2022 Signs, Trends, And The Way Forward
Recognizing and acknowledging the signposts to make the conscious decision to transition towards more integral ecological regeneration.
Nobody can predict the future. But everyone can imagine it. Growing populations, diminishing resources, and climate change set the stage for our global future. Although some prefer to live in the moment, ignoring the signs, reaping Earth’s bounty, and turning a blind eye to the impending consequences, we need to inspire the rest to focus on the horizon and begin changing mindsets today, that will drive actions tomorrow, and lead to greater prosperity for people and the planet of the future.
2022: The Year of REGENERATION & LONGEVITY
Regenerative means much more than simply sustainable (do less or no harm).
Regeneration is more than restoration (going back to a previous state).
Regeneration is the re-enlivenment of degraded relationships at large, touching natural ecosystems, social fabric, and individuals. It speaks to longevity, a future-thinking approach that, as noted in the NextAtlas Trend Confirmations and Predictions for 2022, doesn’t “just remedy past unsustainable mistakes but creates a more long-lasting and healthier future scenario.”
It is not surprising that Longevity has been identified as a megatrend for 2022. For many, the pandemic was the final gust of wind that knocked down the economic and environmental house of cards we have lived in since the industrial era. The interest and investment in longer-lasting and more sustainable resources and materials have been building over the past few years. But the pandemic has made us reassess our habits and priorities, not only in products but also in ourselves. People and communities are expanding their vision beyond what we need today and tomorrow, to what will we need 20 years from now. This supplants quick fixes with a complete dismantling of our thinking to reconstruct more future-driven mindsets.
Longevity is inextricably linked to food, and as such is a core theme at Future Food. From nutrition to well-being to sustainability, it implies actions taken today that get us to tomorrow. A key strategy for this in the coming years is regenerative agriculture which provides a unique opportunity to store carbon in the soil, mitigate climate change, regenerate ecosystems, enliven biodiversity, increase resilience and adaptability of the food system at both the local and global levels, empower farmers, communities and rural areas, and eventually feed humanity with nutrient-dense food.
It is a necessary step towards the needed transition that began last year, beginning on November 11th, 2021, at the First Climate Farming Congress in Europe. More Info HERE. Following the ten principles shared by Harwood (Harwood RR (1983) International overview of regenerative agriculture. In: Proceedings of Workshop on Resource-efficient Farming Methods for Tanzania, Morogoro, Tanzania, 16–20 May 1983, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Science, University of Dares Salaam, Morogoro, TZ: Rodale Press),
Regenerative Agriculture means:
1. Producing highly nutritional food
2. Increasing soil productivity
3. Integrating the soil genesis process
4. Ensuring biological interactions for stability
5. Avoiding substances that disrupt the biological structuring of the farming system
6. Ensuring an intimate relationship between manager/participants of the system and the system itself
7. Relying on integrated systems which are largely self-reliant in nitrogen
8. Precluding the use of hormones and antibiotics in animal farming
9. Generating increased levels of employment
10. Combining national-level planning and local-regional self-reliance
This illustrates why Earth Regeneration must not be a goal but rather a process and mindset that require time, the time of the cycles of nature. It is a circle that starts from individuals giving back to society and the economy the value of beauty.
2022: [Finally] The Year of the FOOD REVOLUTION
2022 will be the year of revolution, as passive bystanders become change-makers, no longer willing to accept the status quo or opt for convenience over consciousness. The pandemic laid bare both the complexities and the fragilities of our global food systems, and they cannot be unseen. 2022 will be the year in which we transition from greenwashing and buzzwords to activism and responsibility.
Just as Nature cannot be broken up into pieces, this revolution requires a systemic and integral approach. At first, a mindset that, to work harmoniously, requires models able to generate widespread prosperity and be applied at all layers: business, individual, educational, environmental, and economic. Blah, blah, blah will no longer be accepted as communities and organizations demand more transparency, greater commitment to sustainable and inclusive practices, and evidence of efforts to end hunger, reduce waste, safeguard biodiversity, and ensure food security.
People are now aware of the inseparable connections between food and justice. Conscious eating has become a form of activism as more information surfaces around child and slave labor, food apartheid, malnutrition, and structural inequalities that are deep-rooted across the global food system. Companies like Tony’s Chocolonely and Ben & Jerry’s recognize that food justice is a racial justice, it’s social justice, it’s gender justice and use their platform and position of power to raise awareness and drive action.
This trend also aligns and valorizes the findings in our co-branded study, Nutrition Unpacked.
