In the old days, brands listened to consumers.
In a world of abundance, we are afforded this luxury. In a world of scarcity, you get what you get.
Consumers see an influencer on TikTok promoting a caveman diet. Consumers demand brands to bring products to the store that reflect this influencer-created trend. The CPG brands tell farmers what to grow to fulfill this fad. Farmers then reach out to agronomists to determine how best to grow and raise the animals and crops needed to stay within the tight parameters of this clarion call. The crops are planted, and the animals raised. A year later, this agricultural production reaches the supply chain. Typically, these supply chains need to be independent of conventional ones since consumers expect trend purity. And often, by the time these new products hit the shelf, the fad has fizzled.
In a world of abundance, we can tolerate this folly.
We are riding the hockey stick of climate change, it is time to pick and choose those plants and animals we carry forward with us on a world as it will be, not as it was.
Selective breeding will not outrun climate change. This is where safe science comes in. By engineering and modifying those species we have chosen to be here in the future, we have a chance to provide calories for people whose parents haven’t been born yet.
Organic, non-GMO, etc. claims on labels mean nothing in a world of famine, all that matters is calories.
What can be done?
Smart CPG brands are starting to realize this. They are listening to agronomists. They know that in the future, agronomy will drive trends, not consumers. Ultimately this shifts the focus to science in guiding our nutritional needs instead of fad chasing social media celebrities.
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