Vertical Farming Takes Root In Taiwan

BY JULES QUARTLY

Exposed root system for hydroponically grown plants at YesHealth's iFarm in Taoyuan. Photo: Jules Quartly

After becoming a world leader in semiconductors and other electronic products, Taiwan is now looking to smart agriculture as its next vine to climb. The island aims to supply much of the world’s fruit and vegetables within the next 30 years.

This might seem rather unlikely until you consider that the future of farming is not land and labor but factories and robots. Furthermore, Taiwan already possesses in abundance the tools that tomorrow’s smart farmers will use, including solar and advanced light technology, chemicals, gene editing, drones, smart sensors, software, algorithms, data mining, and big data.

Many of these technologies are being put to use in a glittering new 14-story vertical farm at Copenhagen Markets in Denmark’s capital. The first phase of construction of the 7,000-square-meter facility finished in early December. It is one of Europe’s biggest and most efficient vertical farms and was built using a blueprint of patented technologies from Taiwan’s YesHealth Group.

The result of a partnership between YesHealth and Danish agritech startup Nordic Harvest, the farm looks like a fancy warehouse from the outside. The interior is fitted with rows upon rows and columns upon columns of trays containing leafy greens, growing under an intense battery of more than 20,000 smart LED lights. The plants are tended by engineers in lab coats and guided by software that processes over 5,000 individual data points to optimize plant health.

Rows of fresh produce grown under batteries of LED lights at iFarm. Photo: Jules Quartly

The LEDs provide variable spectrum light for 100 different kinds of plants, nanobubble hydroponics oxygenate the roots and inhibit bacterial growth, and liquid microbial fertilizers derived from oyster shells, brown sugar, and soy milk provide essential nutrients for plants and soil. Even the music played to the plants is science-infused, with classical or light jazz music ranging between 115 and 250 Hertz seeming to work best.

Production at the new vertical farm is set to begin in the new year and will scale up to around 3,000 kilograms of leafy vegetables per day by the end of 2021, equating to approximately 1,000 tons of greens annually. Crucially, unlike most farms, these figures are close to guaranteed since production is not at the mercy of climate, the weather, pests and disease, pesticide residue, nitrate levels, or hundreds of other variables that affect traditional farming. 

According to Jesper Hansen, YesHealth Group’s Chief Communications Officer, the partnership with Nordic Harvest has been a productive one so far. It took just five months to install the farm and all the produce is pre-sold to ensure the operation is profitable by Q3 of 2021.

“This collaboration is just the start of a long-term journey together,” Hansen said in an email from Denmark. He notes that the two partners plan to expand to other Scandinavian countries over the next several years.

Hansen credits Taiwan for its efficient development of the technology and know-how to reproduce vertical farms all over the world and calls the Danish development “a crucial milestone in our international expansion.” He adds that the company is eyeing new partners in Europe, Asia, and the MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) region.

YesHealth is the brainchild of serial tech entrepreneur Winston Tsai, who started an LCD screen company at age 21. His “eureka moment” came after being diagnosed with liver cancer and partly linking his illness to pollution in foods. After recovering, he made it his mission to produce affordable, pesticide-free produce by harnessing the power of technology.

He founded YesHealth Agri-Biotechnology Co. Ltd. in 2011 and six years later established YesHealth iFarm in Taoyuan’s Luzhu District. The iFarm cultivates an ever-expanding range of leafy vegetables and herbs in a 2,500-square-meter warehouse factory. It produces 1,500 kilograms of leafy greens per day, a yield which the company says is 100 times more efficient than a traditional farm using the same space and requires only 10% as much water. In addition, YesHealth has a farm in China’s Shenzhen, which harvests up to 2,500 kilograms per day.

A tour of iFarm is well worth a visit and introduces the wide variety of plants grown there. Photo: Jules Quartly

YesHealth’s products are sold to major retailers both in Taiwan and abroad, including restaurants, hotels, and airports. Its stated aim is to supply a total of 7,000 kilograms of leafy greens per day worldwide in 2021.

Diners enjoy a meal at iFarm’s restaurant, which overlooks the vertical farm. Photo: Jules Quartly

Having sampled the produce at the iFarm, I can confirm the arugula grown there is as tasty as any I have tried, while the lettuce and leguminous alfalfa is a perfectly clean, green, and crunchy eating experience – the result, I was informed, of an optimal growing environment and harvesting at exactly the right time.

A plate of salad featuring leafy greens grown at the iFarm site. Photo: Jules Quartly

In a sense, it’s back to the future for Taiwan, which had a largely agricultural economy up until the 1950s. Agriculture was one of the pillars supporting the nation’s economic miracle after World War II. With the help of mechanization and productivity gains, agricultural production at that time contributed around a third of Taiwan’s GDP.

In more recent times it has accounted for just 1.8-1.9% of GDP. That greatly reduced figure, which includes animal husbandry, fishing, and forestry, is not due to a decline in agricultural output per se, so much as the growth in manufacturing and the emergence of a pervasive service sector.

Taiwan has a wide range of rich, often volcanic soils that are exceptionally fertile, along with a subtropical climate that provides plentiful sun and rain. It is known as the “Fruit Kingdom” because of the quality of its fruit, with dozens of varieties ranging from bananas and papayas to wax apples and guavas. More than 100 kinds of vegetables grow all year round.

On the other hand, Taiwan’s mainly mountainous geography means just 25% of the land is suitable for farming. Meanwhile, climate change is affecting agricultural production by increasing summer temperatures and making rainfall more unpredictable. At the same time, considerable soil erosion, acidification, contamination by chemicals and heavy metals, and strong pesticide use have diminished soil quality over the last 50 years.

Furthermore, the proportion of Taiwanese involved in farming has rapidly declined, from 37% of the population in the early 1970s to the current 15% or less, according to the Yearbook of the Republic of China. Not only is the farming population declining, but it’s also ageing as well.

Those factors may not pose as much of an issue, however, since the old model of agriculture is being disrupted so dramatically that even economies of scale are being upended. Given the large size and advanced technology of the U.S., it may come as no surprise that it is the world’s biggest exporter of food as measured by value. Second on the list, however, is the Netherlands, which has just 0.045% the area of the U.S.

According to a National Geographic report in September 2017, the Netherlands’ achievement can be attributed to the work coming out of Wageningen University & Research, 80 kilometres from Amsterdam in the heart of Food Valley – the world’s agricultural equivalent of Silicon Valley in California. The university strives to come up with ways to increase yields and sustainability, and then to disseminate that knowledge.  

New generation

With its strong background in information technology, Taiwan is in a good position to follow that example. The island manufactures everything required for what is known as precision agriculture, a farming management concept that uses IT to collect data from multiple sources as a means of increasing crop yields and boosting profitability. Taiwan is thus the ideal place for putting together prototypes relatively quickly and cheaply.

YesHealth, for example, makes its own LED lights through a local contractor rather than relying on a major manufacturer like Philips, which means it’s nimbler in terms of bringing focused, new tech to the market – and reaping the dividends. According to the company’s Program Manager, Dennis Jan, Taoyuan’s iFarm has the sixth generation LED lighting, while new iterations that are increasingly productive and energy-efficient are being rolled out on an almost annual basis.

The Council of Agriculture (COA) recognized some time ago the need for a precision approach to farming. In 2016, it developed the “Smart Agriculture 4.0 Program,” which was passed by the legislature a year later.

COA realized that the nation’s “calorie-based food self-sufficiency rate is relatively low” and that “shortages in food supplies and escalations in food prices” will inevitably occur as the world’s population expands from 7.5 billion to an expected 10.5 billion by 2050. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says that in order to meet the needs of all these additional people, about 70% more food needs to be produced. Gains achieved in improving crop yields have plateaued and are unlikely to rise again without a complete transformation of the agricultural landscape through the introduction of city farms, vertical farming, and the application of information technology.

In a written response to Taiwan Business TOPICS, COA commented: “With the rapid development of sensing technology, smart machinery devices, IoT, and big data analysis, smart agriculture has been growing in various fields.

“For example, it can monitor and control the production environment automatically to keep animals and crops in the best condition,” COA said. “It can predict harvesting dates and yields through data analysis and make adjustments to maintain a balance of production and marketing, and it can use smart automated machinery in agricultural operation to significantly reduce the labor burden.” Such uses, says the Council, “make agriculture more competitive.”

Fruitful results

Besides fruit orchards, other sectors that COA has included within Agriculture 4.0 include seedlings, mushrooms, rice, aquaculture, poultry, livestock, and offshore fisheries.

COA cites Taiwan Lettuce Village as an enterprise that has benefited from precision farming. The company halved fertilizer use but improved harvest efficiency 1.5 times by introducing a fertilization recommendation system, a harvesting date and yield prediction system, synchronous fertilizing technology, and transplanter and harvester technology.

According to COA the application of precision farming increased yield prediction accuracy by 5% and prevented 350 metric tons of overstocking. In addition, plant disease and pest control were improved through the use of a cloud-based system and machine learning algorithm. “The results were very fruitful,” COA concluded.

