WEBVTT - How to Feed the World Without Damaging the Planet

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Well fires burning

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<v Speaker 1>across Europe and right now in California, catastrophic flooding in Kentucky,

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<v Speaker 1>unprecedented heat wave in the UK. These are just a

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<v Speaker 1>sample of the extreme weather that we've covered here in

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<v Speaker 1>recent weeks. The big picture, though, is our planet is

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<v Speaker 1>at steak. We've got a great voice on this. He

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<v Speaker 1>writes a column each week for The Guardian. He's written

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<v Speaker 1>quite a few books, including Heat, How we Can stop

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<v Speaker 1>the planet from burning, and his newest is ReGenesis, Feeding

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<v Speaker 1>the World without devouring the planet. George Monbio is joining

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<v Speaker 1>us now. He's a columnist at The Guardian, joining us

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<v Speaker 1>via zoom this afternoon. George, it's really good to have

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<v Speaker 1>you with us. How are you, thanks Tim, yet doing

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<v Speaker 1>all right despite the stage of the planet. Yeah, Well,

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<v Speaker 1>that's what I want to talk to you about, because

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<v Speaker 1>this new book that you wrote is all about environmental

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<v Speaker 1>destruction that we don't necessar really talk about a lot.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not about the fossil fuels that you know, go

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<v Speaker 1>into the atmosphere as a result of us commuting. It's

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<v Speaker 1>it's not about poisoning rivers, you know, with with chemicals

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<v Speaker 1>as a result of manufacturing. It's about how we survive,

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<v Speaker 1>how we eat. Talk to us about that. Yes, so

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<v Speaker 1>the food industry, we don't really want to go there.

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<v Speaker 1>You know. We much prefer to criticize fossil fuels. But actually,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sorry to say that the most destructive industry on

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<v Speaker 1>Earth is farming. It's the biggest cause of habitat destruction,

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<v Speaker 1>the biggest cause of species loss, of extinction of land,

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<v Speaker 1>use of water, use of soil, erosion of one of

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<v Speaker 1>the biggest causes of water pollution, of air pollution, and

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<v Speaker 1>one of the biggest causes of climate breakdown. Now, obviously

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<v Speaker 1>we need farming and we need to eat, but we

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<v Speaker 1>need a long, hard and realistic conversation about the devastating

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<v Speaker 1>effects that the way we farm is having on the

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<v Speaker 1>living planet on which we also depend. Well, I guess

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<v Speaker 1>this is where I'm curious about the government here, because

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<v Speaker 1>in the United States, I believe most of farming is

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<v Speaker 1>subsidized by the US government. So where what is their

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<v Speaker 1>role in all of this? Thanks? Pretty well, worldwide government

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<v Speaker 1>suspending half a trillion dollars on farm subsidies five hundred

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<v Speaker 1>billion dollars, and almost all those subsidies are destructive environmentally,

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<v Speaker 1>that they are subsidizing damaging practices. Now we could radically

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<v Speaker 1>repurpose those subsidies and pay farmers to be protecting the

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<v Speaker 1>planet and in some places to stop farming, because there's

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<v Speaker 1>certain kinds of farming, and I'm afraid the kinds of

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<v Speaker 1>farming which has a lot of myths and warmth towards

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<v Speaker 1>which has extensive livestock farming ranching in other words, which

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<v Speaker 1>are peculiarly damaging. I mean, they exert a far greater

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<v Speaker 1>impact than the amount of food they produce warrant. And

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<v Speaker 1>so to be paying farmers to getting to get out

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<v Speaker 1>of that farming all together and to restore the land instead,

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<v Speaker 1>that would make a really massive contribution towards protecting our

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<v Speaker 1>life support systems. George, let's continue with solutions here, And

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<v Speaker 1>I want to talk about this on a governmental level,

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<v Speaker 1>but also want a personal level. And I always want

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<v Speaker 1>to know when I talk to people like you, who

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<v Speaker 1>put so much work into writing a book like this,

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<v Speaker 1>and all the work that you've done over your career,

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<v Speaker 1>personal steps that we can take when we're in the supermarket,

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<v Speaker 1>when we're buying food, what should we be doing at

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<v Speaker 1>the personal level. Well, the first thing to say is

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<v Speaker 1>that we're much more effective as citizens than we are

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<v Speaker 1>as consumers. And a lot of the changes which need

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<v Speaker 1>to take place are political, but we also do have

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<v Speaker 1>power in our choices, and one of those when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to food. The biggest change we can make of

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<v Speaker 1>all is to switch away from eating meat and milk

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<v Speaker 1>and eggs animal products towards the plant based diet. And

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<v Speaker 1>I know that's doesn't play very well in the United States,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm not in the business of telling people what

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<v Speaker 1>they want to hear. I'm in the business of retailing.

