"If we don't adjust our consumption, quitting soy is not an option. Or we need to intensify agriculture in Europe more, and that is not desirable. So we have to be creative. We need to consume less animal and more vegetable proteins. If we fill the 65 grams partly with animal and partly with vegetable, then that does not pose a danger to health, but it does have major consequences for farmers."
His message is clear. "Whichever way you look at it, somewhere we pay the bill. After all, Europe is not self-supporting and needs other countries for consumption."
This dependence would partly have to do with our soil quality. Vellinga often hears that it would be bad in our country. "They said that when I was little, but that's not the case. There is enough life in it, but you cannot let large and heavy machines drive over the land with impunity. An empty tractor weighing six tons pushes all pores out of the earth, preventing air or water from reaching it and also reducing the formation of organic matter (carbon sequestration)."
Various solutions are possible, according to Theun, including a so-called regenerative agriculture. "Many farmers want to grow more vegetables, but they have to be able to live on it and the yields are far too low. Certainly if you compare the margins against potatoes, onions and sugar beets, peas, beans, etc. yield far too little. You can't make money of it and that's why farmers hardly invest in it."
"Many farmers want to grow more vegetables, but the yields are far too low"
Farmer Jan listens with interest to Theun's story and regularly nods his head. There is clear recognition, but what needs to be done to improve carbon sequestration via organic matter? "I come from Friesland and love the meadows and grass, but the alternative is forest. If you want to store more carbon, trees are by far the most effective way. As long as we have those typical Dutch summers, there is no problem with grass. After all, the best grasslands can be found in Ireland, but with the drought of recent years, things are going wrong."
Theuns' phone rings and his ringtone (a mooing cow) creates a relaxed atmosphere and above all a smiling room. The caller, without being aware of it, at least has a sense of timing.
The question arises: what is sustainable? "That cannot be explained in five minutes," replies Theun. "It starts with the quality of the earth and it ends with our behavior. That's what makes it so difficult. A colleague of mine makes synthetic meat, also known as cultured meat. When I asked him if that meat is the future, he said: 'no, I do it mainly for fun. It costs too much energy and is therefore not very sustainable.' Companies like Google mainly want to invest in such high-quality technology. That's sexy, but we don't need that technology. I myself compare synthetic meat with smoking. It is nice that an e-cigarette has been developed, but it does not solve the problem of smoking. This also applies to our food. The solutions are actually already there, but as long as restaurants and their visitors consider meat as the main product and the vegetables as a side dish, we still have a long way to go."