Should the food we buy prepare consume and oftentimes waste be considered an integral part of the Energy Matrix?
Just today multiple headlines refer to the US $8B Nutrition plan (https://apple.news/AuC2jLz7BS1K6uyeEBIs1Gw). In the largest economy in the world 10% of the population (a staggering 33 million people equivalent to the Netherlands Belgium and Denmark) do not have enough food to eat.
Healthy eating is fundamental to overcome some or many diseases. As the WSJ mentions we need to rely on science to assess the Healthiness of our food (https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-science-says-about-how-to-eat-better-11664363663) beyond the “Nutri-score” effectiveness
However, the recipe might be simpler.
Food production, processing and distribution have a major impact on natural resources and create incredible distortions at local level.
Consuming an organic avocado which was produced in Chile might seem the healthiest solution in our healthy salad….but the production of that avocado has displaced large populations which do not have access to potable water which was diverted to irrigate a non native produce.
A great report on the impact of Food production and "awkward" legislations is the June 27th episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
In a time of realignment from Globalization to Regionalization, re-integrating local foods into local ecosystem of proven origin, which are available in season, which travel some hundreds of miles maximum, we might be able to start shifting the Food Availability Trifecta: too expensive; too contaminating; too often wasted.
Food requires fresh water, available land, cold storage, long transportation routes ….redefining local plans we might improve the overall CO2 and Energy footprint while lowering cost.
This is one of the many reasons why we should start thinking about the Energy Matrix Transformation instead of the Energy Transition
Let’s Lead into the Future by transforming the way we manage Energy.
