From Global to Local & Personal Food Issues Justice, Mercy, Equality, Human & Animal Right $$$, Land, Poverty, Hunger, Pollution, Extinction, Climate
Money?
Monopoly?
McDonald?
Meat?
Man?
Migrate?
Me?
Mind?
Model?
The Story Starts with M‌
Poor becomes poorer
Resources Vegetable Starved Poor Countryside
Consumption Meat Stuffed Rich City
Limited Resource Depletion
Rich becomes richer
Polluted by Excess Waste
What is the consequence of this unidirectional movement?
Customers’ choices are controlled by a few big companies. Small farmers’ crop prices are controlled by mass buyer. Livestock and Wild Lives are killed massively
Mmm‌
Few people & companies with $$$$$ may become Monopoly, and grow Mono-crop and livestock intensively.
International Food Market (Towards Monopoly ďƒ the way to make $) Many small farmers They are encouraged to grow some Specific Economic Crops (Coffee, Sugar Cane etc.) which the selling price may be even lower than production cost.
Few big Food traders, Supermarkets, Fast Food Companies Many consumers Advertisements encourage people to consume specific food products. Customers’ choices are controlled.
International Coffee Price 1970s - 1980s: > USD 2 /kg Minimal record (2001): USD 0.907 /kg Current: ~USD 1.5-1.7 / kg
Selling price from farmer to consumer Buying Price could increase 100s times‌
Over 1 billion people are hungry over the world‌ and 3/4 of them are farmers!
International Crop Farming (Towards Mono-Crop ďƒ the way to low market price) Many Traditional Crop Types & Diverse Farm Eco-system Replaced by genetic modified crops, destroyed by heavy use of fertilizer, herbicides, pesticide
Few big Seed companies, Fertilizer, Pesticide & Herbicide Producers Huge land and water resources are contaminated by fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide, and occupied by poisonous species
The World According to Monsanto • It used to produce and promote highly toxic chemicals such as dioxin (as chemical weapon in Vietnam war, wide spread poisonous herbicides) • Promote itself as “Green Company”. Produce roundup herbicide and resistant genetic modified crops. • Force all farmers to buy & use their patented seeds by all means (political, economical, advertisement, law, etc.) • Produce Bovine Growth hormone. • Their products are wide spread all over the world land and market “We can’t afford to lose one dollar.” “Whoever owns the seeds, owns the food”
Livestock Farming (The major cause of most environmental problems) Large forest and inhabited wild lives are cut / burnt / killed
Huge quantity of fresh water & food resources are used Livestock are cruelly treated and killed Livestock Farming Global warming due to reduced CO2 uptake ability from forest and the Methane produced.
Excrement Pollution especially from factory farms
We’re Destroying Natural Food Chain Malnourished…
Over-nourished…
Coral Bleaching:
Red Tide & Algae Bloom:
Global warming (main reason) cause the death of algae or the loss of pigmentation within.
Excess fertilizer, herbicide, livestock manure, flow into the sea, results poisonous algae bloom, oxygen depletion and dead zone.
Whole Coral Ecosystem suffers.
Food Chain on the Land - Livestock Industry the main cause of deforestation
2006 Statistics (FAO): Among the World land area 12% - Arable land & permanent crop ~4% growing livestock feed, ~8% for human food and biofuel
26% - Permanent Pasture 30% - Forest
Amazon
12% World Land as Arable Land 36% of Cereals (rice, wheat etc) and 97% of soy cake (protein rich soy product) are used as livestock feed.
26% Permanent Pasture Grasses on some pasture land are not anyhow grown
Alfalfa (Legume) Do you know the price of alfalfa sprout?
Water & Global Warming Sea ice (e.g. arctic ice) melt is more reversible (refrozen in winter) and does not contribute to sea level rise. Melting of Land ice (e.g. Greenland, Antarctic ice sheet & Himalayan glaciers) takes much longer time to rebuild by rainfall/snowfall. Resulted sea level rise threatens the coastal region, and glacier retreat threatens fresh water supply Glaciers in the Himalayas, a 2400km range that sweeps through Pakistan, India, China, Nepal and Bhutan, provide headwaters for Asia's nine largest rivers, lifelines for the 1.3 billion people who live downstream.
