The use of micro-organisms for the production of food ingredients can solve a large part of the current agricultural problems. That is what father Rob van Hattum suggests. But the large-scale use of this new technology - with even more efficiency as the sole motivation - will also cause new problems, says daughter Jessie van Hattum. A double interview about the (im)possibilities of technical solutions, the role we can play ourselves and the challenge of working together based on different philosophies. A confrontation of two generations that keep each other sharp from the same commitment: things must and can be better in the world.
There is already discussion during the proposal round. Rob explains his eating pattern after Jessie explains that she mainly eats vegan. She looks defiantly at her father, knowing that he might want to give up meat and dairy, but hasn't been able to do so until now. He does eat more vegetables, he says, partly because of his daughter's urgings. He does not want meat from the bio-industry and now drinks oat milk. Yes, he knows the dairy industry objects to that term, it wouldn't be real milk. "Can I no longer say coconut milk?", he asks.
Jessie corrects: "You shouldn't deal with it that way. The dairy industry consciously uses this tactic and is often successful with its lobbying. That's why you have to delve into their arguments." Rob thinks it's fine, but prefers to ridicule the struggle of the dairy: "They frame oat milk as something of a certain elite, but are afraid that it will become really big. They try to prevent that by classifying oat milk as a soft drink, so that it falls under the high VAT rate and can therefore compete less well with milk Jessie: "That's how you frame it the other way. I choose to enter into a dialogue with all parties, so that people understand their own responsibility."
Public broadcast Corporation
They look at each other smiling. This is often the case in the Van Hattum house, especially when they are sitting at the dining table. Rob is now 67 years old, he worked for public broadcasting almost all of his life. Starting out as a technician, he became a documentary maker, including for the VPRO program Tegenlicht. Always looking for the question of how scientific breakthroughs and innovations can help us. In the period 2000-2022 he was also director of the science museum Nemo in Amsterdam.
Behavioral change
Daughter Jessie (30) has a similar drive to her father. She wants to know how the world works, to make it better. She studied Industrial Design in Delft. After completing her bachelor's degree, she opted for a master's in a different direction "because there is already so much junk in the world". She switched to 'Industrial Ecology', which focuses on sustainability. During that Master she increasingly wondered "how people function in it". That is why she also added the Master Science Communication, so that she can then fully focus on sustainable behavioral change. After working on this for four years at Albert Heijn, she quit her job. "I was not given enough space there to pursue my ideals." Now Jessie is self-employed; she works for the 'Green protein alliance' and advises companies on sustainable behavioral change. She does this by, among other things, bringing processes and strategies to life with illustrations.
Micro organisms
Although Rob acknowledges that a more plant-based diet is necessary to combat climate change, for example, he warns against the glorification of the plant-based. "I often hear 'The future is plant'. But it's not that simple." He points to the plea to make the economy more 'bio-based'. "If we are going to replace fossil plastics with biodegradable plastics based on vegetable raw materials, we will need much more agricultural land, pesticides and fertilizers than we use now."
In addition to plants, we will have to focus more on micro-organisms. They can help us to make our food substantially more sustainable. Rob refers to so-called 'cellular agriculture': the selection of bacteria, yeasts or fungi that convert raw materials through fermentation into, for example, functional proteins for our food. An example is the production of the dairy protein casein with the help of bacteria, as the start-up Those Vegan Cowboys is doing. "Fermentation is an age-old principle that we apply to beer, yoghurt and wine, for example. But we now know better and better which micro-organisms we can program or select to have them make the desired products." Another example is cultured meat, where meat can be made in a laboratory based on a few stem cells. Both examples are more efficient than using cows in terms of land use, raw materials and emissions.
From the sky
And it can become even more interesting if we apply the technology of Solar Foods, for example, on a large scale. This Finnish company makes food from the air. CO2, solar energy and water are the basis for the formation of proteins suitable for human food. "In fact, this company does what plants do, namely photosynthesis. What chlorophyll produces in leaves, we can now make ourselves in a factory. And you know what's interesting: the process of Solar Foods is much more efficient than what plants do."
