Modern agriculture is picking our pockets

What is Going On?

The unpaid bills of this system are piling up. Biodiversity, soil and water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, animal welfare, human health, and the agricultural sector's resilience to extreme weather are all being sacrificed on the altar of production maximization. Economists call these "externalities." If you keep them out of sight, it may seem as though this system can be sustained indefinitely.

The reality is different. We do not stand outside of nature; we are an integral part of it. To survive, we are entirely dependent upon it. For no matter how exceptionally talented humanity may be, we still cannot create food. We can manage nature skillfully, but we do not actually "make" the apple ourselves. Once you realize this, it becomes clear that we must treat nature with care—not just out of ethics or admiration for the beauty of ecosystems, but out of the sheer necessity for survival.

Taking Action

While that logic is easy to embrace, acting upon it is far more complex. This is due to several factors:

1. The "Shifting Baseline" phenomenon: Changes occur so slowly that we easily grow accustomed to them. If you have never seen a skylark, you don’t miss it, and you can convince yourself that things aren’t so bad.

2. The "Free Rider" phenomenon: It is always tempting to wait for others to act first. "Let the chemical industry stop dumping PFAS first; that's a much bigger problem than agriculture."

3. The Sacrifice: Acting requires us to say goodbye to a highly developed system and exchange it for a new one that is still only beginning to take shape. This is painful—not just for citizens who want cheap meat on the BBQ, but primarily for the agro-industry and their army of lobbyists determined to protect their current business model.

Facts First

The debate over agriculture and food is heavily polarized, and everyone is capable of finding the data to support their own bias. That is why we are so encouraged by the recent study commissioned by the Robin Food Coalition and the Food Transition Coalition, conducted by Deloitte: "The Hidden Bill: Reshaping Dutch Agriculture."

The conclusion is crystal clear. The €13.3 billion in annual added value provides a completely distorted picture. In reality, the current system also incurs €18.6 billion in annual societal costs. As a society, we are over €5 billion in the red every single year. That bill is being paid by the taxpayer today and by our children tomorrow.

Fortunately, there is an alternative. Deloitte also calculated the costs and benefits of a more extensive, innovative, and sustainable system—one where we consume fewer animal proteins and more plant-based ones. The results are encouraging: this system could deliver a positive annual contribution of over €5 billion. Furthermore, we would still produce more than enough food to feed the Netherlands. This transition, therefore, represents a €10 billion annual gain for society. That is an argument that should appeal to the left, the right, and everyone in between.

Challenges

Shifting the current system toward sustainability is a monumental task. Government, farmers, suppliers, processors, banks, insurers, NGOs, researchers, and consumers all have a role to play. We must ensure that farmers are empowered to make the switch and guarantee that everyone has access to sustainably produced, healthy food. It is clear that the government must take the lead as the director of this transition. Fortunately, the recent election results offer hope that we will no longer look away from this enormous challenge.