How to Feed the World: Imagining a New World

A Plan for 8 Billion People and Beyond — Part 10

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We began this series with a few assumptions that will come in handy now that we’re wrapping this up. Our first assumption was that we eat food for two reasons; for energy, we need and for micronutrients. Each food source contains both, but some are primarily eaten for the abundant calories they provide (most notably cereals, nuts and seeds, tubers, and animal-based foods), while fruits and vegetables satisfy our needs for minerals and vitamins. This holds a clue for what we’re about to discuss next.

Again, both categories are crucial, but energy is still slightly more critical. Our bodies have a lot of reserves in terms of nutrients, but not so much for energy. Even extremely obese people cannot go without food for long because their large bodies also have higher energy needs, and the metabolic rate of metabolizing their fat reserves is too slow for a fully active life. When I did prolonged water fasting, I felt like a 90-year-old. My mind was fresh, but I could barely walk. Yet my blood-work at the end of the fast was still perfect.

Since it is unlikely that 99% of the population is willing to give up their current life for farming and gardening, we will still need professionals growing our food. But, we also need to be involved as…