Solving World Hunger Through Food Technology and Innovation
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 690 million people, that’s 8.9% of the world’s population, go hungry everyday. In 2019, this number was 680 million and has grown by nearly 60 million in the last five years, only confirming the rising concerns over global food insecurity and under nourishment.
Common reasons for world hunger include:
• War, conflict, and political instability
• Poverty
• Social-economic challenges
• Poor food distribution
• High population growth
• Natural hazards, bad weather, pests, diseases, etc.
• Bad agricultural economics
Most of these factors affect food security on a national level, but that doesn’t stop food shortages from rippling across international borders. Today, overpopulation and climate change are the two biggest threats to global food security.
Overpopulation puts tremendous pressure on the existing food supply infrastructures, leading to the destruction of natural resources for agricultural land, high prices and demand for foods, andfast-tracked farming practices that yield low-nutrition produce.
The average global temperature has risen by 1.15°C (2.07°F) since the industrial revolution. This may not seem like much, but scientists warn that amere 2°C rise in global average temperature will be catastrophic and irreversible. Besides, we’re already feeling the consequences of a warming planet, such as rising sea levels, unpredictable weather patterns, and worldwide climate change. Global warming and climate change adversely affect the planet's ecosystem, biodiversity, and agricultural practices, both directly and indirectly.
Food insecurity is an urgent global problem. International humanitarian agencies, governments, world leaders, and individuals all have a role to play in promoting long-term food security.
Scientists and engineers have not been left behind in fighting food insecurity either. There are entire academic disciplines such as food science, genetics, biochemistry, and agriculture technology dedicated to finding world hunger solutions by turning the art of agriculture into a science. Let’s look at some of the innovations that are helping to secure food availability:
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The WorkFlow podcast is hosted by Steve Glaveski with a mission to help you unlock your potential to do more great work in far less time, whether you're working as part of a team or flying solo, and to set you up for a richer life.
To help you avoid stepping into these all too common pitfalls, we’ve reflected on our five years as an organization working on corporate innovation programs across the globe, and have prepared 100 DOs and DON’Ts.
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