Food 5 0 How We Feed The Future

A journey from the "muscle era" of farming to a future where the convergence of new technologies make infinite sustainability achievable. With the veil lifted on modern agricultural practices, you'll be inspired to contribute to a culture where farmers can adopt the science and tools they need to carry out their mission of feeding the planet.

Food has become the new religion. While denominations such as paleo, vegan, and organic debate which is "the way," we're ignoring a truth that affects us all: to support a population nearing 10 billion by 2050, agriculture must become infinitely sustainable.To feed the world, we have to grow 10,000 years' worth of food in the next thirty years, which means farmers worldwide must increase food production by 60 to 70 percent.This book is about the small percentage of those "farmers of consequence" being called upon to grow the vast majority of the world's staple food supply. While mighty in their ability, they need support from a general public that increasingly has no idea how they operate.In Food 5.0, Robert Saik takes you on a journey from the "muscle era" of farming to a future where the convergence of new technologies like sensors, robotics, and machine learning make infinite sustainability achievable. With the veil lifted on modern agriculture practices, you'll be inspired to contribute to a culture where farmers can adopt the science and tools they need to carry out their mission of feeding the planet.

From the Director of the Open Agriculture Initiative at MIT’s Media Lab, the fascinating story of how digital technology is revolutionizing the way we feed the planet, offering surprising solutions to the global food crisis and redefining what it means to be a farmer. By the middle of this century, we will have nine billion people to feed and nobody who wants to be a farmer. From climate change to pollution, from controversies over GMOs to shrinking water supplies, our current system of feeding the planet is breaking down, delivering less nutritious food to fewer people, making both food insecurity and food waste increasingly commonplace. While the problem is clear, the solutions have been more difficult to recognize. Now, thanks to Caleb Harper and his Open Ag initiative, a revolution in agriculture is taking place. Inspired to rethink the fundamentals of farming during a visit to Japan in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Caleb returned to the MIT Media Lab and started growing lettuce in Dixie cups. While his peers were focused on self-driving cars and robots, Caleb was building an entire farm in the basement of the Media Lab. In the perfectly controlled conditions of his farm, he was able to carefully monitor all the variables that affect a plant’s growth and health—water, light, CO2, nutrients, temperature. Using machine learning to analyze the vast amount of data being collecting, he created “climate recipes” for growing the healthiest, tastiest, most sustainable produce in history, anywhere in the world. With the invention of a “personal food computer”/grow-box that he has shared with school children and scientists across the globe, Caleb Harper has laid the foundation for an entirely new model of food production with limitless possibilities. Fascinating, revelatory, and filled with groundbreaking research and ideas, this book shows how the power of one man’s determination and vision are revolutionizing how we will plant, grow, and consume food now and far into the future.

By the year 2050, Earth's population will double. If we continue with current farming practices, vast amounts of wilderness will be lost, millions of birds and billions of insects will die, and the public will lose billions of dollars as a consequence of environmental degradation. Clearly, there must be a better way to meet the need for increased food production. Written as part memoir, part instruction, and part contemplation, Tomorrow's Table argues that a judicious blend of two important strands of agriculture--genetic engineering and organic farming--is key to helping feed the world's growing population in an ecologically balanced manner. Pamela Ronald, a geneticist, and her husband, Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer, take the reader inside their lives for roughly a year, allowing us to look over their shoulders so that we can see what geneticists and organic farmers actually do. The reader sees the problems that farmers face, trying to provide larger yields without resorting to expensive or environmentally hazardous chemicals, a problem that will loom larger and larger as the century progresses. They learn how organic farmers and geneticists address these problems. This book is for consumers, farmers, and policy decision makers who want to make food choices and policy that will support ecologically responsible farming practices. It is also for anyone who wants accurate information about organic farming, genetic engineering, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment.

By 2050, we will have ten billion mouths to feed in a world profoundly altered by environmental change. How will we meet this challenge? In How to Feed the World, a diverse group of experts from Purdue University break down this crucial question by tackling big issues one-by-one. Covering population, water, land, climate change, technology, food systems, trade, food waste and loss, health, social buy-in, communication, and equal access to food, the book reveals a complex web of challenges. Contributors unite from different perspectives and disciplines, ranging from agronomy and hydrology to economics. The resulting collection is an accessible but wide-ranging look at the modern food system.

Sustainable Food Systems from Agriculture to Industry: Improving Production and Processing addresses the principle that food supply needs of the present must be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Responding to sustainability goals requires maximum utilization of all raw materials produced and integration of activities throughout all production-to-consumption stages. This book covers production stage activities to reduce postharvest losses and increase use of by-products streams (waste), food manufacturing and beyond, presenting insights to ensure energy, water and other resources are used efficiently and environmental impacts are minimized. The book presents the latest research and advancements in efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly food production and ways they can be implemented within the food industry. Filling the knowledge gap between understanding and applying these advancements, this team of expert authors from around the globe offer both academic and industry perspectives and a real-world view of the challenges and potential solutions that exist for feeding the world in the future. The book will guide industry professionals and researchers in ways to improve the efficiency and sustainability of food systems. Addresses why food waste recovery improves sustainability of food systems, how these issues can be adapted by the food industry, and the role of policy making in ensuring sustainable food production Describes in detail the latest understanding of food processing, food production and waste reduction issues Includes emerging topics, such as sustainable organic food production and computer aided process engineering Analyzes the potential and sustainability of already commercialized processes and products

By 2050 the world will be faced with the enormous challenge of feeding 9 billion people despite being affected by climate change, rising energy costs and pressure on food growing land and other major resources. How will the world produce 70% more food by 2050 to feed a projected extra 2.3 billion people? What will be the impact of food shortages and high prices on areas in crisis such as sub-Sahara Africa? Where will future production growth come from? And how do we balance the need for environmental protection with sustainable agricultural production methods? This is the first text to present a scholarly, balanced approach to the contentious area of food production and supply up to 2050 - offering a readable and well-informed account which tackles the global food situation in all its totality, from agricultural production, technological advance, dietary concerns, population changes, income trends, environmental issues, government food and agriculture policy, trade, financial markets, macroeconomics and food security. Highly accessible and written by a specialist author with experience as an agricultural analyst, policy advisor and researcher, Global Food Futures synthesises the key issues in one volume.