Gunnar Rundgren

Complexity has strong links to energy which means that the combination of increasing energy costs and increasing complexity is a potential game changer. Even more so if the energy system also requires high levels of complexity such as nuclear power or a electric grid run on renewables.

Therefore, a central task is to de-commodify food through multiple means, such as self-provisioning, co-producing, gifting and sharing or even just by having a stable relationship between producers and consumers.

Summing up, I believe there are many indications that the ever increasing complexity clearly shows diminishing returns and that people will turn their backs on global capitalism and modernity (whatever that is).

Even if I don’t fully agree with Wilkinson’s thesis that development is driven by need, I think he demonstrates quite well that in a long term perspective, we actually spend more and more effort to maintain human societies. Most of that work is today based on external energy resources and overuse of biological and mineral resources.

There are multiple reasons for why food prices are on the rise. There are major similarities between the FAO food price index and energy prices. This is also quite natural as energy is a major input in the whole food system.

In this last article in the series, I turn to what a resilient, sustainable food system could look like. I will first discuss the agronomic side of the system and then the socio-economic part. In my view they are just two aspects of the same system.