Agriculture 4.0 doesn’t just apply to the growing of produce; it also looks at the storage, transport, and export of goods. As an example, COA points to a relatively new fruit hybrid that was originally developed in Israel in the late 1960s. The atemoya – or pineapple sugar apple (鳳梨釋迦), as it is known in Taiwan – is a heart-shaped fruit with green, scaly skin. A cross between wax apples and the cherimoya (often referred to as Buddha’s head fruit locally), it has become synonymous with Taiwan and export success, much like the kiwi fruit and New Zealand.

Previously, 90% of the country’s atemoya exports went to China because it is so close. Later, the Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station introduced a frozen whole-fruit technique that enables 95% of thawed fruit to have a “consistent ripening texture and dramatically improved the raw material quality.”

The technique involves a quick freeze to -40° Celsius, which inhibits bacteria, allowing the whole fruit to be transported at a fairly standard -18°C. After thawing, it can meet the rigorous food safety standards of Japan and South Korea.

Traditional farmers may harbor concerns about agriculture becoming a primarily manufacturing process, taking place under artificial light. However, Kevin Lin, Head of Business Development at YesHealth, insists that what the company is doing is still agriculture.

“This is nature; we are just optimizing it,” he says. “Sustainability is at the forefront of what we do, and our focus now is on ensuring the energy costs of vertical farming – such as heating and lights – are lowered and the source is sustainable.”

In this way, Lin says, Taiwan can produce cheap, healthy, and environmentally friendly food that can help feed the world, even as the global population approaches the staggering 10.5 billion mark.

VIDEO: Vertical Farming To Prevent Food Loss In A Disaster

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October 17th, 2020

Indoor vertical farming startup Plenty Inc. is working to deliver year-round produce from its controlled, resilient farms to avoid food loss during disastrous flooding, droughts, or fires.

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Matt Barnard, co-founder, and chief executive officer of Plenty, Inc. discusses the company's series D funding round on "Bloomberg Technology." (Source: Bloomberg)

Indoor Farms Are Reimagining America’s Food Supply

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Words by Ellen R. Delisio

SEP 25, 2020

With the worldwide population surging and acreage for agriculture shrinking, indoor, indoor farms are literally on their way up as a viable form of food production. 

Bowery Farming, founded in 2015, is growing lettuce and other greens in vertical, indoor farms located just outside of cities. The “farms” are able to produce crops year-round; and Bowery says it is using far fewer resources than traditional farms and generate less waste. 

“Farming is very resource-intensive,” noted Katie Seawell, Bowery’s chief marketing officer. “We’re transforming non-arable spaces into arable farmlands. We stack crops from floor-to-ceiling; because they are grown indoors, we can control the environment. We focus on seeds many farmers are unable to grow because of conditions. We start with seeds and then are able to optimize the plants and are able to harvest at their peak and get them in stores quickly. We are the grower, packager and shipper all in one.”

The stacked plants are monitored and fed using the Bowery OS, a proprietary operating system that gathers information as the plants grow and then creates a “recipe” for each one. “We continue to learn what makes them flourish and thrive,” Seawell explained. “The next time we plant, the recipe has been optimized.” Bowery’s crops are pesticide-free, and the company uses less water than traditional growers.

Currently, Bowery Farming is growing different grades of lettuce and herbs as they grow efficiently. The company, however, plans to expand beyond leafy greens, according to Seawell.

Bowery now has three indoor farms, all near urban areas where fresh produce can be in short supply. One is a research and development center in Kearny, NJ, a suburb of Newark. A large-scale commercial farm also is in Kearny and another farm is in White Marsh, Maryland, just north of Baltimore. “We want to scale globally, and grow our national footprint,” she added. “We’re concentrating on urban centers and feel we can deliver.”

The company says it is collaborating with nonprofits in nearby communities. In the New Jersey and New York areas, Bowery works with Table to Table and Teens for Food Justice. In Maryland and the Washington, D.C. area, Bowery offers support to Maryland Food Bank and DC Central Kitchen. Through DC Central Kitchen’s Healthy Corners program, fresh produce is sold to corner stores in D.C.’s low-income neighborhoods at wholesale costs, where it is then sold to consumers at below-market prices.

While other farms have been struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, Bowery was able to grow its customer base, Seawell noted. “We were very fortunate; we were deemed an essential operation, so there was no disruption in our business. In fact, we had an acceleration in demand because of shortages in other parts of the supply chain.” In early January, the company’s produce was in about 100 stores; now the indoor farms are supplying 600 stores, including Giant, Weiss, and Walmart, and has grown its online business. “We have doubled our e-commerce traffic since January,” noted Seawell. “People are turning to e-commerce because of supply chain disruptions and we have a stable harvest and get produce on the shelf in a few days.”·

The company is fulfilling the vision of its founder, Irving Fain, who believed that since agriculture is at the center of many global issues, including food access and security, it was time for formative transformation of the industry using technology. As Seawell explained, “Agriculture is at the epicenter of so many global challenges we have. We’re trying to do good through technology.” 

When the economy begins recovering in earnest after the pandemic, Bowery Farming can be a part of rethinking a food supply chain that often falters at various stages. “There is a real desire to strengthen our food system, which will benefit retailers and consumers,” according to Seawell. “We can increase access to fresh, delicious, safe produce 365 days a year. We can play an important role in sustainability and farming and can play a part as we strengthen and rebuild from the pandemic.”

Image credit: Bowery Farming

ELLEN R. DELISIO

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Ellen R. Delisio is a freelance writer and paraeducator who lives in Middletown, CT.  Over the past 30 years, her writing has focused on life science, sustainability, and education issues. Ellen is an avid reader and beach-goer.

Read more stories by Ellen R. Delisio

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New Office Aims to Help Grow Food in Small Spaces

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NAFB | 09-19-20

(Washington, D.C.) -- As part of the 2018 Farm Bill, the Natural Resources Conservation Service has led interagency collaboration to establish the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.

Louis Aspey is the interim director of the office and talks about why it was formed.

“Because food insecurity is an everyday reality across the United States, unfortunately. USDA’s Economic Research Service estimates that over 23 million people live in communities lacking food access, with about 16 million of those being children that are food insecure, so it’s a significant problem. It’s especially true when you focus on the urban areas and typically caused by economic challenges that limit attracting retail grocery stores, which reduces or eliminates food shopping options, which results in a term you may be familiar with, which is food desert.”

The new office is aimed at helping improve access to healthy foods in urban areas.

“The Office of Urban Ag supports innovative production methods that respond to these needs and the interest to grow food in small spaces, efforts that seek to help communities increase the production of healthy foods that can have a range of dietary diversity, and urban farms will help contribute to the local food supply chain by connecting growers, schools, and communities to help address food insecurity and overall help meet the increasing demand for locally grown food.”

Aspey is also the Deputy Chief for Management and Strategy for the NRCS, and he talks about how the Office of Urban Agriculture will work to meet its goals in the future.

“Our work involves a public process, and I want to highlight the word public, and we really seek to increase support from stakeholders and focus on a locally-led process. Those of you that are familiar with NRCS recognize that’s one of our foundational principles of the agency; locally-led. We think that is especially true in the option to move forward under the urban agriculture banner.”

The Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production recently gave out $4.1 million in grants and cooperative agreements to help support projects being done by people ranging from urban farmers to community gardeners. USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey adds,” I look forward to seeing the innovations in urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural practices that result from these grants, including community composting and food waste reduction.”

Thank you for reading kmaland.com

At KMA, we attempt to be accurate in our reporting. If you see a typo or mistake in a story, please contact us by emailing kmaradio@kmaland.com.

Is The Future of Farming Indoors?

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July 14, 2020

Brian Kateman Contributor

I write about sustainable and ethical technology and consumer trends.

The global population is predicted to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and to feed everyone, it’s estimated that global food production will need to increase by up to 70% in the next 30 years.

There are many challenges to overcome before fears of a worldwide food shortage can be allayed, including rising temperatures and more frequent droughts caused by global warming. These obstacles are making traditional farming methods increasingly inefficient and unpredictable.

Traditional farming has also been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the FAO, border closures, quarantines and disruptions to supply chains are limiting some people's access to food, especially in countries hit hard by the virus or already affected by high levels of food insecurity.

There’s an emerging consensus that the agriculture industry needs to adapt to use less water and chemicals, make crops less vulnerable to changes in the climate, and produce more reliable yields. Part of the answer may lie in the emerging start-ups growing produce in indoor environments, where growing conditions can be better managed.

The indoor farming technology market was valued at $23.75 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach $40.25 billion by 2022. Yields are typically much higher than traditional farming methods. Crops from indoor farming are grown in three dimensions, rather than two – and can be grown all year round, independent of external weather conditions.

