Why is Food so complicated?
Food is something we all have in common. We all must eat, we like to eat and eating makes us feel good. But it is more important and complex than we really think.
When I was selected to be part of the UNLEASHLAB 2017 program and working on the Food theme I began to think about the real meaning of food to me.
I am a food engineer passionate about nutrition and health and since college I was intrigued by the traditional model of food production and all the consequences it generates, such as health problems, food safety, food waste, and so on.
We all know that hunger is a global issue. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about 795 million people of the 7.3 billion people in the world were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2014–2016. Almost all the hungry people, live in developing countries, representing 12.9 percent, or one in eight, of the population of developing countries.
On the other hand, obesity is one of the biggest public health problems in the world. According to WHO, by 2025 about 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million obese. The number of overweight and obese children in the world can reach 75 million if nothing is done. And the number of highly processed foods with few nutrients increases year by year.
I fully believe that one way to reverse this scenario is to improve the delivery of products with high nutritional and tasty quality. So “simple”, right? Not much.
To be clear, I will first start trying to explain what food is from different aspects.
Individual function of food
By definition, food is any substance consumed to provide support for an organism.
The food can say a lot about our identity, as the preference or the taste of our tastes — what we eat affects how we feel.
Many people use food as a coping mechanism to deal with feelings such as stress, boredom or anxiety, or even to prolong feelings of joy.
What does all this mean? Trying to change individual food preferences is work with emotional connection.
Social function of food
The food is almost always shared. People usually eat together, meals are events when the whole family join.
Food is the most important thing a mother gives a child, it is the substance of her own body, and in most parts of the world, breastmilk is still the only food that is safe for babies. Thus, food is not only a symbol, but the reality of love and security.
Changing food preferences in a social context is related to changing cultural aspects and the meaning of the relationship.
Economic and political side of food
Government policies around food production, distribution and consumption influence the cost, availability, and security of food supply in the domestic and international markets. At the national level, food policy work affects farmers, food processors, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers.
The interests of various sectors of the food and agricultural industry are not always in alignment, which means that any change in the system or a simple introduction of a new quality product can take years.
Food Competitiveness Side
Competitiveness is related to productivity and this is important because it was considered the main factor driving growth and income levels. And income levels are very closely linked to human well-being. So understanding the factors that allow this chain of events to occur is very important.
You’ve probably heard an expression that says “we are what we eat”. Would this mean that by providing better nutritional foods people would be able to have a better health, better production and a competitive differential?
As I said before, this is a complex subject and, in addition to all adversities, the key is not to try to have a solution, but to combine small actions to make system works better.
I am passionate about this subject and using my background I decided to create my own business and provide better nutritional foods that tastes great.
Our first product is a fermented beverage from an ancient microorganism culture called Kefir. It is totally natural with no addition of chemistry and rich in probiotics that contributes to the healthy of gut. Once it is naturally carbonated by the fermentation process it could be a healthy alternative to sodas.
Looking forward to meet other SDG talents in Denmark, to share all of my thoughts, to learn from them and to build up together a solution that will be part of this revolution.
