A recent report of the Swiss authorities for food safety identified several trends for the coming ten years related to food and food security.
On the development and innovation side, they expect new and sustainable raw materials to find their way into the food production chains, as well as new methods for food testing.
For the raw materials, there are two trends: the identification of new sources of protein. And the protein sources come from aquaculture and agriculture alike. This includes on the aquaculture side using seaweed and algae, but also marine products that are unusual to most Europeans: jellyfish. Most recently, Spanish researchers from the national research council (CSIC) have designed an aquarium which enables them to grow jellyfish for food products in tanks. On the agriculture side, there are between 250000 and 300000 edible plant species on our planet, plus approximately 2000 edible fungi species. And yet, according to an FAO report on agrobiodiversity, humans consume only 150-200 (approximately 4%) of these. And only three of these ~200 plants, rice, maize and wheat – contribute nearly 60 percent of calories and proteins obtained by humans from plants. That allows plenty of room to discover and develop new protein sources as we have also recently seen.
Besides the protein source, the form of farming will change to obtain more agricultural area than the limited one we currently have. This will be done through the development of vertical farming and floating farming. In a recent review, Gerrewey and colleagues estimate that vertical farming alone can increase the usable agricultural space ten-fold.
Production and Supply chains will also be improved through the stronger implementation of digital technologies. This will lead to better traceability, and, linked with on-site analysis, with improved food safety. A recently funded EU project, to which we are a partner, and that will start later this month will seek to combine these two aspects.
Other trends foreseen by the report list the expansion of meat-alternative trends (e.g. vegan), and the demand by consumers for sustainable products (food product and packaging material).