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Square Roots next-generation farmers growing basil. CRAIG VANDER LENDE

One of Square Roots’ indoor farms, for example, produces the same amount of food as a two- or three-acre farm annually, just from 340 square feet. This yield is achieved by growing plants at 90 degrees, and by using artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure the environment is optimal for each specific plant, including the day and night temperatures and amount of CO2 needed.

“Our indoor farms are living biosystems, constantly adapting to maintain optimal climates for growing specific crops. We’re then able to understand how changes in the climate can impact yield taste and texture,” says Tobias Peggs, Square Roots’ chief executive.

Not only could indoor farming help adapt to a warming planet, but it has the potential to help slow down climate change by being more sustainable – using less water and producing fewer emissions. While estimates vary widely, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture accounted for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2018; it is also highly dependent on, and a pollutant of, water.

Square Roots’ pop-up farms are built in shipping containers in cities, often in parking lots. They serve local communities, which means reduced emissions compared to traditional agriculture, which often involves transporting food much further. For example, it has 10 farms in Brooklyn that serve 100 retail stores all within five miles of the farm.

At the Plenty headquarters in South San Francisco, leafy greens use up one percent of the land and five percent of the water compared to traditional outdoor farms, says Matt Barnard, the start-up’s Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder.

AeroFarms’ indoor farm in New Jersey grows greens including baby kale, baby arugula, and baby watercress using 95% less water than conventional agriculture on just one percent of the land required. The crops grow under LED light with no pesticides and a fraction of the fertilizer used on traditional farms.

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AeroFarms environmentally-controlled indoor farms can grow all year round independent of climate and ... [+] AEROFARMS

Marketing director Alina Zolotareva says being able to produce have ready-to-eat produce that doesn’t require rinsing helps to reduce water usage.

“This is a transformational innovation for agriculture at large,” she says, “as access to fresh water for growing food is one of the most pressing challenges of our time.”

As well as fewer miles and less water, indoor farming doesn’t require pesticides. This is better for the environment and human health as it eliminates the risk of water contamination due to run-off, and is in line with increasing consumer demand for non-GMO produce.

Plenty eliminates the need for pesticides with LED lights, which are synced with the crop’s growth, Barnard says, to provide the ideal spectrums and exposure and minimize energy usage.

“Our sensor system ensures each plant gets exactly the amount of purified water it needs, and any excess water is recycled through a closed-loop irrigation system resulting in greatly reduced water consumption and zero waste,” he says.

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Nanobubbles super-saturates the water with oxygen, making the plant roots healthier. This promotes ... [+]

MOLEAER

Other farms are using nanobubble technology, such as Moleaer, which has allowed more than 100 indoor farms to connect their irrigation systems to generators that provide oxygen via sub-micron gas-containing cavities to the plant’s roots to provide chemical-free water. These nanobubbles result in healthier roots, more resilient plants, and increasing crop yields, says Nick Dyner, CEO of Moleaer.

“Our oxygen transfer efficiency provides the most cost-effective solution to elevate oxygen levels in the water, which in turn promotes beneficial bacteria and root development,” he says.

The company is also working on a new NASA-approved space farming research project, exploring how astronauts on the International Space Station can grow their own food in microgravity using nanobubble technology.

There are concerns that it’s an expensive investment, but Dyner says Moleaer has various systems so it’s accessible to all sizes of indoor farms, high- and low-tech. Some products do, however, require growers to connect an external source of oxygen, which must come from a gas supply company or an onsite oxygen generator, which Moleaer provides.

“In many cases, traditional farmers may have more to gain by using our technology, since the capital investment is significantly less than the most advanced growing technologies available today, which are often out of a typical farmer’s budget,” Dyner says.

“Nanobubble technology is a cost-effective, chemical-free, and scalable solution that allows growers to increase crop yields and shorten cultivation time - which will be much needed to feed our growing population in the future.”

Peggs says Square Roots is also focused on ensuring its technology makes farming an accessible career path for young people who live in urban areas.

“If you’re a new young farmer at Square Roots, our app will guide you through what to do; what’s growing, what state is in it, what do we need to do today based on where things are in the growth cycle. Through our app and our training program we’re able to bring new people into our team, even folks with zero horticulture experience, and get them ready to go in about six weeks.”

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Indoor farming is putting the youth back in agriculture. PLENTY

But despite being an emerging option for youth in the city, Barnard predicts most will remain traditional farmers.

“The world still needs the field and will need the field forever. We support the field by growing in addition to the field. Over time, [indoor] farming systems will become more accessible and affordable. Both field and indoor farming will be necessary to support global food demand.”

Viraj Puri, Co-Founder, and CEO of Gotham Greens, a pioneer in urban indoor agriculture that operates over 500,000 square feet greenhouses in 5 U.S. states, echoes this sentiment: “Growing produce indoors certainly has an increasing role to play in the future of sustainable food production. While indoor farming may not represent the future of all fresh produce production, for certain types of crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens, and herbs, it will become more prevalent. Customers are increasingly recognizing the reliability, consistency, and high quality of greenhouse-grown produce that’s grown in close proximity to large population centers using fewer natural resources. Other agricultural commodities like grains or fruits or root vegetables, however, can’t yet be produced.”  

However, Dyner predicts that, eventually, the majority of agriculture will move to indoors, in vertical farms— the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers—in urban areas.

“These settings enable traditional farming to shift to controlled growing conditions, using new technology and automation, and reducing the risk of exposure to harsh climate conditions,” he says.

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Plenty's goal is to build vertical farms in urban hubs and distribute each farm’s harvest locally ... [+]

PLENTY

Start-ups like Square Roots, Plenty, and AeroFarms currently practice vertical farming, which is a form of indoor farming that relies on artificial lighting such as LEDs instead of drawing on natural sunlight.

Other indoor farming companies like Gotham Greens grow produce in high-tech glass-clad greenhouses that primarily rely on natural sunlight for plant photosynthesis. According to Puri: “vertical farming is a more nascent technology within the indoor farming sector and the costs of running a vertical farm with artificial lighting and air conditioning is currently not as cost-effective as relying on natural sunlight in greenhouses.”

Gotham Greens takes a different approach, relying on natural sunlight rather than the artificial ... [+]

GOTHAM GREENS AND JULIE MCMAHON

“Greenhouse indoor farming technology has been in operation globally for 20 to 30 years and is proven to be commercially viable. That being said, the costs around artificial lighting and other vertical farming technologies have been coming down significantly in the past few years,” he adds.

Nonetheless, indoor farm technology start-ups, broadly speaking, don’t see themselves as disruptive, but as being on the same side of traditional farms, for the wider cause.

“The common enemy is the industrial food system, shipping food from one part of the world to the other, rather than locally produced food,” Peggs says.

Indoor farms don’t work in competition with each other, either; they work collaboratively by forming a network that shares data. For example, AeroFarms is collecting data on a research project with the non-profit Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research to understand the sensory and nutritional characteristics of leafy greens for the benefit of the entire agriculture industry.

However traditional and AI-based indoor farming work together in the future, there’s little doubt that indoor farming is helping to meet the needs of a growing global population and support traditional farming, which is both at the mercy of and exacerbating a warming planet. Only one method will find itself in space – but there’s space for them both.

Brian Kateman

I am co-founder and president of the Reducetarian Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing consumption of animal products.

Lead Photo: The world’s current agricultural practices are unsustainable, and indoor farming may offer solutions ... [+]  PLENTY

Food Insecurity Rates Vary Across States

USDA monitors the extent of food insecurity in U.S. households at the national and State levels through an annual U.S. Census Bureau survey. Food-insecure households are defined as those that had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all of their members due to a lack of resources.

Food insecurity rates vary across States because of differing characteristics of the population, State-level policies, and economic conditions. Data for 2016-18 were combined to provide more reliable State statistics than one year alone would provide.

The estimated prevalence of food insecurity during 2016-18 ranged from 7.8 percent of the households in New Hampshire to 16.8 percent in New Mexico with a national average of 11.7 percent. In 12 States, the prevalence of food insecurity was higher than the 2016-18 national average, and in 16 States, it was lower than the national average. In the remaining 22 States and the District of Columbia, differences from the national average were not statistically significant.

This map appears in the Food Security and Nutrition Assistance section of the Economic Research Service’s Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials.

Horti Daily | Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Corona-Update: 'US & Europe Already In Recession'

In the US, potatoes are a hot item across the nation. Unfortunately, in other news, the US & Europe already seem to be in recession. On a lighter note, UK farming leaders have stated that surplus food supplies caused by the closure of major restaurant chains like McDonald’s will now be redirected the consumers. There is also a general directive about what New Zealand growers need to know in the current environment, as well as news on markets and initiatives in India.

Potatoes flying off US retail shelves
All over the US, potatoes are suddenly a hot item across the nation and there are reports of goods flying off grocery store shelves. “It’s been really remarkable how fast … potatoes have been flying off the shelves,” said Blair Richardson, president, and CEO of Potatoes USA, the nation’s potato marketing organization. “Potatoes are being purchased as soon as they come into stores in many areas.”

