Page 23 - Food&Drink Jan-Feb 2022 magazine

VULNERABILITY EXPOSED
Our local and global food systems have been exposed as working well only when there is relative stability of supply and demand, and each element performs perfectly.
The problem is a lack of resilience in times of crisis. Equally importantly, the negative implications of the globalisation of the food supply chain are now becoming obvious. These vulnerabilities include susceptibility to transport disruptions, and a lack of labour to pick, process, and manufacture basic foods.
Additionally, some countries temporarily banned the export of staples like wheat, soybeans, flour, sugar, and potatoes. What that means, is the perceived advantage of the five technologies above is that they do not suffer from these constraints and are far more agile in adapting to short lead time changes.
Food production has long been tied to the availability of arable land and fresh water. Those countries that have them have food security; those that don’t are at the mercy of those that do.
These and other factors have dramatic implications for the short – and long-term food sovereignty of many countries and the global, equitable distribution of food.
De-coupling food from this tyranny of arable land and available water would enable many countries to avoid supply issues and attain a high level of self-sufficiency and food security. Until recently, this has been an impossibility; however, technologies such as those discussed here can now change this seemingly fundamental basis of food production.
The technologists’ argument is that developing and even developed countries have no need to continue to pursue only conventional technologies.
Provectus Algae is leading the way with its synthetic bio algae research and product development.
TRENDS FORECAST 2022
The hope is that we can increasingly isolate our food supply from the trans border impacts of pandemics and reimagine our food system to use non-arable land and even salt water to produce food and food ingredients.
By pursuing a portfolio of developments drawn from these five core technologies such as cultivated meat, algae, and synthetic biology, countries can establish a whole new food
system and achieve greater individual food self-sufficiency and security.
The next questions are will these new technologies lead to a more sustainable and equitable food system and can countries achieve increased foodsecurity? ✷
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