Humans have become dangerously picky eaters

Plus: Mariupol's last stand. [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a toddler’s dinner of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Humanity needs to [diversify its food portfolio](. - [Mariupol’s last stand]( will go down in history. - Biden could [hamstring charter schools](. - [Russian oil production]( has dried up. Planet of the Toddlers Parents of picky eaters learn fast you’re either going to [be patient with]( your kid’s ridiculous dietary choices — white foods only, say — or endure many long hours of misery that will only result in you both going to therapy. More therapy, I mean. Most meals will be a configuration of bread and cheese, with maybe a soupçon of some terrifying green food, and that will just have to do for a while.  Oddly, humanity has decided this is also the right approach to feeding an entire planet of people. As Jessica Fanzo points out, [we have narrowed our diet to a few staples]( — corn, rice and wheat, say — just because it makes life easier. Look at this chart and tell me we don’t eat like a bunch of toddlers: But in the long haul this stunted diet creates all kinds of health problems. Then something like the Ukraine war comes along and takes out a huge swath of, say, the global wheat supply, and suddenly you’ve got far worse problems than picky eating. Global warming threatens to generate one (1) Russian invasion’s worth of supply disruption every year. It’s past time for the world to start diversifying its food portfolio. We need to grow up. Read the [whole thing](. Remember Mariupol Vladimir Putin today sat awkwardly at a [tiny table]( — all of his [super-long]( tables apparently having been sacrificed to the war effort — to celebrate the flattening to rubble of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and to [call off]( an attack on the 2,000 or so Ukrainian defenders holed up in a factory complex there. Can you say you have captured a city when there are still 2,000 enemy troops fighting for it? Putin vowed to trap them in place, effectively starving them out, and it’s hard to imagine he won’t succeed. Then again, what will be the cost of this less-than-glorious victory? Andreas Kluth suggests Mariupol’s last stand could soon [join history’s pantheon of other inspirational lost causes](, from Thermopylae to the Alamo. Doomed as these fights were, they were harbingers of victory in the long run. Maybe somehow the tide will miraculously turn here. But even if it doesn’t, the loss doesn’t have to be meaningless. Read the [whole thing](. Give Charters a Chance The past couple of years have been hard on children, what with Zoom learning, canceled proms and the even-more-depressing Zoom proms. The American educational system, never having its best day in normal times, was more or less a disaster throughout, leaving millions of kids years behind in development. Bloomberg LP founder Mike Bloomberg suggests President Joe Biden’s Education Department will make matters worse if it goes ahead with rules that would [make it harder for charter schools]( to serve disadvantaged kids. President Barack Obama was a friend to charter schools, Mike notes. His former vice president still has a chance to be one, too. Bonus Problematic-Rules Reading: Regulations are [holding back the quick adoption of green energy]( in the U.S. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Telltale Charts Satellite evidence suggests [Russian oil production has cratered](, Javier Blas writes. Hope you took advantage of the brief reprieve from sky-high oil prices. China may grumble about dollar hegemony and dream of a yuan-centered world, but it’s [not willing to make the political and economic sacrifices]( to achieve that goal, writes Matthew Brooker. Further Reading Elon Musk, uh, [secured funding to buy Twitter](, and now the board must take him seriously. — Matt Levine Ford must make sure the benefits of its new Tennessee plant [aren’t siphoned from Black locals](, as state officials seem to be trying to do. — Andre Perry and Tonantzin Carmona Market [bulls have almost never been so scarce](. Is this a good contrarian indicator? — John Authers Consumers are still buying necessities even with price increases, but they’re [cutting back on luxuries like Netflix](. — Andrea Felsted [Lula is losing his lead over Bolsonaro](, who can still do a lot of damage to Brazil’s economy and democracy. — Clara Ferreira Marques With careful planning, you can still [avoid catching Covid when almost nobody’s wearing masks](. — Lisa Jarvis ICYMI The U.S. is sending the new, fast-tracked [“Phoenix Ghost” drone to Ukraine](. Elon Musk formed a [new holding company](. Florida has always [been at war with Disney](. Kickers Area man wins [$1,000 after suing Apple]( for not including a power charger with his new phone. New AI [determines if you are the a-hole](. Wildlife is [flourishing in New England](. Dads [aren’t the only ones who tell dad jokes](. Notes: Please send dad jokes and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. 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