“You can hardly find retailers with potatoes on the shelves” in some places, Idaho Potato Commission CEO Frank Muir told postregister.com.

The sale of potatoes through foodservice channels has dropped significantly as many restaurants and schools have shut down because of the coronavirus outbreak, Muir said.

But retail sales have jumped significantly and the IPC has sent out a communication to retailers, foodservice customers and shippers trying to facilitate a quick shift of spuds from foodservice to retail channels.

A farmer from Hammett said he’s heard that “retail can’t keep up with the demand for potatoes right now.” He said the industry, with the help of the commission, is undertaking a major effort to move potato cartons from food service to retail.

Even though spuds are a hot item right now, industry leaders said there is no shortage of potatoes in this country, nor will there be next year.

US & Europe already in recession
The closure of retail chains, offices, and workplaces is freezing economic activity, tipping the US into recession. The US and global economies are already falling into recession, with forecasts being revised on the fly as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads around the world, putting an end to a 10-year US economic expansion, according to IHS Markit Chief Economist Nariman Behravesh.

“There’s no question we’re in a recession,” Behravesh said Thursday during the JOC webcast, TPM20: What We Missed — The Economic, Trade, and Container Shipping Outlook. “The only question is how deep.” As of Thursday, IHS Markit, parent company of JOC.com, forecast the US economy would contract 0.2 percent in 2020, “but that will very soon get revised down to at least -1 percent,” perhaps by the end of the week, Behravash told the more than 1,100 logistics executives who attended the webcast.

The direct cause of the recession is the spreading coronavirus, or more precisely the precautions taken against the coronavirus, he said. “So far, it looks like the only way to stop it (COVID-19) is by freezing economic activity, and that plunges the economy into recession,” Behravesh said. “The virus itself isn’t killing the economy, but the response to it is sending us into recession.”

UK farm supplies diverted to retailers after McDonald’s closes
Farming leaders said the “huge surplus” of food supplies caused by the closure of major restaurant chains like McDonald’s will now be redirected to shops where consumers can buy it.

Concerns over the spread of coronavirus have forced the fast-food giant to temporarily close all of its 1,270 restaurants – which source £600m of ingredients each year from 23,000 British and Irish farmers, including many in East Anglia.

But the region’s agricultural leaders are confident that supplies of beef, potatoes, and pork – originally destined to become takeaway fries and burgers – will be quickly diverted to retailers via their “incredibly flexible and nimble” supply chains.

Andrew Blenkiron, estate director of the Euston Estate near Thetford, is also vice-chairman of the Red Tractor assurance scheme and vice chairman of the Suffolk branch of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU). “Everyone is so integrated in this supply chain that they have the ability to easily redirect product from one customer to another,” he said. “The people who process and pack for McDonald’s will also process and pack for supermarkets as well. So instead of minced beef for fast food burgers, it could be prime cuts for the supermarkets.”

Neil Shand, a director at the National Beef Association (NBA), said: “From the NBA’s perspective, we are living in a country that is now on lockdown. We are less than 70pc self-sufficient in beef and we have surplus created by some organizations, such as McDonald’s, not operating in their normal way.

“Any meat produced by farmers that is not going to be used for trade-in McDonald’s will be redirected in the food chain to make sure everybody is catered for and used to keep the country fed.”

South Africa reserves R1.2 billion aid package On March 24th, Ms. Thoko Didiza, South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development sent out a message to the Agriculture and Food Sector of South Africa. Full statement here.

“As you may be aware, that last night the President announced measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, which include a 21-day lockdown. Several businesses will be affected, but the agriculture and food supply sector is one of the essential systems for livelihood and therefore will remain operational.

Our food supply system will remain functional during this period. Agricultural production in all its forms will remain uncompromised. This includes all services including provision of veterinary and advisory services. Live auctions of livestock and sale of other agricultural commodities will continue but under the strict conditions, a prescribed by the President. Exports and imports of critical agriculture commodities and the logistical measures will continue during this lockdown period to ensure global and national food security."

“The Department has set aside a package of R1.2 billion to address effects of the corona virus and ensure sustainable food production post the pandemic. The Department soon will make the details of this package together with the application channels available. The Department has also presented R100 million to the Land Bank to assist farmers under distress. Together with the industry, we are working on a sector operational procedures that would ensure adherence to the measures announced by the President this includes the provision of sanitation to employees within the sector especially farmworkers.”

“To wholesalers and retailers, we urge you not to engage in price gouging, at such a crucial time for the country. You have an important role to play in the supply of food, and the fight against COVID-19. We ask that you continue to serve the nation and help ensure food security at this critical juncture.“

California Citrus Mutual wants letters for essential workers
As part of the state effort to control the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a state-wide stay-at-home order that went into effect last Friday, March 20. The order does not apply to workers in essential businesses, which includes agriculture.

In some parts of the state, the order is being aggressively enforced by local law enforcement. Reports are circulating that some employees have been stopped on their way to and from work and asked to return home.

California Citrus Mutual (CCM) recommends all members provide their employees with a letter stating that they are an employee of an essential business. All employees should keep the letter with them while traveling to and from work.

The letter should be on company letterhead and signed by a company manager. CCM recommends the following wording: “According to the Department of Homeland Security’s Guidance On The Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce, dated March 19, 2020, food and agriculture are deemed a critical infrastructure that must be maintained during the COVID-19 crisis. (Company Name) is an agricultural business that is critical to the food supply chain, and (Employee Name) is an essential employee of the business.”

COVID-19 shuts down Miami farmers markets
At this point in time, keeping fresh produce in the house is tough when online delivery is limited and Miami’s farmer’s markets are mostly shut down. But the Urban Oasis Project has found a way to keep bringing veggies to the people during the coronavirus pandemic.

The non-profit, which operates several of Miami’s farmer’s markets including the ones at Legion Park, Tropical Park, and Surfside Market, is upping its game with delivery service and pop-up pick-up sites around town. In states like California and New York, farmers’ markets have so far been deemed “essential businesses” and allowed to stay open in the wake of coronavirus measures. That’s simply not the case in Miami, where the cancellation of temporary event permits has shut down the markets.

Coronavirus: What New Zealand growers need to know
More information has been provided on how those working in the agriculture sector will operate during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Primary industries and those who supply them have been deemed an essential service, however, will need to follow strict rules to stop the spread of the virus.

Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor says the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has been working closely with food producers and other government agencies to ensure safe operations.

"The primary sector from the biggest companies, co-operatives, large orchards, right down to the smallest farms must keep high standards in workplaces for their own safety and others' wellbeing," he says.

MPI has set up a registration system for those businesses which intend to continue to operate during the lockdown.

Nagpur markets deserted, prices of fruit & vegetables rising
With the entire state concerned by the recent curfew, most of the markets in the city had a deserted look on Tuesday. "The markets are not the same anymore in the light of social distancing advisory to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Sales have drastically dropped due to virtually no footfall," said one retailer.

The sale of fruits and vegetables has drastically dropped even in local vegetable markets like Khamla, Gokulpeth, and Itwari as a result of the low footfall. Many shopkeepers sold vegetables at discounted rates fearing that these would rot and turn into waste. To maintain social distancing at local markets, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation has used chalks and demarcated lines outside every unit in almost all markets.

Even orders at food chains, especially kitchen restaurants, have dropped drastically. The owner of a kitchen restaurant from Sadar, requesting anonymity, said that online food orders have dropped since Monday. Prashant Sahare, a professional and a bachelor staying in an apartment in KT Nagar, said that he continues to get food online since his firm has asked him to work from home.

India: AMC will sell vegetables door-to-door
Beginning tomorrow, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is sending e-rickshaws full of fresh goods to people’s doorsteps. The AMC wants to do away with hordes gathering at vegetable markets and ensure maximum compliance to the government's lockdown orders.

The Smart City and Urban Community Development departments will work together to implement the same. Deputy Municipal Commissioner Nitin Sanghwan said, "We are yet to fix the timings. We are in the process of preparing a road map and decide on which areas to cover first and how to go about it."

In all, there will be 10 e-rickshaws that will cover all the areas under seven zones."Women's self-help groups will be in charge of providing a steady supply of vegetables. The purpose is to avoid large congregations and keep people safe in their homes. There won't be issues pertaining to hygiene; said Mukesh Gadhvi, Deputy Municipal Commissioner. In keeping with the lockdown orders, only a few vegetable shops in the city are open and that too only for limited duration. Besides, citizens have been complaining about hikes in retail prices of potato, lemon, carrot, and cabbages. However, the prices have not been affected, largely.

Indian Supreme Court receives appeal to three-month export ban
The Supreme Court was requested to redirect the ban on export of vegetable and fruits for three months, so that the people could get fruits and vegetables at affordable prices. Advocate Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta filed a petition in the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution making federation through secretary Establishment Division as respondent.

He called on the court to direct the federal and the provincial governments to formulate export policy by which hike in prices of food and vegetable be stopped. The petitioner submitted that due to the rapid spread of coronavirus across the globe, everyone was terrified about his/her survival and several countries had imposed mandatory lockdown recommending around 1.7 billion people to stay at home.