Fresh Water Consumption
Sugar cane ~ 175L virtual water / kg Potatoes ~ 250L virtual water / kg
Food & Climate Change Get richer and Buy more land, labor, water, food from the poor
Unsustainable Diet & Agriculture Practice
Afraid of Losing Money & Control Food & Water Supplied Threatened
Climate Change
Food, Climate Change, Eco-System Unsustainable Diet & Agriculture Practice Direct Murder of Wild Lives
Increased frequency and strength of climate disaster
Polluted Environment
Loss of Food Loss of Habitat Source
Climate Change Burning Fossil Fuel
Feedbacks Accelerating Global Warming Methane Less sunlight (CH4) reflected, more released absorbed heat from permafrost
3ยบC increase will make forests net CO2 emitter, resulting uncontrollable global warming
Dry weather results more frequent and severe forest fire. More CO2 are released
6th Mass Extinction Ordovician-Silurian extinction~ 439 million yrs ago Late Devonian extinction ~ 364 million yrs ago Permian-Triassic extinction ~ 251 million yrs ago End Triassic extinction ~199 million to 214 million yrs ago Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction ~65 million yrs ago
6th Mass Extinction just started
MMMMM….
Your Decision What should I do? Should I keep old practice? Or should I invite others to form a collective force to save our planet?
It is good for you to continue same lifestyle. Rely on me. You just need to get richer as I did~
We need to connect the suppliers to consumers through more channels
We need to connect to NATURE
There is much fun and interesting stuff about nature, good to feed our curiosity~
Replace with renewable resources with improved efficiency
Reduce Rich
Poor Countryside
City Re-distribute
Reuse
Re-allocate Limited Resource
Recycle
Crossing the M‌
Excess
Singapore Food Situation (Self calculated with AVA statistics 2008) % supplied locally
Land Stress for Food
Vegetables ~ 5%
Singapore: 4.7 million people, 700 km2
Cereals ~ 0%
Minimum for Vegan ~ 500m2/capital
Eggs ~ 25%
17% Land to feed 5% population
Chicken ~ 3%
Minimum for US diet ~ 5000m2/capital
Fish ~ 7%
170% Land to feed 5% population
Ducks, Pork, Beef, Mutton, Fruits - 0%
Current World Average (Agriculture land / population) ~ 7500m2 / capita !!!
Singapore Food Challenges From the information in previous page, the choice of diet, food distribution efficiency, and farming technique are all influencing the required land to feed our population. Considering the local diet habit and food distribution situation, the agriculture land used to feed an average Singapore resident should be closed to the current world average. In other words, with current practice, even we use all our land for agriculture purpose, we may only feed about 2% population (huge increase in water consumption not yet considered)
~Brain Storming~ How shall we achieve food & water sovereignty?
Is Singapore slum-free?
Food For All A Singapore-based research and action group Our aims: •Support local food rations programmes •Raise awareness of hunger and food issues •Encourage the appreciation, and respect for, good food and those who prepare and grow it. •Connect diverse local food groups into a strong collective force for our common goal
Directory of Local Food Groups - Eateries Food #03: a Veg Place and an art project started by a group of creative people interested to change the world. “In short, feed your body, mind and soul.” Food for Thought: a social enterprise cafe that ploughs back a significant portion of their profits into social causes such as the Clean Water Fund, sponsoring poor children under the World Vision Singapore’s Area Development Projects. Loving Hut: a chain of vegan fast food outlets that serves delicious food, and actively supports diet change for environmental sustainability.
Directory of Local Food Groups – Environment Groups Food 4 Thought: a subcommittee under SAVE, the National University of Singapore’s environmental group. Their objective is to educate students and staff on dietary and lifestyle changes to effectively reduce an individual’s carbon footprint. Green Drinks: a great meeting place for people in the environmental movement in Singapore – and they frequently feature food-related issues! Vegetarian Society: Singapore’s premier vegetarian group that does extensive awareness and outreach to the general public
Directory of Local Food Groups – Hunger Groups Food from the Heart: A charity that has launched many meaningful programmes distributing unsold bread and other dried food to community food programmes and needy children provided they attend school. FoodXervices: A Singapore-based food distributor actively reaching out to the community through their Xervice With a Heart Programme. FoodXervices has been a key partner in the Food Matching Programme, and organized a very successful warehouse sale cum food donation drive with ONE (Singapore) in 2009. ONE (Singapore): A non-profit organization dedicated to raising public awareness and taking concrete actions to Make Poverty History. ONE (Singapore) organized the Every One Can warehouse sale cum food donation drive with FoodXervices and intends to do more food-relate social action.
