Food should be the foundation of health, but according to Dutch entrepreneur Rob Baan, the current food system has drifted too far from that principle. After four decades as an insider in food production, agriculture and gastronomy, Baan has written a book: De Toekomst Heeft Haast ("The Future is in a Hurry"), setting out why the system needs to change, and how. The book is not a detached analysis but a call to action. "Only when you understand the why can you inspire others and take your organisation or your product to a higher level."
© CT Media & Productions
As an entrepreneur, grower and founder of the Netherlands-based Koppert Cress, Baan has spent decades championing the central role of vegetables and fruit. That conviction has been at the core of Koppert Cress for 25 years: a company that inspires chefs with new flavours while simultaneously driving debate about health, food culture and the sustainable future of horticulture.
© CT Media & Productions Stijn Baan: "Stories can influence reality"
In the book, Baan, described by his son Stijn Baan, the current CEO of Koppert Cress, as "the Pietje Bel of the food industry" (a Dutch reference to a mischievous but well-meaning troublemaker), takes readers on a journey through his thinking. His long-time friend, trend watcher and author Adjiedj Bakas, spent a year in weekly conversation with Baan to draw out those ideas. These were not formal interviews, but meetings full of humour and self-deprecation, conducted in what Bakas calls "Robbeaans", Baan's own language. No jargon, no marketing speak, just stories that stick. "You can tell a big story to people, without being preachy," says Bakas.
© CT Media & Productions Trendwatcher and friend Adjiedj Bakas 'emptied Rob's mind weekly'
The book is dedicated to Simon Groot, the plant breeder and founder of East-West Seed who passed away at the age of 90. His daughter Maaike, who formally received the first copy of the book, spoke about a shared dream: "One million hectares of pumpkin in Africa. Healthy, productive, and with enormous earning potential for farmers." Suriname also plays an important role in Baan's mission. There, he is working with local partners to bring about the same transition: restoring vegetables and fruit as the foundation of health and prosperity.
© CT Media & Productions Maaike Groot officially receives the first copy of the book
De Toekomst Heeft Haast is structured in four parts: the history of food, eating and health, lessons learned, and the future. The common thread throughout is the importance of vegetables and fruit, and the valuable compounds they contain — something Baan argues modern society has largely forgotten. "We have been plant eaters for 170,000 years. Our DNA has barely changed in all that time. Yet we feed ourselves as though we have become a different species entirely."
© CT Media & Productions Guests at the presentation of the book 'The Future is in a Hurry.'
Baan traces the origins of today's unhealthy dietary patterns to the Industrial Revolution. The invention of the steam engine made large-scale food processing possible. Grain was stripped of its natural nutrients under high pressure, the bran, the fibre, the germ, leaving behind a white powder: patent flour. Infinitely shelf-stable, but nutritionally empty. "That is when food became a business model instead of nourishment," he says.
© CT Media & Productions
In the present day, Baan argues that the fruit and vegetable sector remains undervalued, stuck in the role of anonymous supplier. He has been working for years to change that perception. Food must once again take a central place in how society thinks about health, care and wellbeing. "Horticulture does not deliver vegetables, it delivers health, and with that, quality of life. Those who eat its products not only stay healthy themselves, but contribute to a better world."
© CT Media & Productions There was a copy for everyone to be found in the edible jungle of Koppert Cress
Baan advocates for school gardens, the Dutch Cuisine movement (80 percent plant-based, 20 percent animal-based), a new lunch culture, and provides his own staff with a free healthy lunch every day. He also pursues persistent lobbying, including legal action against the government. Research has since provided scientific backing for what he has argued for years: a healthy lunch for employees is economically beneficial, with the investment far outweighing the costs of absenteeism. Despite this, he has had to take the matter to court to make his case.
© CT Media & Productions The presentation ended with drinks in the jungle
A recurring theme in the book is curiosity. For Baan, entrepreneurship is synonymous with staying curious, travelling, continuing to ask questions, and looking beyond the familiar. "You must not fixate on what already exists, but try to see what could be."
De Toekomst Heeft Haast runs to 122 pages, features 100 images and weighs 1.4 kilograms. The book is available in bookshops and through the Koppert Cress webshop, where signed copies can be ordered. The release date is 13 April.
© CT Media & Productions
With this book, Baan invites everyone — from consumer to CEO, from grower to politician — to take responsibility for what we eat, how much we contribute to public health, and what we pass on to future generations. "The why is very simple for me. I want a world in which people can eat healthily, so that they remain physically and mentally fit, and are hopefully happy." His son Stijn was keen to see his father's story put on paper, believing that stories have the power to change reality. "Stories stick," he says. "They move people."
The book is available, among other places, in the webshop of Koppert Cress.
For more information:
Koppert Cress
Tel: +31 174 242 819
[email protected]
www.koppertcress.com