Philippines: Vegetable deliveries hampered  at checkpoints
Despite the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) assurance that Metro Manila will continue to have a stable food supply despite the crisis, the price of goods —particularly of vegetables— have continued to surge during the past days.

Since September 2019, The Murang Gulay Shop has been sourcing vegetables from farmers primarily from the provinces of Benguet and Pangasinan. However, the declaration of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the transport of produce to Metro Manila, giving other traders an opportunity to jack up their prices.

Cargo trucks from Benguet are held up at several checkpoints and reach Metro Manila only days later. Meanwhile, vegetable farmers from Pangasinan and neighboring areas are not able to transport their harvest because tricycles have been banned from traveling in some areas, even if they’re ferrying foodstuff.

Turkey: Fines to be imposed on those with exorbitant prices
Turkey’s Competition Authority has stated that “Nowadays, the global COVID-19 epidemic is experienced in the food market of our country, especially in the fresh fruit and vegetable market. It is observed that exorbitant price increases were made with an opportunistic approach.”

The Competition Authority, which is empowered to protect consumer welfare and prevent actions and transactions that disrupt effective competition conditions, closely monitors the price increases and all actors contributing to this increase.

In this context, the heaviest administrative fines determined by the Competition Law will be imposed on individuals and institutions (all kinds of actors such as producers, intermediaries, carriers, end sellers) engaged in anti-competitive actions in the food market, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.

Vietnamese agro exports to US & EU badly affected
With Vietnam’s main agro-forestry-fishery export markets after China such as the US and Europe being hit by the new coronavirus, Vietnamese exporters are suffering.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, Chairman, and CEO of Vina T&T Group, which exports fresh fruits to several demanding markets, said fruit exports by air to the US and EU were down 70-80 percent since many airlines had stopped flights. "Shipments by sea are relatively stable but customs clearance in importing countries is expected to be prolonged because workers and officials are absent from work due to the pandemic, which could affect the quality of the goods. Therefore, at least in the next one month, vegetable and fruit exports to these markets will drop sharply."

After that, the export situation would depend entirely on how the countries control the pandemic, he said. His company now exports only three items, coconut, longan, and durian, because they last long, and temporary stops exporting other fruits.

Kazakhstan restricts agricultural goods export Kazakhstan has introduced restrictions on export of agricultural goods for the period of emergency state in the country, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare.

The list of products that were prohibited from export includes buckwheat, sugar, potatoes, carrots, onions and white cabbage. The corresponding decree of Kazakhstan’s Agriculture Ministry said that the prohibition on the export of these goods from Kazakhstan to third countries is valid from March 20 till April 15, 2020

On March 15, 2020, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym Jomart Tokayev signed a decree introducing an emergency state in Kazakhstan due to coronavirus outbreak, which will last till April 15, 2020.

The first two cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Kazakhstan among those who arrived in Almaty city from Germany on March 13, 2020. The latest data said that the overall number of coronavirus cases in Kazakhstan is 68 people.

Russia bans potatoes from Kazakhstan
The order to ban the export of certain goods from the territory of Kazakhstan was enacted in accordance with the presidential decree "On Further Measures to Stabilize the Economy." The Ministry of Agriculture of the country called food products that are forbidden to be exported to third countries until April 15, Tengrinews.kz reports.

The list includes buckwheat, white sugar, potatoes, carrots, onions, and white cabbage.

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Publication date: Wed 25 Mar 2020

How Urban Agriculture Can Contribute To Food Security

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October 23, 2019

Urban agriculture has a major role to play in providing healthy, affordable and accessible food to poor urban households in South Africa, according to Prof Juaneé Cilliers, chair of the Urban and Regional Planning Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management at North-West University.

Worldwide, an average of three babies are born every second. This means that the global population grows by about 162 600 people per day, roughly equivalent to the population of George (157 000) or Midrand (173 000).

At the same time, spatial change is at a peak within the urban landscape, with 65% of South Africa’s population currently residing in cities.

READ How agriculture can ease the global urban water shortage

Our growing cities are also increasingly expensive living places characterized by urban sprawl and amplified travel distances, growing carbon footprints, increased energy consumption, and complicated distribution networks.

All this leads to higher food prices and greater food wastage, neither of which are beneficial to the urban poor. Recent data from Statistics South Africa suggests that 70% of urban households in South Africa live in conditions of food insecurity.

Bringing green spaces to urban areas
The world’s growing cities host more people, but less nature. Green spaces in cities have been susceptible to urban development pressures, evident in the depletion of green spaces and the associated downward spiral of living conditions.

In the search for “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities”, one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the interrelated role of nature as a catalyst to reach the objectives of sustainability, is emphasized.

READ Eastern Cape urban agri projects to be rejuvenated

There is a consensus that we need to reclaim nature in cities in order to mitigate the challenges associated with these growing urban sprawls while capitalizing on the range of ecosystem services provided by nature.

Cities, which were once viewed as places where nature ends and urbanization begins, are today considered as a central nexus in the relationship between people and nature.

It is within these contemporary cities that we need to find sustainable future solutions as a matter of urgency because the challenge of sustaining life as we know it is becoming more complicated by the day.

Growing cities, increasing populations and escalating poverty levels mean that we cannot continue with a business-as-usual attitude.

One of the most important conservation issues of the 21st century is where and how food is produced in order to feed a growing and fast-urbanizing population.

Traditional agricultural practices have been widely criticized for their negative environmental impact.

This includes deforestation, threats to wild species, the destruction of habitats and biodiversity, pollution of water, air and soil, high water consumption and water quality degradation, as well as greenhouse gas emission and climate change.

Growing cities place further pressures on agricultural practices. With urban sprawl comes prolonged distribution networks, complex food supply chains, more costly processing, and packaging, and ultimately, more expensive produce, greater food waste and increased food insecurity.

Despite these negatives, agriculture remains one of the most important frontiers for conservation at the moment due to the industry’s deep connections with the global economy, human societies, and biodiversity.

Our challenge lies in finding ways to best utilize space, energy, and logistics in order to sustain an increasing urban population. In short, we need to rethink our cities, but we also need to rethink traditional agricultural practices.

Smart cities: easier accessibility and greater choice 
The concept of smart cities is increasingly recognized as part of the discourse on sustainable cities.

To most people, a ‘smart city’ is one that is technology-driven and futuristic, where real-time intelligence informs decision-making and anticipates and mitigates a range of societal problems. From a spatial planning perspective, a smart city implies accessibility and choice.

Accessibility refers to better-structured networks and connections between communities and their host cities, while choice refers to a range of housing and transportation options. From an agricultural perspective, accessibility and choice pertain to options to ensure food security within the contemporary city.

Agricultural technologies and smart data and analytics are set to increase food production within cities. They will also help meet the ever-growing global demand and logistical distribution of food without further disturbing the urban environment. This smart city solution is encapsulated in the notion of urban agriculture.

Grow food in places where it was previously impossible
Urban agriculture offers innovative, sustainable solutions to the improvement of food security in cities, and simultaneously assists with mitigating the environmental challenges faced by cities.

Urban agriculture can be as simple as small, outdoor community, rooftop and backyard gardens, or as complex as indoor vertical farms with nutrient-enriched water and UV lighting to mimic the effects of the sun.

READ Women in agriculture are key to boosting food security

New technologies enable food to be grown in places where it was previously difficult or impossible, making urban agriculture a viable option for cities where space is limited.

Although not all crops can be grown indoors, urban agriculture has the potential to become a dynamic economic sector that can quickly adapt to changing urban conditions and demands, diversifying the functions of the city.

Urban agriculture makes it possible to produce fresh, nutritious food with low carbon and water footprints, while conserving land, reducing emissions and waste and providing healthy, affordable, accessible food to a city’s poorest residents.

It is, therefore, not surprising that a growing number of cities worldwide have already designed policies and programs to include urban agriculture as part of city planning.

Perhaps South Africa, too, should consider the integration of urban agriculture in mainstream spatial planning, and guide cities towards the creation of demarcated zones for urban agricultural production.

When urban agriculture is formalized as a land use, it has the potential to change the entire urban and agricultural landscape, increase access to healthy food options in urban areas, and mitigate the environmental impact of feeding the world.

Although urban agriculture might not be the only solution to solving food security across the world, it is certainly part of the solution to feed the 70% of urban poor households in South Africa, adding to the development of sustainable, socially inclusive, food-secure and environmentally healthy cities.

The views expressed in our weekly opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Farmer’s Weekly.

Email Prof Juaneé Cilliers at juanee.cilliers@nwu.ac.za.

Better Food For More People: Notes From The World Food Summit 2019

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SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

KYLE BALDOCK

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AVF NEWS, EVENTS

All of us know our food system is broken, but are we all willing to do what it takes to fix it?

Better Food for More People

“The global food system is a major driver of challenges relating to human health, the climate change and environment. We need to think and act in new ways to face challenges of climate changes, hunger, food safety and unhealthy food habits.

