Tomorrow is World Food Day, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is putting a focus on our agri-food systems. Here’s more on what that means and the important role for biotechnology.
The agri-food system encompasses how our food is grown, harvested, processed, packaged, transported, distributed, traded, bought, prepared, eaten and disposed of—a key discussion during the UN General Assembly last month.
Problems in our agri-food systems mean that “more than 3 billion people (almost 40% of the world population) cannot afford a healthy diet,” according to FAO. Meanwhile, obesity continues to increase worldwide.
“Today’s agri-food systems are exposing profound inequalities and injustices in our global society,” says the FAO, explaining we need to make improvements, starting with diet and moving through the entire food supply chain to achieve “sustainable agri-food systems that are capable of nourishing 10 billion people by 2050.”
Science is helping: “Biotechnology has enabled farmers to produce high quality, high-yielding crops that have a direct bearing on improved food security and poverty alleviation with increased production, while also increasing resilience to heat and drought,” according to recent BIO comments
Along with improving food productivity, biotech firms are also using gene editing to improve our diets, by making crops more nourishing.
Gene editing can help us tackle food allergies, too. Clemson University Professor Sachin Rustgi is using CRISPR to reduce allergenic proteins in peanuts and wheat—listen to him (and other allergy experts) explain.
But policy must allow us to deploy these technologies worldwide—and that means we must “begin that education process [about gene editing] and create demand,” said Lisa Gable, CEO of Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE).
In recognition of biotechnology’s vital role in food systems, BIO joined the U.S. Government’s new Coalition for Sustainable Productivity Growth for Food Security and Resource Conservation, which will elevate sustainable productivity growth as a strategic priority—read more.
More Agriculture and Environment News:
The New York Times: Newly discovered bat viruses give hints to COVID’s origins
“Coronaviruses discovered in Laotian bats are surprisingly adept at infecting human cells, showing that such deadly features can indeed evolve outside of a lab.”
The New York Times: Why the UN’s Biodiversity Conference is so important
“Apart from any moral reasons for humans to care about the other species on Earth, there are practical ones. At the most basic level, people rely on nature for their survival.”
Triple Pundit: JetBlue among airlines giving new life to sustainable biofuel
“JetBlue anticipates that its new fuel purchase will consist of a blend of approximately 33 percent SAF with 66 percent conventional jet fuel. The SAF will be sourced partly from waste fats, oils and greases. The remainder will come from oilseeds.”
