other at school, in sports classes or in the café next door, but also because at least some are relatives. Diversity in population is not very big.

This problem is not only visible in the human population. The diversity in crops is getter smaller and smaller while farms are growing bigger. It is definitely caused by the European policies which have encouraged farmers to work more efficient. Not a bad idea since it is necessary to feed many people who do not want to pay too much for their food. Now each farm specializes in growing one crop for which the farmer has the right machinery and knowledge. After some years of experience he knows exactly how to deal with it. On one hand a very good approach (efficiency means low prices for consumers) , on the other hand not very sustainable (soil needs a brake, diversity is necessary for fertility).

Growing just one crop per farm not only influences the appearance of the landscape in the bigger scale. It also influences the micro scale habitat of the insects. When citizens find a rural village to quiet they move to the city. A city has everything: from German beer stube to Mexican restaurant, from second hand clothing shop to exclusive jewelry stores and everything in between. Even though the city also has its disadvantages – busy, noisy and sometimes dirty – these are taken for granted.

Bees have followed the people. They found out that the diversity in cities is much bigger than those on the countryside. Each citizen brings its culture into the city and possibly mixes his with that of someone else. This means already three types. Counting up the amount of people living in a city and the enormous variety of backgrounds there will be a confetti of people.

Balconies, roof gardens, courtyards, left over corners and parks are all grown with plants brought in by families or by the government. To the bees this range is like a sweet shop for children. So much to choose from! The perfect habitat to survive.

Since bees are indispensable for our food supply, we should make sure they can not only live in cities but also feel comfortable on the countryside. Thinking of the birds and the bees and television programs in which farmers will look for a wife: maybe the farmers have to mix up at bit more. Not only in their own private life, but also on their farms.

Making the invisible visible

Ssomeone who decided to cater for his own food

When leaving the city and coming closer to the countryside one can see all kinds of foods growing. Probably you have no idea who is taking care of it, whether the corn is for you or for the cow you will eat later, whether it is grown organic or if pesticides are used. Can we really make a difference on food choices or is it done by others?

It is important for a government to make policies. Policies help to make it easier to govern a country. It makes it easier for citizens to sort out what is allowed and what not. It is like a strategy which helps to meet certain demands, to reach goals which should be reached, etc. Sometimes helped by subsidies to achieve them.

Also in agriculture policies are needed. In Europe they started to introduce them shortly after WWII when food was scarce and demands where high. It solved this problem and protected the Europeans from hunger. But policies where overwhelming and instead of shortages there were food excesses which the governments had to transport to developing countries or which they had to dump (butter, milk).

Now policies do not only give a framework in which to work in, but they control the lifes of many farmers and their customers. They produce in such a way that they are guaranteed a subsidy. Only some farmers have the guts to escape from this regime and do it their own way. They work hard to produce what they want in a ay they feel comfortable with. These farmers have a long way to go but in the end they might have better profits and life a happier life.

Subsidies are not necessarily bad. They also offer people the possibility to develop themselves. Without subsidies there wouldn’t have been projects like Foodscape Schilderswijk in The Hague, Parco Agricolo Sud in Milano or Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat in Barcelona. But it is necessary to involve people who dare to move forward, who dare to step up and to be innovative.

Grants gives individuals or small groups a change to think about their and our future. Therefore a framework is needed leaving enough space to do what’s good for all of us. In such a way that we do not all have to follow the same strategy. Like we could choose what program we watch on tv, we should also be able to choose what we eat, where it comes from, etc. Especially now choices already become more narrow.

Things which are best for one could be worst for the other. Freedom is needed. Therefore we should not make big companies to dominant. Specialty shops, small farmers and producers of specific products should also be able to survive. One cannot control everything. Be happy as long as one is able to move within the policy framework. And do not only encourage to produce more. How can we complain about shortages if loads of foods are thrown away each day?

Curious on the future of agriculture? Follow creation of the new Common Agricultural Policy at the website of the EU, YFM and toekomstglb.nl

Behind the scenes

Former slaugther house area which has been transformed in a residential area in 1998

This article is also available on IL CAMBIAMENTO

‘ Do you know where your food comes from? What ingredients and additives are used for that product? Where has it been made?’ These questions - about the origin of your food - are posed often these days. It is hard these days to encounter someone processing food while almost all the food we eat has gone through one. But how to check this?