Developed in partnership with Dole Sunshine, this unique, international research study aimed to ‘unpack’ global malnutrition, going beyond generalizations and biased assumptions, it addressed how might we ensure access to (quality) nutrition for all people without compromising livelihoods or planetary boundaries.
Combining quantitative data with insights from grassroots community members and leaders, the study explored the four directions of Social Nutrition, the Food Generation Gap, Hidden Hunger, and the Ecosystem through an access equation of Acceptability, Affordability, Availability.
Looking at these trends through the lens of the Nutrition Unpacked findings provides a positive outlook on potential solutions to global malnutrition from the advancement of technological solutions capable of providing hyper-local, nutrition options to the exploration of alternative proteins and new flavor experiences providing greater acceptability. The project aspires to become an open-source platform upon which more organizations can begin to adjust and innovate towards more nutritious and sustainable offerings and services.
This is a kind of revolution that requires solid COLLABORATION between businesses, governments, experts, and people. Everything is connected, as the integral ecology approach teaches us. We cannot move forward by only solving one piece and more and more companies already see the potential of removing silos. In the food system, this can mean increasing collaboration between big companies and micro-small farmers, retailers, and distributors, stressing the potential of “Intersectional Environmentalism” as one of the major trends for 2022.
Climate positive solutions, proactive consumption, nutrition for all, social and economic food justice, will become the new objectives driving both the market and our daily choices. These are aspects that have to be analyzed in light of complexities that preclude one-solution-fits-all and touch on the issues of the increased scarcity of natural and mineral resources, the need for making renewable energies more affordable, and the impact of technology on the planet.
Finding the right balance is the secret formula for success on individual, social, environmental, and economic stages.
2022: The Year to PRIORITIZE and DECENTRALIZE
While Nature is opening up a plethora of new green jobs, on the other side, 2021 ended with a total distortion of the labor market, now know as the Great Resignation. According to the Accenture Fjiords Trends of 2022, the global pandemic forced people to reevaluate their priorities, as a result, 41% of the global workforce, representing all ages and industries, have left their jobs.
Amongst other causes are burnout, the need to preserve physical and mental well-being, the desire for more flexibility, more tailored and fulfilling assignments, and the necessity for genuine work-life balance. It is a phenomenon affecting every corner of the world, from the US to China, from Australia to Asia, and even here in Italy where just between April and June of 2021, nearly 44% of Italians terminated their employment relationships.
These are skilled workers, qualified professionals, putting their well-being first, even though data reveal that employees between 30–45 and 60- 70 years old are the most affected. Key sectors such as healthcare, technology, the leisure and hospitality sectors, and food service have been most badly hit.
According to a United States Job Market Report by Joblist, “a staggering 77% of hospitality workers responded that even though they’re currently employed, they’re still looking to switch careers because of the pandemic. If that’s not shocking enough, over one quarter reported that they’d be comfortable quitting even without another job lined up.”
While reassessing priorities, instigated by pandemic-fuelled lockdowns, people also began focusing more on their communities. Grassroots efforts to support neighbors in need, initiatives to sustain beloved local F&Bs, and rejuvenation in buying local have fueled a wave towards decentralization. And now, the coupling of global supply chain disruption with a greater awareness of the ecological footprint of products has pushed the pandemic-driven motivation to support the local community to the point of making decentralization a business model that is expected to grow nearly 40% — just in the next six months!
The silver lining of the pandemic is that we have reconnected with our local communities, shifting our priority from ‘me’ to ‘we,’ recognizing our role and our impact with each decision we make. This reprioritization towards more decentralized systems improves planet health by focusing on locally sourced and produced food and products. It invigorates communities by investing in the local economy and local families. And it puts the power back in the hands of the people most in tune with the needs and challenges of the territory.
For companies, 2022 will be the year in which to find the right balance between flexibility, convenience, ethics, and productivity. The year in which open communication and honest conversation will have the potential to reinstill mutual trust, across geographies and within communities.
Nobody can predict the future. But we can recognize and acknowledge the signposts and make the conscious decision to transition towards more integral ecological regeneration. With eyes on the horizon and feet on the ground, 2022 has set the stage for us to move in the right direction.
The Future Food Institute is an international ecosystem that believes climate change is at the end of your fork. By harnessing the power of its global ecosystem of partners, innovators, researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs, FFI aims to sustainably improve life on Earth through transformation of global food systems.
Through an integral ecological regeneration approach, FF trains the next generation of changemakers, empowers communities, and engages government and industry in actionable innovation, catalyzing progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Learn more at www.futurefoodinsitute.org, join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Or attend a program through the FutureFood.Academy!
