There is no natural food

It is fashionable to ring alarm bells over how much humans are manipulating their food supply with science, and to sort foods into ‘natural’, ‘organic’, ‘synthetic’ or ‘lab-grown’. Worse yet, we hark back to the glory days when we were supposedly in sync with nature and the land. This is simplistic thinking, and it does a disservice to how much humans have manipulated the environment around them for millennia.

That we manipulate our food supply to make it more reliable and plentiful is an understatement. This has come at the cost of other species. Here is a far-from-comprehensive list of what we’ve done:

1. Isolated and cultivated plants for nourishment and yield.
2. Domesticated animals to make them easier to slaughter and to yield more food.
3. Manipulated the course of rivers.
4. Built lakes to store water.
5. Built dams to ensure we have water all the time.
6. Used faecal matter and urine from different species to improve soil nutrient content.
7. Built cities to make it easier to control land.
8. Built armies to protect the food supply.
9. Built tools and structures to store food, so we aren’t dependent on the weather.
10. Used animals to augment human effort on farms.
11. Used machines to replace humans and improve the speed of work on farms.
12. Used electricity to enhance our ability to supply water and tools to farm food.
13. Raised animals exclusively for slaughter and for dairy, meat and eggs.
14. Built giant ships to catch fish and other sea animals for food and energy.
15. Built markets to trade food across geographies and locally.
16. Synthesised fertilisers and chemicals to grow more food. Nitrogen fixation might be the single most impactful human invention.
17. Deepened our understanding of the biology of plants and animals to the point where we can manipulate colour, shape, taste and yield.
18. Synthesised chemicals to keep insects and other animals from eating plants raised for human consumption.
19. Modified plants at a cellular level to make them yield more food and resist disease.
20. Transported and stored food across thousands of kilometres for consumption or processing.
21. Built mechanisms to dry, powder, freeze, cool, heat or cook food, making it suitable for human consumption well past its natural shelf life.
22. Traded or transplanted plants and animals across continents.
23. Learned to be frugal with water, chemicals and nutrients to produce the food we need to thrive.

Next time someone tells you that this is processed, or this is natural, or this is how my ancestors ate, you are well placed to laugh at the naïveté of the statement.

We will manipulate cells and other living organisms — including ourselves — to cultivate energy and nutrients in steel tanks, factories, labs and homes. That there are more humans alive than ever before is a testament to millennia of manipulating our environment to our advantage.

The question is: can we adapt and make this bounty work to our advantage? Or will a few over-consume, to the collective detriment?

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