BRB w/ Nathan P - The Knowledge Economy, Roasted Eggplant with Feta & Blue Economy 3.0
The necessary mindset shift for sustainable economic growth, a standout Gordon Ramsay veggie dish, and a necessary read for environmental entrepreneurs (#10).
Hi all,
Welcome back to BRB w/ Nathan P - a weekly newsletter featuring 1 Breakthrough, 1 Recipe, and 1 Book on food & climate.
Before we get started, here are some highlights of food & climate in the news this week:
Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Bold Goals and Priorities to Advance American Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing (White House)
💥 Breakthrough: The Knowledge Economy
It’s elementary, my dear Watson. If we base our economy on natural resources, there is a contradiction between infinite economic growth and finite resources.
We have to create new types of resources instead of continuing to just exploit natural ones. Many new resources have arisen in the last decade:
Digital assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs are finding their footing
The White House is investing heavily into the bioeconomy to make the US a knowledge hub and leading biomanufacturer
Technologies accelerating access to and processing of knowledge are also gaining traction (I’m looking at you, ChatGPT)
Whether we like it or not, we still live in a fossil fuel economy. In light of runaway emissions and the new IPCC report, the Biden administration still approved a huge Alaskan oil drilling project two weeks ago.
Our economy cannot continue to be based on finite resources, it muse be based on something infinite, like knowledge. The path to ensure continued economic growth is a transition from a material economy to a knowledge economy.
Let’s start with the success story of South Korea.
South Korea was one of the poorest nations in the world during the Korean War in the 1950s, and now has a GDP per capita higher than France.
South Korea has virtually no natural resources. It has roughly 1/3 of the population of Russia and 1/170 of the surface area. Yet today South Korea exports 20% more than Russia each year, and is today the 5th largest exporter behind China, the United States, Japan, and Germany. How is that possible?
Well, in addition to K-Pop, South Korea exports knowledge. It is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, automobiles, semiconductors, and ships. It’s also the only government in the world to have a Ministry of Knowledge Economy (since renamed Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy).
Children from an early age are steeped in a society that values education and innovation, as you can see from some excited faces in the National Science Museum.
The knowledge economy has 3 key rules:
Knowledge doesn’t divide when shared, it multiplies. Sharing knowledge does not take it away from the one sharing it.
Sharing knowledge takes time. We can transfer property with a signature, but we can’t learn how to make the perfect croissant instantly (though I wish).
The sum of two knowledge fields is positive and non-linear. The merging of two fields yields a third field. Worse case it is trivial, best case it is revolutionary. Think AI + language = generative AI.
The knowledge economy encourages us to tap into our largest available source of knowledge: nature. Nature has identified through 3.8 billion years of R&D what solutions work within our planet’s boundaries. Every living organism is rife with TED-worthy learnings on design, biomanufacturing, and energy.
Applying biomimicry to industry at scale can ensure both a sustainable future and economic growth. Read more below on the book that has heavily influenced my perspective and optimism in this space.
🥘 Recipe: Roasted Eggplant with Feta
Enjoy this roasted spiced eggplant with feta and basil courtesy of Gordon Ramsay. Eggplant can be a daunting vegetable to prepare, and this recipe takes advantage of its texture as a vessel for warm and spicy flavors.
If your dinner guests aren’t impressed, I will happily take the fall. This recipe will also guide you though valuable techniques for preparing many vegetables: crosshatching, sautéing, and oven-roasting.
PS: if you make it, please send pictures :)
📚 Book: Blue Economy 3.0
If you are or want to be an environmentally conscious entrepreneur, you have to read The Blue Economy 3.0 by Gunter Pauli.
Gunter Pauli, a seasoned Belgian entrepreneur, was a pioneer of the Green Economy. And after two decades of work on bringing biodegradable soaps to the masses, he had a startling realization. Palm oil - one of its key ingredients - was responsible for the destruction of the habitats of the very orangutangs they were trying to protect.
