By Gyanendra Kumar Keshri, IANS,
New Delhi : Nestle’s global chief Peter Brabeck has called for a radical rethink on how governments are addressing the triple challenges of food, energy and water security, warning of imminent crises if left unaddressed.
The fallout can be an acute global food shortage at high prices, water riots and severe environment degradation, Brabeck feared, as he exclusively spoke to IANS during a visit here for Nestle’s global conclave on “Creating Shared Value”.
“During the last 10 years, productivity in agriculture has not kept pace with population growth — every second, we have two more people to feed, while arable land is shrinking by 0.2 hectares,” said the chairman on the Nestle board, who will turn 68 Nov 13.
“Genetically modified food is one of the possibilities to enhance productivity,” Brabeck said, while also trying to address the philosophical concern that such farm practices could be seen going against Mother Nature.
“Mankind has tried to play god ever since agriculture was started. Animal husbandry has involved domestication of wild animals to suit our needs. I see these new technologies as only a continuation of such practices,” he said.
Brabeck, who presided over Nestle’s first conclave on “Creating Shared Value” that was held in an emerging economy in New delhi, also came out strongly against the use of bio-fuels, saying it was pushing up food prices, while adding to water shortages.
Created by Harvard’s Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, “Creating Shared Value” goes beyond corporate social responsibility with the philosophy that for a company to succeed in the long term and create value for shareholders, it must also create value for society.
“Producing one litre of pure ethanol takes 4,600 litres of water and one litre of bio-diesel takes 9,100 litres of water,” Brabeck said, adding: “I do believe food is for people and only waste can be used for fuel.”
He, accordingly, felt bio-fuels are only affordable because of the high subsidies they receive, particularly in countries like the US. “Bio-fuels are heavily subsidised, otherwise it cannot be affordable.”
Switzerland-based Brabeck, who started his career in Nestle as an ice-cream vendor in 1968, also said water must be priced adequately, and warned that this life-giving resource will be adequately available only for 15 years if wastage continues.
“We are already using more water than what is available to us. Supplies are also not growing. This means, we have to use measures on the demand side more than on supply side,” he said.
“For that, water must be priced properly so that there is an incentive to invest. Nobody will make investments in water if it is given away free. We have to give adequate value to water,” he said.
According to him, water was a fundamental right as far as a human’s direct need goes, which is 25-50 litres per day — five litres for hydration and the rest for hygiene. “This accounts for just 1.5 percent of total water use,” he said.
“Therefore, 98.5 percent of the water used must be priced to give it the best value.”
Stressing further that 70 percent of water was used up by the farm sector globally, 20 percent by industry and 10 percent by humans, Brabeck said: “Free water for agriculture, prevalent in 99 percent of the countries, must stop.”
Otherwise, he warned, one will soon start pumping highly contaminated water with high arsenic value, leading to another set of problems. In this regard, he said, countries must emulate Israel that has invested heavily in using water efficiently.
Brabeck, who is also the chairman of Australia-based Water Resources Group, emphasised that water was far more scarce natural resource than fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal.
“We have oil reserve for 120 years, gas for 240 years and coal can last for 550 years, while adequate water reserve is available only for 15 years,” he said. “Water shouldn’t be wasted to generate alternative energy resources like bio-fuels.”
(Gyanendra Kumar Keshri can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected])