Thoughts Looking Back (2013) and Forward

Since my last post to this blog, much has happened personally.  Despite the rocky road, I feel that I've emerged even stronger in my beliefs and opinions.

Food and the availability of food for all continues to be a critical challenge, especially, within the context of politics and economics.  Food has become a statement of personal status for some and for all too many, the challenge remains getting enough each day to feed one's family.  Sadly, little time is spent to look beyond one's own personal relationship with food to seriously consider our future with food.

For 2014 and beyond, I intend to re-initiate discussion in this blog of the issues around food and hope that maybe it will ignite some thinking about this issue among others.

I hope everyone had a great Holiday up to now.  To those still struggling with their recovery from power outages and ice, stay strong because things do improve.  To all, I wish all a super exciting, prosperous, and healthy 2014.

Cheers!

The Politics of Food

For some, this post will not seem appropriate for the subject of this blog. For me, this is a critical example of how we the citizens of the world are connected through food and environment.

At present, some Brazilians have taken it upon themselves to take objection to the actions of their government. Yes, this did involve protests in Sao Paulo over a rise in public transit fee. The movement that was born out of these protests has become far bigger than that issue. It too has become about raising awareness. In this case, it is about raising awareness of the truth in what's happening in Brazil. Take a look at the linked video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIBYEXLGdSg

For Brazilian organizers, this cannot be allowed to become associated with a specific ideology. It needs to be about bringing attention to the truth, both abroad and at home. At home, the message also needs to challenge all Brazilians to take the time to understand what is going on and how in a democracy, you have the power to change Brazil. That can start by demanding the truth from political leaders and demanding explanations for their actions or their proposed actions. It also needs to include a recognized obligation to be an informed participant in democracy.

So why should we living in other parts of the world care? Food. It is no different (and maybe more important) than the concerns we have about politics in the Middle East and its influence over global energy. While Brazilian politics is not as unstable as that in the Middle East or developing Asia, its democracy is still developing and has had its challenges with less than honest politicians. In fact, Brazilian democracy continues to be controlled by the power of personal influence rather than fairness and the ideals of an informed public.

It is to the benefit of all that Brazil's democracy continue to mature. It is also important that we encourage Brazilians to get informed and at the same time make sure the truth is known by public, as it should be in any democracy. After all, we are all citizens of the world. And our food and water needs to be managed by those who can think beyond their own personal benefit. I applaud these Brazilians who are trying to hold their politicians accountable. Let's all stand by them. And remember that we also need to do the same.

Some After Thoughts – the Live Below the Line challenge

I was asked when nearing the end of the final day of my challenge how my perspective had changed on the issue. Generally, I don't think my perspective has changed much but it has crystallized my thinking a lot. It also has me believing that the challenge of solving extreme poverty and the additional challenge of making sure that this world can provide the food that will be needed to feed future generations are more complicated than most people even want to contemplate.

Here are some thoughts that crossed my mind since completing my challenge on June 7.

1. Generalities make it easier: It is so much easier to deal with a serious problem if we can convince ourselves that our contribution of a few dollars, using reusable grocery bags, eating organic, or counting food miles is doing my part. The sad part is that, in some instances, our guilt is the only thing it eases.
   
   
2. The devil is in the details: The more we dig into the tangled mess of issues related to feeding everyone or making sure that each person has the ability to pay for food, we realize that there is not one silver bullet. In fact, the solution involves addressing a number of local issues as well as some global issues simultaneously. And it could very well involve substantial behavior change on the part of all of us. That can be what leads people to seek distractions and only stay at the surface of the issue.
   
   
3. We will likely have to contribute by giving some things up: By going through the Live Below the Line challenge, it made more clear to me that some personal sacrifice will be required from us in the developed world if we are serious about helping those simply unlucky to have been born in the wrong place. But then, it is also destabilizing to imagine that maybe it was just our good luck that allows us to be the ones who get to stop after a few days.
   
   
4. Getting attention in today's world is hard: There are so many things to pay attention to. It is easy also to go into this challenge thinking that surely everyone will see how important this issue is and will pay attention. A complex and very difficult-to-solve cause begs to be ignored by the somewhat satisfied in this world. Getting people to even notice is not easy with everything available that can use their time and money.
   
   
5. We need to be reminded of the difference between needs and wants: The beauty of having enough money is that we can select foods and other things we want at that point in time. That ability also moves us to a point where we begin to believe these wants are things we absolutely need. This confusion gives us permission to consume even more without realizing we really don't need what we just purchased. That extra consumption probably used resources and land that could have been used to feed someone else.
   
   
   

So how can we move things along when out-of-site and out-of-mind is so much easier? These following points are in no way exhaustive of the considerations going forward. Still, they reflect how easy society and the public can chase simple solutions without much impact.

• Need more food production: The world will need even more food than it currently produces in less than 40 years just to make progress. That also includes reducing the amount of food that gets wasted.
• We waste a lot of food: That is us, consumers. Probably, the most effective way to make more food available for those who really need it is to eat only what we really need and minimize what we need to throw out. Living below the line reminds you of the real value of food.
• Food trade is critical: Some parts of the world will never be able to feed themselves and will need to have food moved to them. In other words, some parts of the world, that have the capability, will need to produce more food than their part of the world needs if everyone is to be fed.
• Intensive but sustainable agriculture: If we want to preserve the environment and natural areas of the planet, it is essential that we find ways to produce more on the farmland we have. Not less. That means that the best production systems for the most productive and sustainable use of farm land needs to be developed using all available technologies. The approaches to food production will need to be appropriate for each set of local circumstances. And it includes both small and large farms.
• Minimizing energy impact: The most energy-conserving consumer food purchases are not always the ones that seem logical. For example, food miles as a means of determining what to buy often leads in the wrong direction. The fact is, generally, most of the energy used in providing food is in its production. In fact, the differences in energy used often are far greater than the energy used to get it to the grocery store. Life cycle analysis is what we all need to understand.
• Minimizing environmental impact: Minimizing environmental impact does not always mean small processing units and small farms. A larger farm with optimized yields and a well thought out environmental plan will have a much lower environmental impact on a per -unit-of-production basis. Small processors and farmers may seem environmentally romantic but not always the most environmentally-friendly route considering how much food is needed. But helping disadvantaged small farmers improve their production capability is definitely part of the solution.
• Affordable healthy food and water: The criteria for choosing what to eat gets very simple when their isn't much money. That is eat what you can afford and satisfies your hunger. Even taste and quality, while still important, are secondary and tomorrow is for tomorrow to worry about. Location of origin and method of production becomes irrelevant. And access to fresh water definitely makes life more bearable.
• Economic opportunities for all: The importance of developing the opportunity to have the ability-to-pay for everyone is critical. Even the extremely poor crave independence and self-sufficiency.

The bottom line for everyone to consider is this. It is a moral imperative for all of us to understand more deeply than ever what the impacts of our actions are. The availability and the ability-to-pay for all is too important for us to leave to governments, special interest groups, and industry. We are all residents of this planet and we all need to be more knowledgeable and understand the consequences of our decisions. After all, every choice has an incremental impact elsewhere. That means we have to become more aware of the importance of consuming only what we need and thinking twice about the global impact of buying what we really don't need.

The Live Below the Line challenge provides the opportunity to really live a cause while at the same time addressing equally critical components to any solution. That is raising awareness to the problem and raising money to help move some projects forward. I have no doubts that I will participate again.

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/azantinge?lang=en

With the final day winding down....

Here are final daily budget numbers:

Day Four: $1.53
Day Five  $1.73

More details and final thoughts to come...

Thought for Day Five: My Final Day at Last

It would not be truthful of me to say I enjoyed this. Five days is enough for me. I cannot imagine eating like this all the time.

At the same time, I am also well aware that my experience does not even come close to the challenge of those in some parts of the world would have. One only has to go so far as to consider that I had unlimited fresh safe water when I wanted it. It was that water that I turned to frequently. Many don't have fresh water.

My last day is underway. And again, making sure that all people are able to get the food they need to survive is a moral imperative. It is a challenge that everyone needs to find a way to contribute to.

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/azantinge?lang=en

Day Three is down and onto Day Four

To recap daily food expenditures:

Day One:   $1.72
Day Two:  $1.68
Day Three: $1.43

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/azantinge?lang=en

Thought for Day Four: The Business of Giving People the Ability-to-Pay

Again, if the problem is the ability-to-pay rather than simply solving extreme poverty, a different path of thought develops. It is no longer about giving people the food that they need to survive but about need to develop economic activity that will sustain the population in a way that will allow them get what they need.

The solutions are different depending on local realities but one core reality is common. In order for any or all people to have the ability to pay for anything, real value-adding economic activity needs to occur. All salaries and wages in a society need a source of funding. Funding is money. A sustainable source of funding requires a steady positive cash flow. Governments need revenue (taxes or otherwise) to deliver services. Government revenue (taxes or otherwise) need income to take from. The one core reality is that all self-sustainable local economies have organized profit-making (value-adding) activity.

Business could be defined as the pursuit of profit-making economic activities. While arguments can be made that highlight specific economic inefficiencies, it still remains that economic growth is needed to fuel the ability-to-pay for a greater number of a growing population (global or local). Economic growth requires growth in real value-adding economic activity. And no matter where an individual's views sit on the ideological spectrum, the cold fact is funding is needed to sustain a society.

The complex challenge can be framed by looking at the combined facts that healthy business activity is required to provide a population with the ability-to-pay, and that food must be produced in a quantity to sustain a growing population into the future. To complicate things even further, business generally needs a growing population with the ability-to-pay in order to grow.

That means business cannot be shackled in a way that limits its ability to provide the funding to pay for what the people need and that business must not trample on on the ability to produce food in a sustainable way into the future. In the end, this also requires a global perspective and involves finding ways to give more people the ability-to-pay in an environmentally-sustainable way.

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/azantinge?lang=en