Feeding the world into the future – food and nutrition security: the role of food science and technology^†

† This manuscript is based on a presentation at the 8th World Conference of the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences (GCHERA), Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon, 25–26 June 2015.

ABSTRACT

By mid-century, the world population will surpass 9 billion people, meaning higher demand for available food, water, arable land and environmental impacts. Food safety issues, nutrition deficiencies, postharvest losses, regulation inconsistencies and consumer attitudes are all striking challenges which must be met in maintaining food security and sustainability. Possible solutions include advancements in food processing technologies, nanotechnology, innovative food formulations and the use of genomic approaches manifested in examples such as alternative protein sources, insect flour, nutrigenomics, 3D food printing, biomimicry, food engineering and merging technology. International organizations like the International Union of Food Science and Technology also play important roles in securing the world’s food supplies by providing expertise through their respective country memberships. The present review addresses the food science and technology roles in meeting current challenges and investigates possible solutions to feed the world in the near future.

KEYWORDS:

• Food and nutrition security
• food sustainability
• food science/technology
• emerging technologies

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the following: Doug Grahame, Kara Griffiths, Julia Mirotta, Rhiannon Jamieson-Williams, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canada Research Chairs Program, University of British Columbia, International Union of Food Science and Technology, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), and Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for the Agricultural and Life Sciences (GCHERA).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

† This manuscript is based on a presentation at the 8th World Conference of the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences (GCHERA), Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon, 25–26 June 2015.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Canada Research Chairs [grant number 950-221664]; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [grant number RPGIN 2281].