Review: Future of Food (BBC2)

The 'Future of Food', as forecast by George Alagiah (of BBC newsreading fame), is grim indeed.

"With food riots on three continents recently, and unprecedented competition for food due to population growth and changing diets, the series alerts viewers to a looming problem and looks for solutions."

Watch on BBC iPlayer (until Monday 7th September),

'Gorgeous' George Alagiah was no doubt chosen in order to soften the blow somewhat... This is the opinion of Indy reviewer Brian Viner, who writes:

"Alagiah presented... with a twinkle in his dark eyes and a half-smile playing on his lips, which gave this viewer at least cause for gratitude."

He was not the only thankful viewer, though even Alagiah's cheer appeared to falter at times. The content was frightening (and peppered with statistics chronically lacking in context); the tone was doom-laden.

The following factors were identified as crucial:

• Ecological devastation (in part caused by global warming),
• Exhaustion of water supplies and other natural resources,
• Globalisation, leading to increased reliance on imports,
• Over-reliance on oil to enhance production,
• Worldwide dietary deficiencies - obesity and starvation,

None of this is news, of course (sorry George), but I thought it was encouraging to see such issues raised to prominence. As always, ignorance is the enemy.

Of most interest to me, however, was a snippet of an interview with a Cuban farmer, featured towards the end of the program.



Cuba suffered a major 'oil shock' after the collapse of the Soviet Union (and the cheap, subsidised oil that is the bounty of communism); so much so, that Cuban society was forced to radically readjust in a very short period of time.

Agriculture was at the forefront of this 'revolution', and farmers developed new intensive methods that broke with traditional oil-dependancy. These methods are much more efficient, in terms of 'energy yield per unit area' - but require much more human labour.

Whilst such a model is unlikely to be successful in the West on a commercial scale (as it is not efficient in the capitalist sense), I think this is the perfect argument for massive expansion of the allotment network:

• Decreased reliance on oil, water and other natural resources,
• Ecological renewal / biodiversity,
• Improved (and varied) diet & exercise regime,
• Localism / sustainability,

This issue should be politicised as a matter of urgency. Whilst we are not yet approaching the necessity of 'dig for victory', surely the sooner we act, the better?