Making A Food Surplus Future Possible.

Hello good people of The Good Food Renaissance community, it is a delight to write you this week as always, the last edition was shared on my birthday on the 27th of January, we called it a birthday special edition, I want to specially thank everyone who called, wrote in to say happy birthday, I appreciated and do appreciate all the love.

This has been a full week for me and for us at Quick Leap as we work towards bringing you the Grow for Life experience designed to serve individuals and families with one time purchases or subscriptions for all of the good food you will need to live healthy and happy with a focus on all the nutrition needed for every member of your household and the Market place experience on Collaborator designed to serve food system actors and food businesses, the and food businesses is spelt out clearly for ease of understanding as food processors and other food businesses who have use of high quality, well graded food raw materials are food system actors, anyways, I deviate, the Market place experience on Collaborator is designed to provide high quality, well graded food raw materials for food businesses, or you could simply say quality inputs for your production needs, and you could have them delivered locally or globally.

Last week, on the special birthday edition, I started out sharing my thoughts on Making A Food Surplus Future Possible this was no coincidence, it was a gift to myself on my birthday, well one of the gifts to myself, a quest to research, find practical ways to achieve this desire, and implement them through the work we do here at Quick Leap with our collaborative model.

A net food surplus world is achievable, I will lay out a road map to achieving it, and I do not think I will complete all those thoughts on this edition either, I would take the more detailed approach to discussing the matter, well as much as I can rather than over summarize in a bit to get to another topic.

Last week I shared two view points in thinking about achieving a net food surplus which I think our mission at Quick Leap very well describes, what it looks like to me is Good food for everyone, everywhere, every time. A world with a food surplus is a world where everyone has access to affordable nourishing food that provides them the health and vitality they need to pursue all their dreams and live happy.

Now to those view points, putting it simply, one view point posses that we need to produce more food. the other that we need to manage our food systems better, I shared my thoughts on this, I think, rather I believe the solution is a marriage of both view points.

For us to achieve a net food surplus world we need to revamp the systems that capture, produce, store, process, distribute and deliver the food we need, eliminate waste, or the very least, drop the percentage of waste to the decimals and we need to produce more food, we need a more decentralized approach to food production that takes into account the food system actors that currently play in the different value chains and make room for new entrants in our design, take into consideration the population we are producing food for and ensure an effective and efficient system that allows for all the food produced to be well stored and processed where the need to arises, distributed and delivered to the individuals, families and businesses who need them in a way that is profitable for the various players across multiple levels of the different value chains involved.

The design of this system will have to be multidimensional to capture and record the organic nature of the existing systems as opposed to a rigid overall linear approach to designing and implementing our food systems, of course within this multidimensional system you will find a couple of linear pathways designed to hold the whole bit together.

This approach will ensure we have a create, maintain and propagate a global resilient food system that is impervious to global events and pandemics, I think COVID thought us some invaluable lessons.

This approach also allows us capitalize gains in areas with strengths for producing certain kinds of food and have better planned distribution networks, in essence, better supply chains designed to resilient.

This system also ensures, we can better ensure food system standards are adhered to and that the quality of food coming out of our food systems match the desired nutritional outcomes we seek to achieve.

Let's approach this from a different angle for the purpose of simplicity, clarity and understanding.

Understanding Food scarcity in a World of Plenty

Some of the statistics say that nearly 10% of the world’s population lacks regular access to sufficient food, I think the numbers are higher, also the numbers suggest that this all happens even though the amount of food wasted yearly is enough to feed us all.

Now, if the world produces enough food, why are food shortages so prevalent?

The same source goes on to say that, the problem stems from the fact that food production is not evenly distributed across regions, confirming the approach to decentralized food production which we have highlighted as a solution, the truth is this, while some areas are blessed with resources to produce more food than they can consume, others struggle to meet even their basic needs.

Poor infrastructure, economic inequality, and political barriers further exacerbate this imbalance, leading to food surpluses in some places and severe shortages in others.

What would be the solution? Well putting it simply;

Improving Food Collection, Distribution And Decentralizing Food Production

If we are already producing more than enough food to feed the world’s population, then the straightforward solution to achieving there is Good food for everyone, everywhere, every time is improving how we aggregate what has been produced, processes, and how we distribute what we currently have.

