Losing our brains with disruptive technologies (VIII): Proper eating to recover hormonal harmony takes 7 years.
Last week we promised to continue our analysis of the “Food technologies” from the perspective of “how do we process our nourishment” from the farming to our plate (food collection, processing, packaging, delivery, and at-home preparation); and from the point of view of the new technologies which have emerged to modify our “inside the mouth” activities. Such actions as tasting, chewing, swallowing and/or guzzling.
Tech applied to the processing of our food-drinks nourishment?
When preparing myself to write about this, I was tempted to use my “past strategic consultant approach”. I visited several articles from consultants of the Agriculture, Food Processing and Food Retailers industries, particularly those which are now evangelizing in how to apply digital applications, artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnologies and machine learning algorithms to process big data and the rest of the new disruptive technologies. I also audited information doctorate papers and reports from food Industry specialists. I always try to discern what my peers from Bain, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, PWC are publishing under the public domain for this particular industry, in relation to technology applications.
The drivers of the food industry have always been how many people need to be fed? Population growth is one key driver, but we must include other key drivers in the future. Graph Source: https://www.bain.com/insights/conquering-the-food-challenge-through-agriculture-3/
After my reading preparation, I thought they have shared a lot in relation to how to apply the newest technologies available to the whole value chain (from the farming to our plate). As usual, I share their website links for your further consideration (find them below).
A generic food industry value chain scheme for technologies applied to the food processing and handling components has been published by Mckinsey recently:
From the report: “Food Processing & Handling Ripe for disruption”, Mckinsey.
The food value chain in terms of processing and handling food includes any type of equipment, gadgets, devices, software, and molecular research from universities related to food protection, renewal of food waste, distribution and logistics, and cost-efficiencies. I reassure you that each value chain segment and sub-sections have addressed the utilization of not one, but several technologies. These involve the home family consumers, accommodation industry (hotels), hospitals and the whole range of service restaurants and retailers (grocery stores).
Food processing and handling. As mentioned, the usage of technology related to this segment of food and drinks value chain is infinite. Since the beginning of our history as humans, our ancestors invented multiple technologies to help us to find plants, to kill animals, to farm vegetables, to preserve and to prepare our food inputs, to serve and to eat them. And all these technologies have continued on and on and on. We already mentioned some of them in our last publication. We have evolved from eating whatever it was available during our times as nomads, to understand how each food we consume has a label of nutrition facts. The food we ingest is categorized into six main different groups:
1. Meat, fish, and poultry
2. Oils and fats
3. Dairy (including eggs)
4. Vegetables (starchy, non-starchy) and fruits
5. Pasta, Cereals, and grains
6. Sweets and desserts.
Million of recipes (regardless of the country) and the daily menu we prepare per day, are the result of thousands of years of experience and knowledge evolution recognized by our mothers, grandmothers, and their respective female ancestors. The measurement systems (either in weight, volume or count items) required the invention of spoons, cups, and different measurement tools. Recently our electronic devices have expended to replace the traditional instant-read thermometers, scales and cutting edge safe metals cookware. All the newest instruments and technologies associated (hardware and software) with the state of affairs from “the farm to your plate” will always germinate. And that is fine. We are not against technologies that help the value chain production and manufacturing to be better. What I am completely against is with food technologies that destroy the original nutrients of our food and the food technologies which have set up our bodies with hormonal imbalance.
Worries are the trigger to change what is not safe. What worries me about the thinking condition of the food tech “current status” goes beyond the utensils, gadgets, robots, internet of things applied to farm, or data analysis related to every single aspect of the food industry. I am worried because all the global consulting efforts have been focused in the incorrect direction. The consulting aid has been concentrated to put technology to help the players (farming producers, food processing companies, handling-storage entities, retailers and logistics/transportation enterprises), to solve issues with the thinking paradigm of “producing more food at low costs to fill the supply for the market demand” in:
1. Crops Inputs Availability
2. Crops Increasing Yields (expansion and growth)
3. Cost reduction of every single aspect of the food value chain
4. Efficiency and competitiveness to cut costs
5. Use of Capital for higher returns of investments
6. Trading and logistics cheapest alternatives
7. Retailers convenience self-interests
8. Waste Management efforts
All the latter themes are valid and important, affordability is relevant when it comes to feeding the planet. But we have forgotten the whole food industry core business is to supply healthy food, for the consumers to be healthy.
What we eat is killing us, because we don´t know what, how, and when to eat properly? And what is worst, even if we hold the perfect diet for our specific organism, consumers at this point in time are not aware of the way the food industry system has operated (including the technologies): What we eat is far away from organic and is contaminated genetically or chemically (with toxic water, lethal fertilizers or poison from pesticides), In consequence, we lack the basic healthy ingredients to be wholesome. For the benefit of feeding those in need and poverty, humans decided to transform the molecular composition of our basic ingredients, instead of finding other solutions. Those solutions only come from our brain thoughts which have been educated through balanced proper training.
Comparing the past to our present: The food value chain of my grandparents was simple and healthier. For example, I had two grandparents who died of natural reasons around their 90 years old. None of them died of cancer. Both of them had a “rural farming” household living model. They ate pure organic food, at a time where no GMO´s existed in El Salvador, neither molecular food degeneration was allowed. Basically what they produced at the farm was not manipulated at all in the process, they simply cut the fruits and veggies, or killed the hens, poulet or goat to directly cook them and serve. The value chain simplicity (without processing, packaging, handling and traveling) kept their food almost intact from the tree or the land to the plate.
The hormonal balance of my grandparents was implicitly correct. Which means their diets were healthier not just in content, but in the mix of ingredients and amount of servings they consumed.
