A Call For Better Food

Do you really feed your children that?

That’s the question a friend shot at me, eyes wide with horror, as I handed my kids a few packaged cakes during a picnic. Her tone implied I might as well have been handing them toxic waste.

Before I could even respond, she launched into a barrage of statistics, studies, and social media soundbites, all converging on the same alarming conclusion: by allowing my children to eat a mass-produced snack, I had committed a grave parental sin.

Thus began what felt like the opening round of World War III. My attempt at peace? Unveiling a bag of milk bottles and non-organic fruit I had packed as a counterbalance. My friend looked horrified. Dairy? Non-organic fruit? I could practically see her dialing child protective services...

The debate that followed raged on - thankfully, no casualties or arrests. And while I understood her concerns, I wasn’t ready to concede that my choices were inherently wrong...

Here’s what I realized from that little food showdown:

?? In the quest for the BEST food choices ever, some forget that those striving for the BETTER solution now are on the same team.

Yes, we all want to feed our families well, but life’s circumstances throw different obstacles at each of us. One parent’s pesticide-free apple is another’s pre-sliced supermarket variety. And that’s okay.

The world is changing at a dizzying pace. Information about nutrition, wellness, and food choices is constantly evolving, and our ability to adapt varies. What works for one family may not work for another - and that doesn’t make one approach superior.

A Look through history: changing Food trends

History has shown us that food choices evolve out of necessity, innovation, and, eventually, scrutiny:

• 9,000 years ago, Europeans discovered that milking cows could make their people healthier, stronger, and less dependent on hunting. Now, we debate the environmental impact of dairy.
• In the 1890s, the Kellogg brothers processed cereal, offering a quick, healthy breakfast for all. Today, we side-eye anything processed.
• Swiss chemist Jacques Brandenberger developed plastic food packaging, revolutionizing food preservation. Now, we want to ban it.
• Artificial sweeteners offered the sweetness of sugar without the calories. Today, if it’s not “natural,” it’s suspicious.
• Norman Borlaug’s GMOs helped feed billions. Yet today, the mere sight of a GMO label induces panic.

The takeaway? What’s innovative in one era can become the subject of scrutiny in the next. Our food choices are rarely perfect, but perfection should be never the goal. We make decisions with the information we have, evolving as new knowledge emerges.

So, how do we move forward?

Paul Virilio once said, “When you invent the ship, you invent the shipwreck.” This captures the complexity of modern food debates. While pushing for better food is crucial, excessive information, blind optimism, and a lack of curiosity about hard truths complicate discussions, whether we approach them as citizens, consumers, or businesspeople.

We often find ourselves spinning in debates, imagining perfect solutions but failing to take pragmatic steps forward. From my experience and collaborations with experts worldwide, I see that misconceptions can obscure the value of things that aren’t 100% perfect while also masking urgent issues that need addressing.

So, how do we reconcile the urgent need to advance the "Better Food" agenda with the economic value these initiatives must generate?

Consider these reflections:

• Are all GMOs evil? Maybe, but how do we feed billions in the short term without them?
• Let’s avoid processed food, but can we manage our lives without the convenience they provide?

Could we rebalance the discussion to focus on "Better Food" opportunities that are more urgent and impactful? Some pressing issues include:

• Food Waste: Look in your trash bin. You’ll likely find a lot of wasted food that could be life-changing for many people. Around 20% of all food worldwide is wasted (and this number can go up to 30% depending on the calculation), while 10% of people suffer from hunger.
• Biodiversity: The loss of land due to large-scale agriculture, urbanization, and resource overexploitation is destroying Earth's biodiversity, with serious consequences for our climate, health, and well-being. While we demand better nutrition solutions, we must explore biodiversity for new ingredients beyond the big, commoditized ones.

For companies concerned with GMO ingredients, they might first focus on reducing food waste. Others investigating less processed technology could consider investing in research for using naturally biodiverse ingredients at scale.

And how can we ensure the "Better Food" agenda addresses the most impactful issues for both companies and the world? My recommendation: integrate these discussions into the core of business strategy. Create a strategic marketing and innovation agenda where "Better Food" initiatives are both a lever and a primary criterion for maximizing a company’s top and bottom lines.

?? Fundamentally, prioritize initiatives that align directly with financial outcomes. Accept that perfection does not exist and focus on executing the highest-impact elements at the intersection of business and innovation.

Examples:

• A QSR company might think improving ingredients is the best way to make their food better, but the impact of eliminating food waste could be much greater for their P&L and the people they serve.
• A Plant-Based business might see deploying less processed technology as their best contribution, but exploring biodiversity could provide even more benefits for the company and consumers.

Of course, this topic is complex. But unless we simplify our approach and integrate "Better Food" into core P&L strategies, we risk an agenda that fails to progress at the pace we need.

And like everything food-related - see my enraged friend above?? - none of this is free of controversy and opinions. So, while we debate rights and wrongs, let’s focus more energy on initiatives that can drive organic support, even if they aren’t perfect solutions.

In the end, what we all (or at least 99.99% of us) want is to advance the agenda of making our food better - for everyone, anytime!