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<v Speaker 1>Just so I understand it. Completely eradicate meat. That would

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<v Speaker 1>be the best thing you can possibly do for the

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<v Speaker 1>living world. It's a big ask for everybody. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>there are a lot of people who don't wrong I'm

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<v Speaker 1>a vegetarian, but for a lot of exactly yeah, um, well,

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<v Speaker 1>let's let's start there. Then. How much of a case

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<v Speaker 1>do you think you'd have to make for for people

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<v Speaker 1>to get on board to actually care about the the

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<v Speaker 1>destruction that the environmental destruction at a time, By the way,

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<v Speaker 1>when food scarcity is a major issue in food prices.

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<v Speaker 1>I think it record has it is, And one of

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<v Speaker 1>the reasons for that is that a great deal of

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<v Speaker 1>the food that we produce goes to feeding animals rather

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<v Speaker 1>than feeding humans. And that's actually a really inefficient way

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<v Speaker 1>of feeding us, because a lot of that food value

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<v Speaker 1>is lost when it passes through the animals. So that

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<v Speaker 1>is actually another very powerful reason to be moved being

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<v Speaker 1>towards a plant based diet. You know, we we can't

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<v Speaker 1>afford it either as human beings off as far as

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of the living world is concerned. We can't

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<v Speaker 1>afforward to keep eating these animal heavy diets. And now

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<v Speaker 1>actually we have some very good substitutes coming forward, not

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<v Speaker 1>least in the shape of this precision fermentation. It's basically

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<v Speaker 1>an enhanced form of brewing, and it produces protein rich

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<v Speaker 1>and fat rich foods. It will soon be very cheaply

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<v Speaker 1>and there'll be much better than a lot of the

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<v Speaker 1>plant based substitutes that we're seeing at the moment. So

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<v Speaker 1>I think we're on the verge of a big food

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<v Speaker 1>revolution which will help people make the right choices. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>some people, I think would argue that part of that

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<v Speaker 1>food revolution includes different agricultural methods, and I'm wondering where

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<v Speaker 1>you fall on vertical farming because it's really hot right

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<v Speaker 1>now here in the US. But there's been a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of pushback on the environmental impact of it. So in

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<v Speaker 1>the last minute and a half that we have with you,

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<v Speaker 1>talk to us about that. Well, I've seen a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of investors lose their shirts and and I think they'll

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<v Speaker 1>continue to do so. And this isn't an environmental argument,

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<v Speaker 1>this is a business argument. They they're going head to

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<v Speaker 1>head with horizontal farming, which doesn't require those big infrastructure costs,

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<v Speaker 1>those load bearing structures which are required, and also of

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<v Speaker 1>course doesn't require the artificial light which is needed in

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<v Speaker 1>vertical farming because horizontal farmers get their sunlight for free.

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<v Speaker 1>So I just don't think it's economically viable and I

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<v Speaker 1>think the entrepreneurs investing in it will continue to see

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<v Speaker 1>their businesses fold. George, in the last forty sconds we

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<v Speaker 1>have with you leave us with one thing, apart from

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<v Speaker 1>not eating meat, that kind of gives you hope for

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<v Speaker 1>the switch towards perennial grain crops, grain crops where the

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<v Speaker 1>plants last from one year to another and you can

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<v Speaker 1>keep harvesting. These are being pioneered by the Land Institute

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<v Speaker 1>in Selena, Kansas, and it's really inspiring to see what

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<v Speaker 1>they're doing because this causes far less damage, and those

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<v Speaker 1>crops are which more resilient to climate shocks and other

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<v Speaker 1>environmental disasters too. They could be one of the formulas

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<v Speaker 1>for for helping us survive the terrible impacts that we're

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<v Speaker 1>seeing at the beginning of this century. George, you've given

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<v Speaker 1>us a lot to think about. We really appreciate it.

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<v Speaker 1>You're staying up late in Oxford, England and taking the

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<v Speaker 1>time to join us on Bloomberg Business Week. George Monbiau,

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<v Speaker 1>the author of ReGenesis Feeding the world without devouring the planet,

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<v Speaker 1>that is going to do it for this edition of

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Business Week. This is Bloomberg Radio.