Mario Batali: "Listen To What The Earth And Scientists And Farmers Are Telling Us" About Our Food

Mario Batali in The Wall Street Journal:

What lies ahead in the future of food? I don't think we'll be eating high-tech food pills anytime soon, thankfully. But with problems like collapsing fisheries and rising levels of childhood obesity, we do need to step back and consider where we want to be a few decades from now.

The future of food in America hinges on our ability to listen to what the earth and scientists and farmers are telling us. The issues surrounding food are not all black and white, good or bad. We must embrace moderation, from big business to the small producer, from steak to tofu. My own concerns are hardly unique to me--and I neglect countless important points--so think of what follows as the start of a conversation.

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Comments

[Welease Wodewick]

11:08 AM on 12/05/2010

A great article, and some excellent pointers.

The bottom line is, that there are already too many people on our planet.

The Earth's resources are already over-stretched in order to sustain 6.5 billion people.

Estimates put the population of the world by 2050, to 9 billion.

We are too successful as a species.

[leajazz]

11:04 AM on 12/05/2010

People are not willing, don't know how, don't have the time or are just too plain lazy to cook. I won't eat anything that comes from a bag or a box and some cans.

[Ventoi]

08:52 PM on 12/03/2010

Don't.

[Welease Wodewick]

11:10 AM on 12/05/2010

Not the farmers, anyway.

[Samson1]

10:22 AM on 11/28/2010

Can we get a noted chef or someone prominent to discuss feeding the world and how to achieve adequate calories and nutrition for the rest of the world. We are often obese, the third world often starves It may be necessary to stop wild fishing for many species , but unless fish are to be off the menu, we need to develop environmentally safe ways to farm fish. That is a better goal. Another is to grow the grain needed for the world in a changing climate. A third is to produce enough protein from everyone from what ever source. Now if you want to address that , please do. The goal is not to provide American foodies with salves to their conscience, it is to feed the world in ways that sustain the world.

[unami]

05:15 PM on 11/27/2010

His retail jarred line of sauces are terrible!!!!!!

[babybelle]

08:32 AM on 11/27/2010

Good article.
Here's the policy in my home:
Fruit for dessert the majority of the time.
If fresh fruit is not available, there is a large selection of frozen fruits in any grocery store.
One of my favorites is to puree frozen mangos and have a delicious mango sorbet.
It is simple to make and so yummy!

Cookies, cake or candy are for special occasions .

[leajazz]

11:00 AM on 12/05/2010

Same here, fave!

[captainkennedy]

10:34 PM on 11/26/2010

Great. An overweight, pompous, over paid, fake-Italian celebrity "chef" lecturing us on moderation. Oh the irony.

[DSOTM]

05:34 PM on 11/23/2010

Mario is 100% correct, factory farms, Monsanto and the Corn industry are pushing us over the edge.

[HazelPethigFan]

11:59 PM on 11/22/2010

"listen to what the earth and scientists and farmers are telling us."

Huh? This statement appears on Huffpost? Is HuffPost aware almost all ag scientists and farmers support modern agriculture. Huffpost does not.

HuffPsot doesn't even support simple modern agricultural practices that even the now Amish use, like GM crops.

[thrugreeneyez]

11:49 PM on 11/22/2010

Soda should not be a special occasion drink! I hope I am misunderstanding you and that you are not suggesting introducing soda back into schools one day a week are you? That would be a huge step backwards. Soda is nothing more but liquid candy and greatly contributes to obesity and the childhood diabetes epidemic. Plus, it's made with genetically modified corn which means it is not safe for your health. My kids like spritzers for a special occasion, which is soda water and a little organic fruit juice. Coke and Pepsi are not socially responsible companies so that's why I've boycotted them for years.

[shthar]

08:02 PM on 11/22/2010

But don't listen to what my employees say in their lawsuits!

[rikster]

06:47 PM on 11/22/2010

Mario..with a tie...!!! what is this world coming to..!

[Moshe]

03:07 PM on 11/22/2010

Great post.

Thanks Mario.

Shalom to all.

[leajazz]

10:59 AM on 12/05/2010

fave!