The problem with our current food industry system is deeper. It causes hormonal imbalance. In my last post, I wrote I would rather request more technologies invented to help us to determine the level of safety of our food, than robotics for manufacturing. Let´s understand this from the human hormonal core perspective. Doctor Diana Schwarzbein, an endocrinologist, explains it simply: Anyone with an altered physiological state either has an illness or has been altered by illness. This abnormal health state is shown in our hormonal dashboard: our hormone system is out of balance. When our hormones are out of equilibrium, they create multiple varied problems. For example, low thyroid production may lead to a high insulin level. All our hormones communicate chemically with all other hormones systems (insulin resistance, thyroid diseases, reproductive glands altered, low-serotonin levels, adrenal glands, etc). Furthermore, 90% of the time, an illness that is caused because of hormonal imbalances has a cause: poor eating and lifestyle habits. Only 10% is due to genetics. In consequence: Our hormones determine our health.
“Surpris par un écureuil”. Original aquarelle by Eleonora Escalante. Size: 50cm x 35 cm. Watercolor paper Guarro Canson 210 GSM. If you wish to buy it, contact me, please.
Most hormone imbalances are acquired. There is a direct connection between hormone balance and proper eating. By eating incorrectly, our unbalanced hormones are an issue today more than before. The majority of diseases associated with accelerated metabolic aging (hormonal imbalance) are cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, heart diseases and strokes, type II diabetes.
If the food we consume has been modified or is not served on a healthy diet menu daily, we will start to show hormonal discordant status. Our metabolism will show through diseases, that we are not eating properly. If the food we consume is not safe for our consumption; or our food (including water) has been exposed to chemicals, bacteria or molecular degeneration those things are causing our illnesses. If you add the current stress in which we live, and other social-environment pollution issues of our habitat; of course we have to admit our food is not helping us to re-establish a hormonal harmony. Of course, endocrinologists are able to discern when patients´problems with a genetic or biological hormone deficiency, can only be repaired with hormone replacement therapy or medication or surgery; but the majority of their patients show acquired hormonal imbalance which is directly connected to our food ingredients and poor eating patterns. Just remember: if we don´t change our food quality and poor eating habits (diets), in less than 10 years from now: the situation will become disgraceful. The number of overweight and obese people with metabolic syndrome and its associated diseases will reach 3.28 billion by 2030, or about one-third of the projected total world population for that year.
Criteria to filter which food technology is good for us. Before promoting food technologies for investments in any segment of the food value chain and its commercialization; from now and then I would rather advise to the food tech inventors, university researchers and my consulting peers from other advisory firms, to ask themselves this critical question: Is this new technology opportunity adding value to establish the human being hormonal balance? Is this new technology leveraging consumers’ health? I am sure many technologies as the microwave, would have never been sold in the market place.
Our key drivers for food tech investments should be: are we helping to serve organic food? are we helping companies to provide excellent quality of nutrition? Are these technologies promoting freshness of ingredients? Are we investing in food tech for the sake of restoring our crops’ original nature to its most pure molecular structure before the GMO industry appearance on the planet? Are we helping to offer, sanitation, safety and reducing biological, chemical and physical hazards? Are we raising sustainability? And finally, are we helping to elevate hormonal harmony?
When it comes to food investments in technology, we must prioritize the health above money (financial and economic returns). I am sure if you do it, as usual, whenever we do good, it comes back to us “al ciento por uno”.
In my next publication, we will continue with the technologies that emerged to modify our “inner” actions of tasting, chewing, swallowing and/or guzzling. Thank you.
Sources of reference utilized to write this post (and the previous one)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306104404_The_future_of_food
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263502331_Teaching_professional_ethics_in_culinary_studies
http://www.fao.org/3/ca4887en/ca4887en.pdf
https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/96598-robotics-now-and-in-the-future
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/teaming_with_suppliers_for_sustainable_food
https://www.esmmagazine.com/supply-chain/annual-food-loss-and-waste-a-700-billion-cost-bcg-64063
https://ww2.frost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Food_Nutrition_and_Agricolture_Deck.pdf
http://ap.fftc.agnet.org/ap_db.php?id=987
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-43739-2_34
https://www.agvictus.com/ag-value-chain/
https://docs.wbcsd.org/2019/10/WBCSD_CEO_Guide_to_Food_System_Transformation.pdf
https://www.bain.com/insights/working-with-suppliers-for-sustainable-food-supply-chains/
https://www.bain.com/insights/can-agribusiness-reinvent-itself-to-capture-the-future/
https://www.bain.com/insights/conquering-the-food-challenge-through-agriculture-3/
https://www.bcg.com/d/news/20august2018-food-waste-to-grow-to-two-billion-tons-202810
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2012/global-food-security.aspx
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/infographic-why-is-one-third-world-food-being-lost-wasted.aspx
https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/advanced%20electronics/our%20insights/whats%20ahead%20for%20food%20processing%20and%20handling/mckinsey-on-food-processing-and-handling-ripe-for-disruption.ashx
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
https://www.boardofinnovation.com/blog/40-food-innovations-that-excite-us/
https://think.ing.com/uploads/reports/ING_-_Food_tech_-_April_2019.pdf
https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/22/the-foodtech-investment-opportunity-present-and-future/
https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/topics/2635-tech-update
Disclaimer: Illustrations in Watercolor are painted by Eleonora Escalante. Other types of illustrations or videos (which are not mine) are used for educational purposes ONLY. Nevertheless, the majority of the pictures, images or videos shown on this blog are not mine. I do not own any of the lovely photos or images posted unless otherwise stated.
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