Food War

Last time we discussed about organic food and Whole Food Market, this topic makes me think about “FOOD”. Several days ago, I read a news told that the population in the world is rapidly increasing. According to the current estimates (by U.S. Census Bureau) , the world population reached 6 billion in 1999 and the new projections indicate that the 7 billion marker will be reached in 2012 and 9 billion in 2044. World population will increase almost 50 percent in 50 years. Can our planet handle it?

When world population continues to go up, how about our arable land? About 11 percent of the Earth's surface is used to grow crops, and about 27 percent is used to keep livestock and other food sources. Land that is used to grow crops is known as arable land, which is different from agricultural land. About 38 percent of the land in the world is agricultural land, which includes arable land, land used for growing fruit and land used for grazing livestock. There is only 12 million square miles (7.68 billion acres) of arable land on the planet. However, arable land is being lost at the alarming rate of over 38,610 square miles (24.7 million acres) per year. Twenty-four territories in the world have no cultivated land now, including Monaco, Macau, Greenland, Gibraltar and Christmas Island. More and more countries, especially developing countries, prefer industry to agriculture. As a result, is our food enough to supply all the human in the world in 10 years?

Food will because the most serious problem in this century. The country which can produce much amount of agricultural products will become more stronger country. New problems always can create new solutions and make new industry. As a result, I believe the next economy will come back to “Agriculture”.
There are two ways to increase the amount of agricultural produces. One is increase the amount of products per unit. We can improve our agriculture skills or transfer crop genes to achieve the goals. Organic farming skill also will increase the amount of agricultural produces. Other way is increase the arable land. Since the land in the world will not easy become bigger, we can take advantage of garden and all kinds of flowerpots to increase the arable land. I believe city farmer will become a emerging work. People can use their roof garden and courtyard to plant the vegetable and fruit. Planting not only can provide the opportunity to exercise but also help people reduce pressure.

Do organic foods really have more nutrition?

People nowadays all want to live more healthy to keep our body strong, at lease far away from hospital. I think this is why Whole Food can be so popular and make a profit in United State. However, do organic foods equal to the food with more nutrition? The answer is no.

Organic food is the food which made from organic materials. Organic vegetables and fruit have to produced according to certain production standards, meaning they are grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. As a result, if people know how to wash and deal with conventional food, in the point of view on food nutrition, we don't have to spend more on organic food. So, is this viewpoint will affect the sales in Whole Food?

I hope it will not because organic food indeed helps us to protect our environment. Organic farms do not consume or release synthetic pesticides into the environment. Some of pesticides have the potential to harm soil, water and local terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. They will damage our surrounding permanently. In addition, organic farms are better than conventional farms at sustaining diverse ecosystems, i.e., populations of plants and insects, as well as animals. When calculated either per unit area or per unit of yield, organic farms use less energy and produce less waste such as waste such as packaging materials for chemicals.

According to the survey, the customers in organic stores or supermarkets have more income and higher education than the customers in conventional stores. I hope they will concern about our planet as well as their bodies so they will continue to shop in the organic stores. After all, the price of organic food is two times more expensive than the price of conventional food. But if they don’t think so or our economy continues to go down, the managers in Whole Food have to think different business model to attract their customers.

P.S.I believe Whole Food Market already knows this viewpoint so their core values are not focus on ”Organic food makes you more healthy”.
Their core values are as blow:
• Selling the Highest Quality Natural and Organic Products Available
• Satisfying and Delighting Our Customers
• Supporting Team Member Happiness and Excellence
• Creating Wealth Through Profits & Growth
• Caring about our Communities & Our Environment
• Creating ongoing win-win partnerships with our suppliers
• Promoting the health of our stakeholders through healthy eating education.
(source: Whole Food website)