Food for Life

Rice in the field in Taiwan.

Did you know that a blight threatens bananas and plantains, the world's favorite fruit and the staple food of western Africa? Did you know that climate change is affecting the production of rice, the staple food of Asia? Did you know that your rising milk prices in the USA are due to an increase in the consumption of milk in China and India?

Sometimes there is a common food crop that is underappreciated, such as potatoes. The World Food Program does not use them in its food aid program because they are too heavy to ship and spoil too easily. Despite being perishable in hot countries, potatoes provide a great deal of nutrition, and China, India, and many developing countries are trying to increase domestic potato production. Clearly, this is a trend that should be applauded.

Other excellent sources of food are barely known outside of a small area, such as quinoa, a protein-rich edible seed that can be cooked and eaten like rice. Quinoa is native to Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, and has been called Inca rice. Its nutritional quality is higher than most grains, but it only grows where days are short and temperatures are cool. The only place in the USA where quinoa is grown commercially is Colorado. The production of quinoa as a food crop is spreading into other areas of South America, such as Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. However, since quinoa is a finicky crop, it will take much experimentation to determine which other countries might be able to grow it. Imagine a substitute for rice with almost twice the protein! Unfortunately, quinoa needs cool temperatures, and rising temperatures in the world are already threatening the production of rice. Unfortunately, the decision in the USA to set aside a large percentage of corn for the production of ethanal has also led to rice hoarding in some Asian countries and a global rice price crisis. Food scientists are trying to come up with a strain of rice tolerant to higher temperatures, but finding cool mountainous areas in which to grow quinoa would be helpful. What about Afghanistan, for example?

Then there is the banana crisis. Bananas and plantains are the fourth most important staple food crop in the world. A plant disease called Panama Blight is threatening to kill off the Cavendish banana, the commercially grown variety that feeds most of the world. In the past, Panama Blight destroyed the Gros Michel banana, which made the banana the world's most popular fruit. If Panama Blight spreads from Asia to South America, the commercial banana industry that feeds the United States and Europe may be wiped out. Scientists are trying use genetic engineering to make the Cavendish blight-resistant, but whether that is possible is anyone's guess at this point. Bananas may be the world's favorite fruit, but its starchier relative, the plantain, is a food staple in South America and Sub-Saharan Africa. The plantain is also susceptible to crop diseases, but biotechnology is being applied to develop disease resistant strains. If bananas and plantains were to disappear, it would take a lot of potatoes to replace them.

Finally, the price of milk has risen sharply as the cost of animal feed has risen and milk consumption in countries like China and India has increased. A long-lasting drought in Australia and New Zealand has added to the problem, because these countries are important milk producers. To add to the milk misery, China, which imports milk powder from other countries, is also a milk powder exporter. Recently it was discovered that Chinese producers had mixed the chemical melamine with their liquid milk, apparently to increase its protein content. This led to the deaths of Chinese infants because of tainted baby formula. Soon after, it was found that tainted milk powder had made its way into products sold in the West. The British candy maker Cadbury had to recall products made at a plant near Beijing.

This is only one of the food scares that has arisen because of lack of oversight in China's food industry. So, if people don't starve to death, their food may well poison them. Just when you thought you didn't have anything else to worry about . . . .