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The population on Earth has been rapidly increasing for decades; this trend is set to continue for the foreseeable future. In figures, estimated by the United Nations, the global population will have risen a whopping 25% over the current population. In real terms, this means that Earth’s population will stand at 9.7 billion people by 2050.

The Food Production Industry

The current food production industry in every aspect will need to adapt and develop new methods and techniques to feed these future generations. This poses a great challenge, one that is compounded and interlinked with our need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere. Depending on where information is sourced, estimates of the percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the combined food industries range from 20 to 40% of the world’s total.

Approximately two-thirds of these emissions are from agriculture and land use. As the rate of deforestation has decreased the emission from industries in the aligning food processing industries has increased. As agriculture produces methane the rearing of livestock and rice production are the top emitters of methane within the food industry. 

A Shift Towards Plant-Based Diets

According to research from Betway online casino, the global shift towards plant-based diets has taken giant leaps in recent years, with plant-base alternatives being developed and offered to the market. These alternatives are now available for foods traditionally sourced from the meat, dairy, and fishing industries. This is great news for those that already enjoyed a meat-free diet, but it has also encouraged more people to cut back on the amount of meat and dairy that they consume.

A Look at Meat Alternatives

The meat industry itself has seen innovation with lab-grown meats; these meats are not taken from living animals. The meat is grown, or more accurately, cultured from cells that can be taken from a living animal. This is done in a bioreactor. The resulting meat has not required the death of an animal. This method of production is not without emissions, and future research will be needed to improve the processes to fall in line with future emissions strategies.

 

Changing Things by 2050

A big chunk of the world has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050, which means that the way we produce food and the amount of meat we consume needs to change. Whilst facing these climate change challenges; the world needs to provide healthy nutritious foods that people will want to eat.

There has been much development in food processing in recent years. The technology from the 3d printing industry is being pioneered for food production. This use of technology can help us integrate new food sources, like microorganisms, seaweeds and even possibly insects into beautiful, delicious foods with all the attributes in taste and texture we have grown accustomed to.

These challenges fuelling research and driving change will hopefully bring forward new wonderful, ecologically sound foods for our future generations while ensuring the world remains a beautiful planet vibrant with life.

Luke Johnson