He changed course. Gunter Pauli conceived the Blue Economy, which is the application of biomimicry to industry. He posits that it shouldn’t be up to nature to produce like our factories, but rather for our factories to produce like nature.
The Blue Economy takes inspiration from ecosystems, in which there is no waste, everyone has a job, and everything thrives in autonomy and abundance. It suggests that waste is valuable, and that we can create sustainable initiatives and local revenues from resources we already have.
We need to redesign our linear production systems to be more circular and to valorize waste streams. Check out 3 promising initiatives below.
Some key innovations to inspire your next start-up venture:
Infinitely recyclable paper: Pulp-paper is made from trees and can only be recycled so many times. The fibers shorten when recycled, so new material needs to be added. Innovators figured out how to make paper from stone (or construction debris) and 20% HDPE to create a waterproof paper that uses no water, cuts no trees, emits 67% less CO2, and can be infinitely recycled.
Mushrooms grown on coffee grounds: only 2% of a coffee bean ends up in our drinks - so what happens to the other 98%? At best it’s composted. Coffee grounds happen to be great substrates for mushrooms, as they are pre-sterilized by the brewing process. Entrepreneurs the world over are collecting grounds from local roasters and growing mushrooms, which can then be fed to people or chickens (who love them).
Barley protein from spent grains: the brewing process only extracts a fraction of barley to make beer, and the leftover spent grains are rich in protein and fiber. It’s an opportunity to make low carbon and highly nutritious new ingredients, like soluble upcycled barley proteins. Shoutout to the folks at EverGrain at AB InBev for their work on this.
That is all for today - BRB next week ✌️
🥘 Recipe: Roasted Eggplant with Feta
Courtesy of Gordon Ramsay & Masterclass
Ingredients (6 servings)
2 medium Italian eggplants
8-10 garlic cloves, sliced in half lengthwise
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
4 teaspoons cumin, ground
3 teaspoons coriander, ground
1 teaspoon cardamom, ground
1 small knob peeled ginger for grating
2 28-ounce cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes
10 fresh basil leaves
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions (45 minutes)
Preheat oven to 350F. Pour the canned tomatoes into a sieve over a large bowl and allow to drain for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Slice eggplants in half lengthwise. Use the tip of a paring knife to score the cut side of the eggplant to create a crosshatched pattern.
Generously season the scored side of the eggplants with salt. Face the eggplants cut side down onto a sheet tray with a wire rack to drain for at least 10 minutes. Pat off the excess water with a paper towel. Poke 4 to 6 garlic clove halves into the score marks. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over each half.
Finish seasoning with 3 to 4 twists of fresh black pepper. Heat two large cast-iron pans on medium-high heat with one tablespoon of olive oil in each. When the oil is smoking, add the eggplants cut side down. Sear 3 to 5 minutes or until the eggplants turn a dark golden brown on the cut side. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes or until the flesh is tender and easy to remove from the skin. Remove from pans and rest for at least 5 minutes until the eggplant is cool enough to handle.
Use a large metal spoon to scoop the cooked eggplant from the skins. Place the flesh on the cutting board and mince the eggplant and roasted garlic to make a paste.
Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large non-stick sauté pan over medium heat. Add diced onion and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Season generously with salt and one tablespoon of cracked black pepper. Add the cumin, coriander, and cardamom and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add eggplant and use a wooden spoon to stir the eggplant and onions together. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add one tablespoon of fresh grated ginger and cook for two minutes. Adding tomatoes and cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until a good amount of moisture has evaporated out. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Stack the basil leaves, roll the leaves into a tight log shape, and slice along the width to chiffonade. Add basil and continue to cook over medium-low heat for one more minute before removing from heat.
Transfer the finished eggplant mixture to two 20 ounce serving bowls. Finish with a sprinkle of feta cheese and a drizzle of olive oil over. Garnish with micro sorrel.
About Me
Hi there! My name is Nathan Paumier - I’m an avid reader, food enthusiast, and climate optimist. I started this newsletter after frequent questions on food tech, reading recommendations, and my secret recipes.
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