The world is facing enormous challenges if we are to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Today, more than 800 million people live in hunger, 1 in 10 people in the world fall ill after eating contaminated food, while more than 2 billion people are overweight or obese. More than 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year, equivalent to 24% of all food produced for human consumption.

In connection with these figures a huge challenge is that international researchers point out that expected changes in population and income levels in the period 2010 to 2050 can increase environmental impact from production and consumption of food by 50-90% globally if targeted remedial measures are not taken. The environmental impact will reach levels beyond the planetary boundaries that define a safe operating space for humanity.

According to researchers, only a combination of measures will be sufficient to mitigate the expected increase in environmental impact. Combined efforts in relation to prevention and reduction of food waste, technological changes to increase the resource efficiency in food production and changed dietary habits are imperative.”

During the last week of August, Copenhagen was the host city to the World Food Summit 2019 and a series of side events to discuss strategies towards tackling the aforementioned challenges and realising the mantra of the summit: Better Food for More People.

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How do we create the necessary change? And what is the role of governments, international organisations, private sector, academia and civil society?

Based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the World Food Summit connects leaders from around the world to discuss concrete solutions for transforming the global food system, focusing on the following topics:

-Ensuring Food Safety and Food Security
-Better Health and Diets
-Improved Resource Efficiency

The World Food Summit is an annual accelerator of actions necessary to transform the food systems to become safer, healthier, and more sustainable in response to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Danish Minister for Food Mr. Mogens Jensen hosted the Summit to work with leaders ready to act on the global food challenges.

The first day of the summit was held in the national parliament of Denmark with an honorary visit from HRH the Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. Speakers from different parts of the world shared their own visions and solutions in the fields of the environmental impact of agriculture, waste prevention, and the necessity of an overhaul in our dietary choices. The fundamental message of all the talks was clear: there is no time left for inaction!

On the second day of the summit, three workshops identified key actions from all stakeholders globally that will enable us to reach the identified pathways towards a healthy and sustainable food system in accordance with the sustainable development goals.

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World Food Summit plans to tackle the challenges facing our food systems

These are some of the suggestions made by the workshop moderators at the end of day two:

-Reform the agricultural subsidy program to reflect the real price of food
-Support and empower local production
-Educate the general public on nutrition
-Implement regional solutions by considering the specific differences and needs
-Create a World Food Forum to come up with guidelines and minimum standards that will help businesses to move in the right direction using new business models
-Enforce governmental regulation, minimum standards and trade deals that prioritise environmental concerns
-Invest in the whole value chain to ease the transition to a sustainable food system
-Rethink the fundamentally flawed systems instead of super optimisation
-Create the global food-borne diseases database through WHO and national governments
-Implement transparency and accountability in the value chain as an indispensable characteristic of the system

During last year’s summit, ten countries became signatory partners to one or more of the World Food Summit’s three commitments. These commitments are about information and nutrition, food safety and food waste; together, they create a framework that can generate tangible results going forward and establish cooperation between partner countries on fostering local solutions and public-private partnerships. This year, five more countries added their names to the signatory lists of these commitments to show there is a strong collective will to commit and work in collaboration to tackle the challenges facing our food systems.

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We are way past the time for making small changes to mitigate climate crisis: we need a plan to revamp our entire food system as fast as possible.

The Danish food minister Mr. Jensen closed the summit by reminding everyone about what John F. Kennedy said on his 1962 speech that lead to the Apollo 11 mission later on. We need to come up with business models to achieve goals like the Danish government’s ambitious plan of 70% fewer emissions from 1990s levels; no one knows how exactly we will get there but first you need to have bold ideas and then find the ways to fulfil them.

Take home messages:

-Identify the false advertisements and marketing schemes and support governments, businesses and organizations that are truly fighting for a better future for our food systems
-Embrace different solutions and diversify our actions in fixing the food system
-There is less focus on the production methods than in waste and consumer choices
-Research on crucial issues like climate change should be a public funded program to avoid biases-We need to come up with a transition period plan for industries that are problematic to our planet to change their business models
-Financing innovation should be our number one priority
-Raising awareness about our food system, labelling and carbon tax need to be a continuous effort

We need to diversify the solutions and a commitment from all of us to consider the repercussions of our daily decisions on the planet. Going back to John F. Kennedy’s vision “We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or make it the last.”

Words by AVF Head of Science & Education Ramin Ebrahimnejad. Ramin will be leading a special session on all these topics and more at the upcoming event The Role of Urban Food Systems in a Changing Climate at C40 World Summit in Copenhagen on 10 October, 2019. The event is free and you can sign up to attend at this link: https://bit.ly/2k54fOY

To get in touch with Ramin Ebrahimnejad, please e-mail re@vertical-farming.net

Future of Food Summit

For the first time, EatingWell and the International Food Information Council Foundation are bringing together thought leaders across academia, agriculture, manufacturing, retail and the media to discuss the Future of Food and how our food system needs to change for the better.

Panel Topics

• Sustainable Food Production

• Our Protein Obsession

• Innovations in Nutrition and Health

• The Consumer Experience

With panel members representing GE Appliances, National Cattleman's Beef Association, North Carolina State University, Perdue, Perfect Day and more!

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PANEL TOPICS

9:00 – 9:30 AM

OPENING REMARKS JOSEPH CLAYTON, CEO, IFIC

Joseph Clayton is Chief Executive Officer of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) and IFIC Foundation. He joined IFIC in 2016. Clayton previously served as Interim President of the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), the trade association representing the public policy and regulatory interests of the frozen food and beverage industry. Prior to AFFI, he served as Executive Vice President at Golin International and CEO of Widmeyer Communications. He began his career in the U.S. Senate, where he worked on the legislative staff of former Illinois Senator Alan Dixon (D-IL). A graduate of the University of Illinois, Clayton serves on the Advisory Board of Illinois in Washington.

OPENING REMARKS JESSIE PRICE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, EATINGWELL

Editor-in-chief of EatingWell since 2013, Jessie Price oversees the editorial content across all media platforms including the magazine, books and brand extensions. After graduating from Williams College, Jessie cooked in restaurants in California and Colorado and worked in advertising in San Francisco. She began testing recipes for EatingWell when she moved to Vermont in 2003 and soon after joined the team full time. She has worked on more than a dozen EatingWell cookbooks and is the author of the James Beard Award-winning The Simple Art of EatingWell. Jessie has represented EatingWell across national and local media, appearing on NBC’s Today show, TV Land’s Best Night In and video news network Cheddar, among others. Under her leadership, the magazine has been named Publication of the Year twice by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), in 2016 and 2019 (and was a finalist in 2017 and 2018).

9:30 – 10:45 AM

KEYNOTE ALI BOUZARI, PH.D.

Ali Bouzari is a culinary scientist, author and educator. He is co-founder of Pilot R&D, a culinary research and development company, and Render, a new food company that collaborates with the best restaurant chefs in the country to reinvent the way food lovers eat. As a chef with a Ph.D. in food biochemistry, Ali has helped to lead the charge in changing the way we think about cooking by teaching and developing curriculum at top universities, and collaborating with the country’s most innovative restaurants, including State Bird Provisions, Eleven Madison Park, and the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group.

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

The Consumer Experience–Shopping, Cooking & Restaurants

Are robots going to be stirring the pots on our stoves? Will grocery store produce departments be stocked straight from vertical farms on their roofs? How will concerns for sustainability, health and social justice reshape both fast-casual and high-end dining? This panel will tap into the changes that will revolutionize how we interact with food every day.

MODERATOR

• Jessie Price, Editor-in-Chief, EatingWell

PANELISTS

• Chris Bissig, Director Industrial Design, GE

• Maisie Ganzler, Chief Strategy & Brand Officer, Bon Appetit Management Co.

• Hunter Lewis, Editor-in-Chief, Food & Wine

• Mario Ferruzzi, Ph.D., Professor of Food Science & Nutrition, NC State, Plants for Human Health Institute

1:00 – 2:15 PM

Sustainable Food Production

Precision technology, gene editing, vertical farming, regenerative practices and other innovations are helping growers be more productive, use fewer natural resources, sequester carbon, reduce waste and improve soil health. How can we harness technologies like these to make our food system more resilient and healthy in the years to come?

MODERATOR

• Dave Kurns, Editor-in-Chief, Successful Farming

PANELISTS

• Jason Rowntree, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Animal Science, Michigan State University

• Bruce Stewart-Brown, D.V.M., SVP of Food Safety, Quality and Live Production, Perdue

• Mark Guiltinan, Ph.D., Professor of Plant Molecular Biology, Penn State University

• Marc Oshima, Co-Founder, AeroFarms

2:30 – 3:45 PM

Plants to Animals: Where Is Our Protein Obsession Headed?

Americans love to focus on the health benefits of protein, but we’re worried about its impact on the environment. What’s a thoughtful eater to do? Stick with meat, go lab-grown, turn to plant-based alternatives? The options are evolving by the day, especially with help from an influx of investment capital.

