Food for the millions

…and not just for the starving either.  Last night on BBC2 Jimmy Doherty investigated ways of feeding the planet for the future, staring in Brazil, he visited farmers trying innovative ways of providing food from fields growing soy on an unbelievable scale to farming caipon, a native species of crocodile.  I must admit being rather nervous at watching a program of Doherty’s because the last one I tuned into was his attempt to make at home the convenience foods made for mass markets.  Bread was the subject, unless he was being sarcastic, he seemed to suggest that all the additives and huge amount of sugar, yeast and oil in supermarket bread was a fantastic innovation.  There was no discussion of the taste or healthiness.  So I was a little nervous, although he is known for being an advocate for sustainability…  However there were certainly some positive aspects to last nights investigation, not least the preservation of rainforests by those farmers who not so long ago were cutting down trees for grazing land, are now re-planting.  It seems those of us who want to offset our carbon emissions are paying these sort of people to let trees grow on their ranches.  There was of course no discussion about eating less, local food for local people or population control but I really shouldn’t have expected it.  The most enduring memory is the apple he cut to demonstrate how much of the earth we can grow food on – quite an alarming picture!