Rob's eyes shine as he tells. He is still fascinated by technological breakthroughs that can move the world forward. But Jessie is on the edge of her seat, interrupting her father in his enthusiastic story. "It's about efficiency and scale again. That's where every new technology breaks down. By using it to the maximum, we cross borders and create new problems all the time."
Rob: "But doesn't this work well against environmental pollution and climate change? And with this technology we have the opportunity to provide the growing world population with sufficient food without additional damage."
Jessie: "Yes, that would be nice. But I don't hear anything about biodiversity in this story."
Rob: "Because of this technology you need much less agricultural land."
Jessie: "Yeah, and what do you do with that? Tiling, asphalting to accommodate even more cars and planes?"
Rob: "No, we can use that land for more nature and that is good for biodiversity."
Jessie: "That's already better. So you shouldn't just glorify technology in your story, but start from balance. If you only focus on efficiency, you know what's happening. Look at the problems we now have in our agriculture. They arise from the application of new techniques on an ever larger scale, more intensively and more and more polluting. Because we don't include the effects on the environment. You have to look much broader.'
Rob: "OK, I agree. Dutch agriculture has gone too far in scaling up and intensifying on the basis of knowledge and solutions provided by Wageningen. A large part of what is now called innovation is a stopgap measure to keep a bankrupt system on the market for a little longer. But technology isn't wrong with that, is it?'
Jessie: "No, but you have to include people from the start. If we don't change our mindset, technology won't bring us happiness. You can make flying even more efficient and produce food even cheaper. But a holiday further away with "all you can eat" doesn't make people happier. That only happens when we change our mindset and realize that we shouldn't cross certain boundaries."
They are like the wizard and the prophet from the book of the same name. In it, the American author Charles C. Mann describes two opposing visions of agriculture, population and the environment through the lives of plant breeder Norman Borlaug - founder of the Green Revolution and Nobel Prize winner - and ecologist William Vogt, who advocated population control and is considered a founder of the American environmental movement. The wizard believes that man is able to solve any problem with his ingenuity. The prophet warns that we must change our behavior before we do irreversible damage to the planet - and ourselves.
Rob and Jessie can relate to the equation. And both add that both the wizard and the prophet have a role in solving major problems. Rob gives an example: "You need far fewer cows for cultured meat. That naturally feels like a threat to livestock farmers. But you can also work with them to see if they to produce cultured meat on their farm. There are far fewer cows there and the farmer can manage his land more naturally. It then contributes more to biodiversity."
Jesse nods. This example also fits her vision. "If you seriously enter into a conversation with all parties involved, you can find a solution together. That may sound a bit idealistic, but you can get through to people that way."
Rob: "Yes, if you are honest you have to admit that it is very threatening for a livestock farmer what is coming at him. If you understand his fear, you can also start a conversation about what all the technological innovation in recent decades many farmers agree that what we are doing now is not sustainable."
Jessie: "And then as a consumer you will also have to recognize that you have your own role and responsibility. Because without you as a buyer of sustainable products, no farmer can exist."
Rob: "So it starts small, in local chains?"
Jessie: "Yes, with people who agree that a better balance is needed."
Rob: "So you think the use of new technology should fit in with a new vision of the future?"
Jessie: "Yes, I think so. And you think that a vision of the future can only become reality with the help of technology."
They come to a joint conclusion by both shifting a bit. Better technology and more balance can ensure a better future. But what is that concretely? What if we apply innovative technology and at the same time focus more on the balance between people, nature, economy and well-being? What will Dutch agriculture look like in 2040? Rob and Jessie's answer is remarkably consistent:
In 2040 Rob will be 84 and Jessie 47. Will they eat the products of farmers and new brewers? Of course. And is it quiet at the table, or is there still discussion to be heard? They also answer this question unanimously: Food connects and life is discussed at the table, so you can start changing there.
This sponsored article is part of the series 'Speakers of the Future', an initiative of the Food Transition Coalition. In this series of interviews, written by Jeen Akkerman, visionaries give their views on the future of food production in the Netherlands. The editors of Boerenbusiness is not responsible for the content of these publications.