The modern food supply is largely dependent on fossil fuels. With the depletion of these fuels the question arises how to feed the world population of 9 billion people by 2050. With the use of Big Data, smart distribution systems and an eye for efficiency, numerous start-ups are looking for solutions to provide real, nutritious and more sustainable food. However, will the approach of the new generation food start-ups guarantee our food supply in the future?
The global food production is at odds with the food consumption. How do we feed the growing population that is increasingly wealthy, without losing sight of the environment, the people and animals? Additionally, how do we move to a more equal food distribution worldwide? The time is ripe: better informed consumers increasingly care about the origin and production of their food, along with growing awareness of the effects of their consumption on the planet.
A great example of an initiative seeking to act on this issue is a design challenge aimed at technology-driven disruption of fishing methods as we know it, launched by three leading seafood processing brands: Espersen, Icelandic Seachill and Nomand Foods. Particularly this is aimed at moving away from bottom trawling, which is the most destructive fishing method with huge negative impact on the seabed ecosystem. A big theme in the challenge is the ‘Internet of the Sea’, that helps to better identify locations, species and movements of fish before even putting the gear in the water. Having better data about where to fish can lead to cost and fuel savings and more fishing efficiency. A promising idea is the solar and wind powered Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUVs). The echo-sounders and sensors would enable the AUVs to send back real-time ocean fishery data back to a central location accessible to the fishing fleet. Other initiatives in the design challenge vary from virtual nets and autonomous catching devices. Hopefully all these good ideas will lead to a more sustainable fishing industry.
Another initiative is the Dutch Smart | dairy, a start-up acting on the growing dairy demand in the world, demand especially coming from emerging markets. Smart | dairy aims at connecting small scale farmers in emerging markets in order to create macro-farm that can act as one to produce high quality milk. With Smart | dairy, small scale farmers have access to markets, access to technology and access to funds. Currently, they have 4 farms up and running in Kenya, whilst exploring opportunities in Myanmar, Uganda, Tanzania, an India.
Sources:
http://www.vpro.nl/programmas/tegenlicht/kijk/afleveringen/2014-2015/digitaal-voedsel.html
https://foodtechconnect.com/2016/06/20/building-the-internet-of-the-seas-commercial-fishing/
Hey Nanne! Thank you so much for your post, very interesting topic. It is nice how technology – which seems so inorganic – can help us save the organic world in the future. These days you mostly hear about preventing food wastage, such as the upcoming smart fridge from Samsung (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/14/tech-innovations-that-could-reduce-food-waste) or initiatives such as Too Good to Go (http://www.refinery29.com/2016/08/120105/leftover-restaurant-food-app).
Very good to hear that the producing side of the food chain is also embracing technology to help save the Earth!
Hi Anouk, thanks a lot for your comment. The articles you shared about the start-ups acting on excess consumption are really interesting! I am happy to notice that more and more consumers are increasingly aware of their consumption patterns along with its negative effects on the global ecosystem, and that such technology and internet driven start-ups enables people to truly make a change.
Hi Nanne, thanks for your interesting blog post! I think this topic is really exciting, especially as I have the feeling more and more start-ups are emerging in this particular field.
Have you ever heard of the start-up Cabbige? Similar to Smart | dairy, it focuses on small-scale farmers. Particularly, it offers a business intelligence solution designed for agriculture. This helps farmers to optimize their prices, to keep records and to analyse their product profitability. As the tool is easy-to-use, intuitive and affordable, Cabbige hopes to equalize the power difference between large and small farms. Furthermore, by giving local farmers tools to maximize their productivity, it tries to tackle the problem of having to feed a growing world population.
So, my hopes are pretty high that all of those start-ups will lead the first steps towards a more sustainable food industry.
In case you are further interested in this topic, make sure to check out my blog post as well, which is about improving agriculture with big data and space technology: http://bit.ly/2dBNmWh