Julian Baggini, a previous academic director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and a contributor to the Food Ethics Council, expresses concern over the current unviable methods of human food production. His opinion is that the world’s food system is critically flawed and needs immediate rectification, an idea that many others involved in the food industry concur with. However, issues arise when determining the reasons behind the flaws and the correct methods of resolving them.
Baggini lays out the facts, highlighting that the international food system contributes to one-third of human-induced greenhouse emissions and agriculture utilises 70% of the world’s water resources, leading to global water scarcity. He warns us of the brewing ‘perfect storm’ due to escalating population, dwindling natural resources, escalating energy rates, rising consumption of animal-based proteins, and global warming.
As part of his proposition for the future course and values for the management of the global food sector, Baggini scrutinises matters via four primary lenses: the administration of land allocated for food production, the power dynamics behind the decision-making in global food supply, the influence of the existing food system on other creatures, and the function technology could possess in the future food system.
A historical analysis from Baggini goes from our hunter-gatherer roots to our transition to agricultural societies, further leading to today’s big food processing companies. Whilst doing so, he clarifies multiple misconceptions, from the supposed benefits of the Paleo diet to the glorification of farmed or lab-produced meat. He claims that the enthusiasts of these meats have greatly inflated its probable impacts, considering the significant production costs.
Baggini calls attention to the existing inequalities in the food industry, citing modern slavery within the supply chain as a significant problem from cacao growers in Western Africa to immigrant vegetable pickers in Southern Europe. He critiques the trend of commoditisation and its damaging effect on our food growth, processing, and consumption habits, as well as the large food corporations’ frequently unethical marketing strategies aimed at increasing shareholder profits.
Despite occasionally overloading the reader with information or various separate quotes, Baggini’s arguments are largely straightforward and sensible. They should resonate with various demographics within the food sector, whether they’re ardent vegans or stakeholders in a meat processing business.
John Walshe, commentator.