SEPTEMBER 20249We need to create a world where everyone has access to enough nutritious food sourced sustainablyfunctional. Our food system does not meet the needs of today's world population. Currently, over 800 million people (10 percent of the world's population) are impacted by hunger, and 2.3 billion people are affected by food insecurity. Meanwhile, we waste and lose 30 percent of global food production every year, equivalent to about $1 trillion, which is 1 percent of the world's entire GDP. Our global food system is also responsible for 25-30 percent of total carbon emissions, more than the impact of all the cars we drive and all the planes we fly. It is also the primary driver for biodiversity loss on our blue marble planet due to the expansion of agricultural land through deforestation. Moreover, with the world population estimated to increase by 25 percent by 2050, we will need 30-40 percent more food to be produced, while the arable land is projected to grow only by a mere 4.5 percent. This very high-level overview simply yet very clearly demonstrates that our global food system is not working and needs to advance.A Better FutureWe want a world where everyone has access to enough nutritious food sourced sustainably. We can get there from where we are today only with the guiding light of science and technology because science is humble, self-correcting, and has a proven record. Science has always led breakthrough advancements, exemplified during the pre-Socratic era in Ionia, the Islamic Golden Age, the Renaissance and Humanism, reaching a climax with the Scientific Revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries. Food science efforts have already started showing promising results, such as plant-based protein alternatives with much less environmental impact. Similarly, the use of nanotechnology encapsulating nutrients enables food scientists to achieve better levels of nutrient absorption levels by our metabolisms. This improves the efficacy of nutrients available in foods, which can help with our need for more food in the coming decades. Smart packaging solutions, labels, and blockchain technology are set to minimize food waste by providing more information and transparency in the entire food supply chain. Who will lead the charge? For breakthrough advancements in solving the problems of our global food system, science and technology are our HOW, while food scientists, engineers, and professionals are our WHO to lead the way. The global food system is overly complex. Solving such complex problems requires multi-faceted solutions. Therefore, many players and stakeholders will play crucial roles in solving this complex problem, such as governments (through policies, legislations, campaigns, subsidies, and taxes), consumers (through efforts to reduce food waste and changing diets), industry and businesses (through their R&D, pre-competitive, and collaborative efforts), and multiple science and engineering fields. However, we, as food scientists, engineers, and professionals, must be at the forefront, as we know the science of food best. We will need to collaborate with all the relevant stakeholders as well as the scientists and engineers in other and adjacent fields. With that, let me emphasize this: No one else will lead this journey for us. We need to feel accountable and willing to pave the way. Food is essential, a human right, and magical. Yet, our global food system does not meet today's needs and will struggle even more with business as usual. We need to create a world where everyone has access to enough nutritious food sourced sustainably. To get there, we need top-talent, willing, and perseverant food scientists, engineers, and professionals in this field, guided by science and technology. We need to feel empowered and help each other feel empowered and believe that we can lead this change to secure humanity's future. Once we believe, the rest will follow.
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