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38
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT KADIR VAN LOHUIZEN
THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR FOOD IMKE J.M. DE BOER FROM CHEESE TO KNOW-HOW THE NETHERLANDS
FARMING IN THE DESERT SAUDI ARABIA AND THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST THE UNITED STATES EUROPE’S VEGETABLE GARDEN KENYA
ROBOTS AND MEGA-STABLES
CHINA
UNITED STATES
SENEGAL
JAMAICA
BRAZIL
MEXICO
CANADA
IVORY COAST
FRANCE
SAUDI ARABIA
KENYA UAE
CHINA
RUSSIA
HONG KONG
INDIA
EGYPT
JORDAN
SYRIA
IRAN
JAPAN
SOUTH KOREA
SOUTHEAST ASIA
AUSTRALIA
WIERINGERMEER
Broccoli and cabbage are harvested in the Wieringermeer, a polder that was created in 1930 as part of the Zuiderzee Works.
WIERINGERMEER
Harvesting broccoli and cabbage depends heavily on migrant labour, mostly from central and eastern Europe.
AGRO CARE, MIDDENMEER
Agro Care is one of the largest tomato producers in Europe.
AGRO CARE, MIDDENMEER
Agro Care’s newest high-tech greenhouses of 141 hectares are located at Agriport A7. Agro Care produces 80 million kilos of tomatoes per year.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is by far the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. Most of its population lives in cities; the capital is Riyadh. Only 1% of the land is naturally suitable for agriculture. The country is bordered to the north by Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait, and to the south and southeast by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. It has a coastline of 480 kilometres on the Persian Gulf and another 1,750 kilometres on the Red Sea. Next to its human inhabitants, Saudi Arabia also has 780 million broilers (chickens raised for meat), more than 350,000 cattle and almost half a million camels.1
The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven Emirates on the Arabian Peninsula and has an estimated population of almost 10 million. Immigrants account for about 88% of the population; Emiratis make up the rest. This unique demography is due to the fact that UAE citizenship is not possible to obtain, and the country has the highest net migration rate in the world. The most populous Emirates are Dubai and Abu Dhabi; two-thirds of the Emiratis live there.2 About 5% of the area is naturally suitable for agriculture. Natural resources of water are negligible, but the country acquires fresh water by desalinating seawater, an expensive and polluting technique. Next to humans, the United Arab Emirates also has a significant wealth of livestock. The total number of camels in the country is estimated at 450,000, while sheep and goat herds are estimated at about 5,000,000.3
THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CAPITAL
HUMAN SETTLEMENT
MAJOR AIRPORT
MAJOR PORT
IRRIGATED CROPLANDS
RAIN-FED CROPLANDS
WATER
PORT OF JEBEL ALI, DUBAI (UAE)
One of the largest container ships in the world is docking at the port of Jebel Ali. Jebel Ali is now one of the largest ports in the world. Among many other commodities, food commodities are a large part of the shipment. The United Arab Emirates still depends on the import of these commodities but is striving to produce most food by themselves in the future.
PORT OF JEBEL ALI, DUBAI (UAE)
One of the largest container ships in the world is arriving at the port of Jebel Ali.
SKYLINE, DUBAI (UAE)
Image slightly cropped because of page gap
VEGPRO, SULMAC VILLAGE, LAKE NAIVASHA
Bok choy is being harvested and weighed.
VEGPRO, SULMAC VILLAGE, LAKE NAIVASHA
Vegpro is the largest vegetable farm in Kenya. Due to its location near the equator, Kenya has a stable climate and is warm all year round. Instead of a hot summer and a cold winter, there is a dry period and a wet period. This location allows vegetables to be grown all year round. The best land is used for produce for foreign countries, not for local agriculture.
WHERE DOES OUR FOOD COME FROM?
Be ready to discover the world behind our food. Where is our food produced? And how is it distributed around our world? Like a fly on the wall, photographer and filmmaker Kadir Van Lohuizen follows the entire process in this book, in Kenya, the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China and the Netherlands, his home country. The large scale and efficiency of most food companies evoke as much respect as questions: what are the effects of these production and consumption chains on the planet? And how future-proof are they? Food for thought, indeed.
In this book, Van Lohuizen showcases his impressions, in addition to facts and figures behind the global food industry and unique infographics.
Kadir van Lohuizen has won numerous awards in photojournalism and is co-founder of NOOR Images. In 2000 and 2002, he was on the jury of the World Press Photo competition and has been a member of the World Press Photo Foundation’s Supervisory Board. He is an educator and a lecturer as well. He lives on a ship in Amsterdam.
WHERE DOES IT GO?
