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The advancement of technology and innovation in the fields of food and gastronomy is unstoppable
We are 7 billion people in the world, the land to cultivate is reduced and even so, it will soon be insufficient, we have connected with each other as we have never been, and even so we have the problem that has accompanied us for centuries: the capacity to produce food for all.
Fortunately, technology is giving us the opportunity to overcome this trend, to analyze and understand how food works, to reduce waste, and all with a single goal: to provide food to the almost 1.000 billion people who do not have food today. in day.
Do you want to know how? Here are some ways how technology is already changing our food and the way we consume it, and even discard it.
1. Genetically modified organisms
Biotechnology has created genetically modified organisms, to obtain certain benefits in them, such as greater resistance to herbicides, resistance to pests and enhance their nutritional value.
The first genetically modified tomato, for Flavr Savr, was approved for human consumption in 1994, and already in 1999, 40 million hectares of genetically modified crops were commercialized.
In Europe, it is required to label food from genetically modified organisms, while it is not mandatory in the United States
Currently they have been modified: wheat, rice, oats, fish, poultry, pigs, cows and chickens.
2. Precision agriculture and Drones
It refers to the use of GPS systems and satellite images to monitor in real time the levels of crop yields, soils, the climate, even the doses of herbicides, all to increase the productivity of each hectare in the cultivation farms in all the world.
The system began in the 1990s, and today this system is much more affordable for anyone and greatly increases the quality and productivity of crops.
On large farms, farmers need help to control and increase productivity, and nothing better than technology to do this.
With drones, or unmanned aircraft, diseased, damaged plants can be accurately located, or pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers can be applied in certain areas, that is, those that only need them, avoiding widespread arbitrary applications.
3. The Internet of Things (IOT)
The internet of things came and changed the world of technology: it connects things. And it has already reached agriculture.
An example is the Catalan company WaterBee, which creates a system that collects data on soil content and other factors to reduce water consumption and obtain the same performance.
There are already many IOT companies that are revolutionizing gastronomy and agriculture. And everything is just beginning.
4. 3D printing
3D food printing is something that is still being studied, but it will break into gastronomy at some point, that can no longer be stopped. Currently the biggest achievement comes from 3D Systems which has completely printed edible candies, and already has a contract to print Hershey’s chocolates.
Modern Meadow is working on meat printing to reduce the number of livestock and their respective emissions. NASA already has a printer that prints edible pizza. And there are many companies already dedicated to food printing.
5. The location of the farms
The arable land in many parts of the world is decreasing, and that forces them to innovate in order to grow food. In London, for example, underground crops have been created, in abandoned anti-aircraft tunnels, functioning as suppliers for the restaurants located above those tunnels.
Hydroponic technology is becoming more popular for growing without soil, using nutrient-rich water. London has already started, and little by little its use will grow.
Phillips is already working on LED bulbs that produce wavelengths that can be used to nurture and feed indoor plants in huge buildings such as those located in Dubai or New York. These bulbs do not get hot and can be used in different types of cultivation, in addition to the indoor plants for which they were originally designed.