When we address the inefficiencies in how food is captured, transported and distributed, we can ensure that food reaches those who need it most.

Our Collaborator model provides a very practical answer here, provide food system actors the inputs they need, and the markets to sell them locally and globally, while ensuring profitable collaborations with the entities responsible for all the activities involved in getting the food from point A to B.

An effective distribution system would not only increase food accessibility but also help reduce hunger and malnutrition, especially in vulnerable populations. It would also make food more affordable in regions where scarcity currently drives up prices.

While improving distribution mechanisms and networks do not directly address issues like political barriers and economic inequalities, they can influence them positively. For example, food prices tend to be higher in areas with poor supply chain networks. Conversely, regions with better distribution systems tend to have cheaper food.

Here is where the wisdom of decentralizing production comes in, like I described earlier, we need a multidimensional, or you could say a non-linear food system, designed to withstand external pressures, one that is adaptive, and on that is dynamic and can produce answers to different edge case scenarios.

Now, let us highlight some key areas requiring focus and investments to improve food capturing, decentralized production, and distribution. On todays edition we will start with distribution.

Reducing Food Loss and Waste

A significant issue in global food distribution is food loss and waste. In developing regions, much of the loss occurs before food gets to the market due to poor infrastructure, inadequate storage facilities, and inefficient supply chains. In wealthier regions, food waste often happens at the consumer level.

To tackle this, we must reduce food loss in transit and encourage consumers to waste less food. A viable solution involves improving transportation and logistics systems, which could free up enough food to significantly alleviate hunger in high-need areas.

The Collaborator model will need to employed globally with attention to details

Strengthening Supply Chains

Efficient supply chains are crucial to reducing wastage and ensuring food reaches where it is most needed. Unfortunately, many developing regions with the highest levels of malnutrition have poor supply chain systems.

Poorly maintained transport infrastructure, limited storage facilities, and unprofessional handling all contribute to food loss in transit.

Implementing food system standards can be a chore when the tools you are working with do not help you do the job or meet those standards. You can find an edition of The Food Renaissance from earlier on this year where I discussed Building Food System Standards for more insights.

Strengthening the supply chains by investing in infrastructure and rebuilding commodity exchange networks can help address these issues.

Making the global supply chain shorter by decentralizing the production of food or encouraging local food production and markets and reducing reliance on long-distance transportation will improve food accessibility in rural areas.

Instituting Policies Favoring Ease Of Food Flow & Commodities Trading

International trade plays a major role in global food distribution, but trade unnecessary trade barriers sometimes impede food from reaching places where it is scarce in supply.

High tariffs, trade restrictions, and political conflicts can hinder cross-border commodities trade, contributing to scarcity in the importing area and wastage in the producing region, which are absolutely unnecessary when we get our priorities right, our only priority when it comes to food should be PEOPLE - You could spell it this way for simplicity, clarity, ease of communication and understanding; Good food for everyone, everywhere, every time after all great ideas are always simple and clear.

When we implement trade policies that prioritize food security over political differences and tariffs, especially during crises, we can better guarantee everyone’s right to good food that nourishes and vitalizes their bodies and we can have more productive economies, again simply put; Good food for everyone, everywhere, every time

Thank you for reading till the end, and if today is your birthday also, a very happy birthday to you!

I will continue these thoughts on the next edition of The Food Renaissance.

Would you love to deepen your understanding of our food systems, the drivers of functional food systems and our mission of providing good food for everyone, everywhere, every time with The Food Renaissance Newsletter. Subscribe here

Edited and produced by Damion Udoh

Questions, feedback, or suggestions on topics or how to make The Food Renaissance better? Please email me: [email protected]

Like what you see in this newsletter but not already a member of The Food Renaissance? Read without limits or ads, fun, great, and insightful writing by subscribing here, also join a community that believe the mission to provide good food for everyone, everywhere, every time is not just possible, they are a core part of working to achieve it. Collaborator by Quick Leap

Have an amazing week ahead.

Cheers!

#thefoodrenaissance #nutritiousfood #foodsystems #Goodfood #thestaffofbread #zerohinger #foodsecurity #foodlikewater #abundance #collaborator #foodsystems #makinggoodfoodpossible