Let’s start with some history. A long, long time ago people where living like nomads, putting up their campsites on strategic spots where soil was fertile and animals could survive. Then some groups decided to stop moving and settled themselves. The first city was created. For centuries food was brought in on their own feet (cattle, goats and sheep) or by horse wagons. Boats enabled to trade over longer distances, like was done between Italy and northern African countries and in Dutch VOC period (East Indian Company). City inhabitants did their shopping on daily or weekly markets. From the industrial revolution onwards it became possible to transport food over longer distances and - thanks to the fridge and freezer - kept longer. This is where I where I will focus on this week.

Moving the production of food out of the cities has many reasons. Maybe the most important reason is hygiene. Before an animal is ready to eat one has to coop with the noise it makes, its smell and its faces. Also the slaughtering has some side effects which are not appreciated by most of us. There are the leftovers of the slaughtered animal like its skin, bones and blood and there is smell coming of the slaughter houses. Besides the advantages for the neighborhood this new strategy enabled the authorities to strengthen the regulations on food production which should make our food safer than it has ever been.

After hygiene rental prices might be an important reason to move the production out of the city. Already before WWII the urbanists started a movement in which there was a clear division between places to life and places to work (Modernism). Cities started to grow and all the industries were moved to the outer skirts of the city. We now thankfully use these leftover factories to transform whole areas into lively neighborhoods (like New York’s Meat Packing District).

Now food productions all happens in faraway places so that we do not have to deal with the smells and sounds anymore we also lost control over it. Control is taken over by the authorities now but it is shown that this is not always sufficient. Thereby we have no idea how our food is made, we cannot encounter the smell of fresh bread when waking up early, we do not know who made our food, and so on. Jobs in the city are lost and thereby people who make food a social thing in our daily life. Food became anonymous. We cannot communicate to those who made it and give him or her a compliment. We can only complain by choosing products of another producer without telling the former one what he should improve in the process.

Therefore we should try to get them closer to us again. Go to the bakery and make a compliment about his fresh bread. Visit your greengrocer and ask him his advice about how to keep best the vegetables you just bought. Meet the butcher who explains you how to prepare a perfect autumn stew. Don’t be afraid of them. They won’t bite you.

Stop and Go

How and where do you eat breakfast, lunch or diner?

When autumn is coming days are getting shorter and it becomes more difficult to wake up. But your agenda is as full as always so after you decided to go out of bed there is no time left for any break until late at night. Therefore it is very important to keep your energy levels on the right level.

In an earlier post I already wrote about the fact that food is available and eaten almost everywhere since people started to travel more. The places where food is plenty are – apart from (super)markets and restaurants - fuel stations, airports and train stations. Although prices are high food is sold in even higher amounts. Apparently travelling makes hungry. Or is there another explanation for the lucrative business on these places?

Today’s people are usually busy and want to do more than possible in the 24hours of a day. Luckily we are able to combine some of our activities: cycling to work means some exercise, watching news while ironing your shirts or calling a friend while taking a bath. And some also seem to be able to combine travelling with eating one of the three meals one should eat each day.

Since travelling usually takes place before or after work it is the perfect moment to eat breakfast or diner so you could continue with more important activities right after you’ve finished your trip. But are those meals not important then?

Dietician advice to eat three main meals a day and some (healthy) snacks to make sure energy levels stay where they should be. It is said that eating breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. When you have breakfast or any other meal you should at least pay attention to what you are doing. Besides that those diners are also a perfect opportunity to enjoy the fun of preparing it and to spend some times with those you are sharing it with. Having a meal with someone else is the perfect moment to share your thoughts; what happened at work, did you hear the news, do you have plans for the weekend? Eating is not only useful for your physical energy levels but also for your social energy.

Are you filling those needs when eating while travelling? Do you really enjoy you croissant when a smelly fat man is sitting next to you? What about your desktop lunches? Wouldn’t the cleaner be happy if she does not find any crumbles in your keybord anymore? And those fries with mayonnaise or other sauces? Are you sure the rest of the train wants to share the odours coming from it?

It is time to reconsider those 15 extra minutes in bed or that hour after work. Clean up your agenda and make sure you have three moments a day in which you only have to concentrate on your meal and those you are sharing it with. Or – train traveler - fight for your right and try the train companies to (re)introduce a special wagon in which you could use your travel time to have breakfast while reading a (free) newspaper and making new friends. You got your time, they got their money.

A recent research showed that the French now spent only 22 minutes to have lunch while this used to be 138 minutes in 1990. Article is published in Trouw on Thursday 29th of September 2011.