In Praise Of The Äss-Bar

No, it’s not what you’re thinking…

Today the population of the world is approximately 7.4 billion and this is projected to hit slightly over 11 billion by the end of this century, after which it’s expected to gradually fall. Ever since Thomas Robert Malthus extrapolated population growth and warned of impending mass starvation, there’s been no shortage of people telling us we’ll run out of food. Today many people worry that we can’t possibly feed eleven billion mouths.

In fact, we already produce enough food to feed eleven billion people.

The problem is, we waste around 40% of everything we produce. In developing nations, due to inadequate infrastructure, food rots before it can get to market. In the spoiled and pampered West we throw away around 40% of all food produced. This is either discarded by supermarkets once it’s reached its “best before” date or left to rot in the back of people’s fridges at home.

You’d think there’d be some use for all the food we discard. Sadly, you’d be wrong. The food we humans now consume is too full of additives and the supply chain is often too poorly controlled for us to risk feeding unwanted food to chickens and pigs. Simply put, it would make them sick.

Which of course tells you something about the so-called food we cram down our throats on a daily basis, but…