MODERATOR

• Sophie Egan, MPH, Author & Director of Health and Sustainability Leadership, Strategic Initiatives Group, The Culinary Institute of America

PANELISTS

• Ephi Eyal, CEO, Hinoman USA

• Katharine Richards, Senior Director of Marketing, Perfect Day

• Renske Lynde, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Food System 6

• Jennie Schmidt, M.S., R.D., “The Foodie Farmer”

• Sara Place, Ph.D., Senior Director of Sustainable Beef Production, National Cattleman’s Beef Association

3:45 – 5:00 PM

Innovations in Nutrition & Health

What will be the biggest influences on dietary and nutrition science in the next ten years? In 2020 the USDA will release the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which help drive food and nutrition policy. What are we likely to see there? Probably small incremental changes. But promising emergent fields including personalized nutrition, microbiome research and sugar replacement alternatives are likely to shake up what we eat to feel our best.

MODERATOR

• Lisa Valente, M.S., R.D., Digital Nutrition & News Editor, EatingWell

PANELISTS

• Anna Maria Siega-Riz, Ph.D., IFIC Foundation Trustee

• Rachel Sanders, CEO, Rootine Vitamins

• Megan Meyer, Ph.D., Director of Science Communication IFIC Foundation

• Dipnath Baidyaroy, Ph.D., Director of Strategic Alliances, Codexis

• Allison Kuhn, Director of Nutrition, Kroger Health

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Feeding The Masses With Indoor Farming - Agriculture Finally Grows Up

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Emily Folk 

June 11, 2019

Food insecurity happens when the people it affects do not have consistent access to nutritious foods. Then, the problems span from stunted growth in childhood to obesity because people cannot get enough nutrient-rich, healthy food to maintain an ideal body weight.

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Credit: MetsikGarden, Pixabay

Traditional farming can help alleviate some food insecurity, but the agricultural industry is heavily dependent on Mother Nature. Unusual weather patterns, poor soil conditions and invasive pests are some of the many things that can cause farmers to have disappointing growing seasons. There’s also the reality that some areas of the world do not have the climates necessary for producing some types of food, and that problem could get worse due to global warming.

So, what if it were possible to take all those outdoor variables out of the picture? That’s happening already thanks to an increasing interest in indoor farming.

Growing Things Vertically

Indoor farming is also called greenhouse farming. Discussions surrounding either of those terms often bring up the concept of vertical farming. It involves growing crops in vertically orientated stacks. This method allows for practically utilizing the available space. Moreover, parties in the vertical farming industry typically use sensors that detect the precise amounts of light, water and other essentials that the crops need to grow.

Taking this approach avoids the waste and uncertainty that can accompany traditional farming. AeroFarms, located in New Jersey, is one of the largest indoor farms. It substitutes LED lights for the sun and uses a specialized cloth instead of soil. Plus, the operation reportedly uses up to 95% less water than standard methods of farming because it delivers a mist of water and nutrients to the root structure.

Other vertical farms operate in similar ways, and their overall methods result in shortened growing times. It’s also worth noting that although the exact statistics vary, an acre of vertical farming could produce as much as a conventional farm that’s at least ten times larger.

Population Growth Is a Pressing Matter

Researchers understand that there’s no time to waste when figuring out how to feed the world’s population. Some estimates say that as the global population grows from 7.3 billion to 9.6 billion people by 2050, we’ll need to produce 70% more food to feed them all. LED lights are particularly advantageous in indoor farms because they allow offering dynamic light spectrums for individual plants. Sunlight is comparatively unpredictable.

But, customizable light is not the only aspect of indoor farming that could make it a feasible way to feed future generations. Some indoor farms use robots to manage many of the necessities. Research shows that labor costs represent as much as 80% of an indoor farm’s operating expenses, but many are using automation to keep costs down. Doing that could help tackle the problem of aging farmers contributing to a labor shortage.

Vertical Farms Help Solve Problems With a Lack of Land

When people bring up matters related to population growth, they often talk about how the increase of people on the planet makes it more difficult for those individuals to secure housing. In the agriculture sector, the opposite problem can arise, whereby an uptick of buildings for houses and offices leaves less land for agricultural development.

Indoor farms address that problem since they can exist inside of or on buildings — such as in one case where a former warehouse in Brooklyn now has a rooftop garden. Then, in the Sunqiao district of Shanghai, vertical greenhouses are integrated parts of the city, showing that farms can thrive without vast expanses of land.

Dealing With the Sustainability Challenge

Vertical farms offer higher yields than outdoor farms, and they’re compatible with urban environments. Many companies also sell compact indoor growing solutions for households, and those product manufacturers took inspiration from the large-scale indoor farms. All of those things are good news for fixing food insecurity.

But, critics point out that some indoor farms are not always sustainable options due to the energy required for things like climate control. That’s a valid argument, but people need to realize that no single solution will completely encompass the issue related to both food insecurity and sustainability.

As mentioned earlier, indoor farms use less water than traditional farms. Plus, they typically don’t require pesticides, which is another advantage for the planet. If enough indoor farms meet food availability needs, it’s also possible that produce would not need to travel as far to reach the people who eat it. That’s a sustainable outcome, too.

The possible downsides of indoor farms should merely be reminders of how solving the problem of feeding the future should take sustainability into account. Then, the results could mean that more people have access to the food they need, and the planet gets the necessary protection.

Seeds&Chips Launches Goals on Tour: FAO: 821 Million People Worldwide Suffer From Chronic Malnutrition, 672 Million From Obesity

Marco Gualtieri, Seeds&Chips: "Reaching the SDGs is the greatest business opportunity that has ever occurred for humanity"

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Milan, 10 May 2019 - On the fourth day of Seeds&Chips, the most important international event dedicated to innovation in the food chain, Goals on Tour was launched as a global campaign to raise public awareness and support for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs).

Seeds&Chips 2019 houses 16 containers (the 17th represented by the unity of intent of the community gathered and represented here), which each symbolize an SDG. From here, they will embark on a sustainable journey around the world. The colorful containers, with the symbols of the Goals and full of graphic and interactive content will make stops in the main capitals of the world, functioning as a traveling exhibition that showcases artistic installations and displays of public and private sector initiatives that aim to realize the SDGs. The exhibition content has been provided by the partners of this project and by Elisabetta Lattanzio Illy, journalist and photographer with over twenty-five years of experience in the defense of equality and dignity for all.

The Summit was in fact the first part of this world tour, which immediately saw the participation of large global players like FAO, IFAD, WFP, UNIDO, UNECE, INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTER, the Republic of San Marino, Deloitte Foundation, Oceana, Robert Kennedy Human Rights, Fondazione Politecnico. It is destined to grow bigger, combining international bodies, institutions and the private sector.

The SDGs were launched in 2015 by the United Nations and were included in the 2030 Agenda. They aim to resolve economic and social development problems in the world such as poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water, sustainable energy, urbanization, environment and social equality.

Marco Gualtieri, President and founder of Seeds&Chips, commented: "Reaching the SDGs represents the greatest business opportunity that has ever occurred for humanity. We have the honor of launching the Goals on Tour initiative because we must begin to create awareness, make systems and unite the intentions around the SDGs."

In the launch session of Goals on Tour, the major international humanitarian organizations came together at Seeds&Chips to share their initiatives and commitments in achieving the objectives.

According to FAO, 821 million people worldwide suffer from chronic malnutrition, which has steadily increased since 2014, while 672 million people suffering from obesity. In the world 1/3 of available food is wasted:#zerohunger is the campaign that FAO has presented on stage and is committed to supporting in the coming years. It has the same intent as the WORLD FOOD PROGRAM, the United Nations agency that assists over 100 million people.

IFAD (International Fund for Agriculture Development) is working toward increasing the sustainability of agriculture, while INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTER is at the forefront in achieving gender equality from within and improving the sustainability of exporting goods around the world. UNIDO is committed to sustainably increasing the industrial activities of member countries while aiming to reduce emissions and their impact on climate change.UNECE is active in promoting approaches for greater economic integration and cooperation and  sustainable development and prosperity for all.

The Republic of San Marino was the first State to join Goals on Tour, choosing to be part of the global network, "because environmental sustainability must be pursued concretely, the environment is not infinite,” declared Marco Podeschi the Secretary of State for Education and Culture of the Republic of San Marino.

For more information: https://www.seedsandchips.com/

***

Seeds&Chips - The Global Food Innovation Summit, founded by entrepreneur Marco Gualtieri, is the world’s flagship food innovation event. An exceptional platform to promote technologically advanced solutions and talents from all over the world. An exhibition area and conference schedule to present, tell and discuss the themes, models and innovations that are changing the way food is produced, transformed, distributed, consumed and talked about. In 2017, Seeds&Chips’ keynote speaker President Barack Obama participated as a speaker The event hosted over 300 speakers from all over the world; over 240 exhibitors and 15800 visitors. It also garnered 131 million social impressions in 4 days. The 2018 edition saw more than 300 international speakers, among them former US Secretary of State John Kerry, President of IFAD Gilbert Houngbo and Starbucks’ former CEO and Chairman Howard Schultz. The 5th edition of Seeds&Chips – The Global Food Innovation Summit took place at Fiera Milano Rho, from May 6 to 9, 2019. 

