Food and Imagination
As a young person, once you observe that your ability to be imaginative is wearing off, there is need for you to pause and rethink.
In the very first year of my undergraduate degree in Food Science and Technology at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, we were required to offer a course, FST 102 (Introduction to Food Science and Technology). What better person to usher us into the science of food than a renowned world class professor in Food Engineering like Professor P. O. Ngoddy.
To my amazement and that of other students offering the course (first year students of Food Science and Technology and second year students of other departments in the faculty of Agriculture), Prof Ngoddy began by telling us a story about a philosopher and mathematician named Alfred North Whitehead.
Image: Alfred North Whitehead (1861 - 1947)
No, it didn't end there. Prof also gave us study materials about this man and take home assignment based on the same man.
Many of us didn't see how the biography of this mathematician/philosopher will help our knowledge of Food Science but we read the materials anyway, for the sake of our GP (Grade Point). 😂
However, what stood out for me out of all Whitehead's philosophy was his theory on IMAGINATION. Prof hammered on it too.
According to Alfred North Whitehead,
"imagination is a contagious disease. It cannot be measured by the yard, or weighed by the pound, and then delivered to the students by members of the faculty. It can only be communicated by a faculty whose members themselves wear their learning with imagination."
Industries like the food industry rely on imaginative thinkers.
- Every new food product in the market came from the imagination of someone.
- Every unit operation targeted at promoting food safety and quality came from the imagination of someone.
- Every Standard Operating Procedure aimed at ensuring consumer satisfaction came from someone's imagination.
You never know, that imagination in your head could be the answer to that unresolved food safety problem.
Speak out. Save lives. Food safety concerns us all.
About the Author
Chidinma Ezinne Ochulor is a certified Food Technologist, a quality assurance professional with over 3 years' experience. She is a professional member of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST). Reach her on LinkedIn, here.
