In today's world, the daily concerns seem so different to those of 10-20 years ago, with globalisation and networking communications marching on like an unstoppable force issues that we would have previously never been aware of are now in our face through a variety of digital mediums, instant updates, emails, RSS feeds, tweets and status updates.

We can sit at our computers or with a phone in our hand and instantly be aware of a drought in Somalia or a flood in China and the repercussions these events will have on the local food supply and ultimately livelihood of the local people. The internet and global media has certainly made us more aware of the challenges we face and made us all more consciously aware. Previously, if it didn't happen in your back garden then it didn't really affect you, now the whole world seems to be your back garden.

The Global economic downturn may be a temporary financial event, but how will global food production cope with the increasing effects of climate change? Biological systems are vulnerable and become quickly fragile when the parameters that govern them change. Life does have an incredible ability to adapt, but it seems human intervention has increased the rate of change to such a speed that it may put too much pressure on natural adaptive processes.

The fact that we have some countries battling obesity and others battling famine is a sad reality of the modern age. Surely a surplus in one area can be moved to overcome shortfalls in another? Education has a big part to play, in some islands in the pacific, the size of an individual is related to respect. The larger (more obese) they are is a sign that they are prosperous and are able to lavish themselves with food, a skinny man has no respect as he obviously has no wealth and is not capable of taking care of himself. Clearly, diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis  have no relevance to these thought processes.

For those looking for a meaningful vocation, being involved in the food industry would certainly represent a way to be included in some of the more contentious issues of our day. There is a thriving industry for food jobs that encompass a large array of different skill sets and functionality. It will be interesting to see how the world will deal with its latest list of challenges.