In The Beginning
In the Beginning
And so we begin with the impossible task of uncovering the source of sustenance Mother Earth provides to her inhabitants. The Book of Genesis states, “Let the land produce vegetation… livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals. … Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” Are divine commands responsible for our food supply? Another conclusion was reached by the mystical Druids after countless seasons of observation: Magic! Many believe that it makes more sense to follow Charles Darwin’s line of thinking by way of his theory of evolution and the ever-growing field of genetics for an answer. After all, it was a postulate of natural selection that finally answered the age-old riddle of what came first, the chicken or the egg? Answer: While dinosaurs were mutating to birds it makes sense that the genetically modified egg came first. Ha! Maybe all foods evolved from single carbon-based cells. After all, genetically modified foods are still being developed to this day. Please pass the ketchup… Before drifting back to the extinct dinosaurs, ask yourself this: are stockpiles of foods really an adequate backup plan to stave off future cataclysmic events (did I just say climate change?) that could disrupt our food supply, like droughts, wildfires, pests, floods, blizzards, hurricanes, and pandemics? Hmmm. Let’s just stick to the 21st Century facts.- United Nations FAO: “We grow enough food to feed the world but starvation continues to be a global public health concern of high priority because 1/3 of all food is lost or wasted each year.” Food Loss refers to food that gets spilled, spoilt, or otherwise lost, or incurs reduction of quality and value during its process in the supply chain before it reaches its final product stage. Food loss typically takes place at production, post-harvest, processing, and final distribution stages in the food supply chain. Food Waste refers to the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions of retailers, food service providers (restaurants) and consumers.
- US Department of Agriculture: “Americans spend 11% of their overall budget on food.”
- Finally, and this goes back way before the 21st century, there is the “Rule of Three” which is, in general terms, unchallengeable. It states that humans perish after a 3-minute deprivation of Air; or 3-days without Water; or only 3-weeks without Food!