Directory of Local Food Groups - Farming & Permaculture (1) Bollywood Veggies: A near-organic lifestyle farm in Kranji that aims to promotes food growing amongst Singaporeans and promote the Singapore countryside. See also: Kranji Countryside Association. Go Organic Farm: Singapore’s first USDA certified organic farm! Go Organic Farm uses unique technologies such as ‘farm-in-thebox’, soya fiber organic fertilizer and high-quality burnt and sterilized soil to grow some of the healthiest vegetables in town! Offers veg boxes! Green Circle Eco-farm: A biodynamic near-organic vegetable farm in Singapore, dedicated to producing healthy food and looking after the environment. Green Circle also offers veg box delivery services!
Directory of Local Food Groups - Farming & Permaculture (2) Ground-Up Initiative: An inspiring sustainable living community in Singapore that is developing a Sustainable Urban Farming model for the country’s urban context. You have to read their story! Community in Bloom: A governmental project under National Parks, promoting community gardens in areas of public & private housing estates, and within the premises of organisations or school. You can even apply to start your own community garden project!
Directory of Local Food Groups - Organic & Fair Trade PS: Here are two guides to where you can buy organic food and fairtrade food in Singapore, courtesy of Mr. Jared Tham! Cielo Sereno: an organic lifestyle promotion group, set up to educate the public on the significance behind an organic and vegetarian lifestyle, to help interested parties to get started on a healthy organic diet, to catalyse social network among organic goers and pro-organic organisations, and to facilitate the flourishing of the organic industries. FairTrade SG: An open yahoo group for everyone in Singapore Kampung Senang: a holistic living centre that runs a mini organic farm as a living classroom and community space, and also organized Singapore’s first organic food coop, in which individual households team up to buy organic food in bulk!
Singapore Food Waste Situation Hsien H. Khoo, Teik Z. Lim, Reginald B.H. Tan, Food waste conversion options in Singapore: Environmental impacts based on an LCA perspective, Science of The Total Environment A large bulk of food waste is directed to incinerators. A remaining small percent is sent for recycling via anaerobic digestion (AD), followed by composting of the digestate material‌‌The total normalized results showed that a smallscale proposed aerobic composting system is more environmentally favorable than incinerators, but less ideal compared to the AD process. By making full use of the AD's Recycling Phase II process alone, the Singapore Green Plan's 2012 aim to increase the recycling of food waste to 30% can easily be achieved, along with reduced global warming impacts.
Short Summary – “R”s to be Done “R”s
Short Description
Replace (Food)
Educate and encourage people to replace animal based diet to plant based diet
Redistribute (Food)
Find Out the local poverty who needs food, connect them to supplier with excess food
Reallocate (Man Power)
Encourage more people to start / involve in community / roof top farms. Other than housing estates, hospitals, schools, and even prison are good place to find volunteers
Short Summary – “R”s to be Done “R”s
Short Description
Recycle (food to energy & fertilizer)
Build waste food collection system and send to anaerobic digester to generate power. Solid residue (digestate) can be used as fertilizer supplying local farm.
Recycle (food to food)
Some unwanted food after fermentation could be edible (e.g. vinegar, yogurt, alcohol, more study is needed)
Recover (Food & BioEnergy)
Look into what plant food more suitable to be grown in tropic city. Growth of algae for biofuel / biogas production.
Hope for Singapore Food Sovereignty (2008 data from AVA) Food Type
2008 Import (Tonnes)
Suggested Target (asap)
Chicken
165,287
Cut by 90%
Ducks
15,049
Cut by 90%
Pork
93,260
Cut by 90%
Beef
28,848
Cut by 90%
Mutton
10,014
Cut by 90%
Fish
82,645
Cut by 90%
Hen Eggs
67,019
Cut by 60%
Vegetables
394,162
Maintain
Fruits
361,766
Maintain
How? These theoretically can be achieved by replacing animal based diet to plant based diet All other “R�s
Thank You Q&A