Singapore Focuses On Food Security To Counter External Threats

City-state rolls out 'agri tech park' project as it seeks to reduce dependency on food imports

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JUSTINA LEE, Nikkei staff writer

MARCH 30, 2019

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The Singapore government has launched a series of new food projects in order to be able to feed its growing population. Earlier this month, it announced it would open an 'Agri-Food Innovation Park' for high-tech farming processes. © AP

SINGAPORE -- Singapore, which imports 90% of the food it consumes, is making concerted efforts to produce and store its own food, as it seeks greater food security in the face of external threats such as climate change and pressures from neighboring Malaysia.

The Singapore government has launched a series of new food projects in order to be able to feed its growing population. Earlier this month, it announced that it would open a 18ha "Agri-Food Innovation Park" which will be used for high-tech farming processes and research and development activities including insect farms.

"We are working with local and overseas industry players to develop this first phase of the park, which will be ready from the second quarter of 2021 with potential for future expansion," said Koh Poh Koon, Singapore's senior minister of state for trade and industry.

Singapore is also looking to develop a new sector of agri-technology using local talent in its bid for more secure food supplies. SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of government agency Enterprise Singapore, has appointed seven co-investment partners to inject more than S$90 million into Singapore-based agri-food tech startups.

With no natural resources of its own, Singapore depends heavily on foreign food imports, including live animals, worth around S$11.3 billion in 2018 alone. Less than 10% of its food is homegrown due to its small territory and limited available land. Most of its food comes from countries including Malaysia, Australia and Indonesia.

Additional factors such as climate change and tensions with Malaysia mean the city-state is vulnerable to potential disruptions to its food supply.

Last December, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Malaysia's domestic trade and consumer affairs minister, said Malaysia was looking at limiting or stopping exports of eggs in order to ensure a sufficient supply for its domestic market. Singapore imports approximately 73 per cent of its eggs from Malaysia, according to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore.

To prevent shortages from any such potential moves, and despite its limited resources, Singapore is aiming to triple its home-grown food productivity by 2030.

Some local companies are involved in the efforts. Sustenir Agriculture, a local vertical farming company, has successfully cultivated strawberry plants in the laboratory, with the fruits already being sold at Singaporean online supermarket operator Redmart. It has also grown some vegetables which are being sold locally.

Paul Teng, managing director and dean of the National Institute of Education in Singapore, noted that such efforts could help Singapore to boost its food productivity, as indoor vertical farms do not require "large land pockets" which the city-state does not have. "It can be expected that land will not be a major roadblock," he said.

However, due to the heavy involvement of technology in the growing processes, food grown in Singapore might become more expensive, he warned. "Singapore-produced vegetables need to have a justified price premium due to the relatively higher costs of per kilogram production when compared to imports from neighboring countries."

"Food safety, freshness and sustainable production may be part of the certification required to help consumers choose in favor of local produce," he added.

Centers For Disease Control And Prevention Report

US: New Numbers On Foodborne

Illness Outbreaks

In 2016, 839 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported to CDC, according to a recently released annual summary from the National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS). The data come from reports that state, local, and territorial public health agencies submitted to the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System using NORS, and includes single-state and multistate outbreaks.

According to qualityassurancemag.com, the CDC estimates that each year in the United States, about 9.4 million people get ill from 31 known foodborne germs. These illnesses lead to about 56,000 hospitalizations and 1,350 deaths. Although most foodborne illnesses are not part of a recognized outbreak, outbreaks provide important information on the agents (germs, toxins, and chemicals) that cause illness, the foods responsible, and the settings that lead to transmission.

The main findings from the annual summary include:

• Reported foodborne disease outbreaks resulted in 14,259 illnesses, 875 hospitalizations, 17 deaths, and recalls of 18 food products.

• Norovirus was the most frequently reported cause, with 145 outbreaks and 3,794 outbreak-associated illnesses.

• Salmonella was the second most common cause, with 132 outbreaks and 3,047 outbreak-associated illnesses.

Restaurants were linked to outbreaks more often than any other place where food was prepared, as in previous reports. Restaurants were associated with 459 outbreaks, accounting for 61% of outbreaks that reported a single location where food was prepared. Most of these restaurant outbreaks (363) were reported at establishments offering sit-down dining.

Click Here to Read The Full Report.

Publication date : 10/16/2018 

2018 World Food Prize Laureates: Ending Malnutrition For Mothers And Young Children

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By The Washington Times Special Sections Department - Wednesday, October 10, 2018

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Alarmed by the vast numbers of malnourished children in the world, two British men have spent their lives working to ensure that mothers and their young children can obtain high-quality foods and vitamins.

This month, the men — economist Dr. Lawrence Haddad and physician Dr. David Nabarro — will be honored with the prestigious 2018 World Food Prize.

The men will split a $250,000 prize as part of an award envisioned decades ago as the “Nobel Prize of Food and Agriculture” by its late founder, legendary agricultural scientist Dr. Norman E. Borlaug.

In a June 25 announcement about the laureates, Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize, praised Dr. Haddad and Dr. Nabarro for having brought “extraordinary results at national and international levels.”

“Through their leadership, our laureates have inspired efforts that between 2012 and 2017 reduced the number of stunted children in the world by 10 million,” Ambassador Quinn said at the ceremony at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.

Their work also cemented the idea that highly nutritious, healthy foods — not just basic staples — are essential for mothers and their children during the children’s first 1,000 days of life.

“Undernutrition — whether growth failure or micronutrient malnutrition — is falling too slowly,” said Dr. Haddad, a pioneer in food policy research who is now executive director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).

Poor diets are associated with diabetes, hypertension and obesity, and one in three people are malnourished — “with no country exempt,” Dr. Haddad said in June. GAIN’s mission, he added, is to make nutritious, safe food more available, affordable and desirable for all, and especially for babies, toddlers, young children and other vulnerable people.

Dr. Nabarro’s career highlights include his leadership of the U.N. High Level Task Force on Global Food Security from 2008 to 2014. During those years, he successfully brought 54 countries and one Indian state into a new, anti-malnutrition U.N. project called the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement. Today, the SUN program involves 60 countries and is working toward ending malnutrition in all its forms by 2030.

There are “thousands of courageous women and men” working in well-functioning, local food systems, said Dr. Nabarro, who is now strategic director of Skills Systems & Synergies for Sustainable Development (4SD). These local leaders “have the wisdom needed to reduce levels of malnutrition or diet-related illness … They are the transformation leaders of the future,” he said.

The Oct. 18 World Food Prize award ceremony is a highlight of this year’s gathering, which is held in Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 15-19 and features events such as the Iowa Hunger Summit, the Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium and Global Youth Institute.

The theme of this year’s symposium is “Rise to the Challenge” — a reference to “the single greatest challenge in human history,” which is “whether we can sustainably feed the 9 billion people who will be on our planet in the year 2050,” Ambassador Quinn said.

The World Food Prize, which recognizes pivotal achievements in improving the quality, quantity and availability of food, was established in 1986 by Dr. Borlaug, an Iowa-born agricultural scientist who participated in the events until his death in 2009 at age 95.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Dr. Borlaug developed many strains of high-yielding, disease-resistant “miracle wheat” in Mexico. He then got these seeds into countries with severe food shortages — like India and Pakistan in the 1960s — and sparked the “Green Revolution” in food production.

In 1970, Dr. Borlaug became the first person from the world of agriculture to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The World Food Prize and its $250,000 award are presented by the World Food Prize Foundation with support from dozens of companies, foundations and individuals, including the family of the late Des Moines businessman and philanthropist John Ruan Sr.

To date, the 48 laureates have come from Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Cuba, Denmark, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Israel, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States and United Nations.

• Please follow @WorldFoodPrize.

US: FDA Investigates More Cyclospora Outbreaks

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Although Cyclospora outbreaks in the US happen less frequently than those caused by typical pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria, the recent salad mix outbreaks occurring in July and August of this year are sadly familiar. Food Engineering already reported on similar events in a news item entitled “Cyclospora outbreak traced to pre-packaged salad mix.” Now, Cyclospora certainly has the FDA’s attention.

Recently, some 630 people from 25 American states were infected, according to the CDC. Officials in Nebraska said the salad mix contained iceberg and romaine lettuce, red cabbage and carrots, and was sold via a national distribution chain. By the time the final tallies were made, the offending salad mixes were out of the supply chain.

An August 23, 2018, FDA update showed that this summer’s Cyclospora infection afflicted people who consumed salads from McDonald’s restaurants. Though the investigation is still ongoing, cases were reported in 15 states and New York City, resulting in 507 illnesses and 24 hospitalizations. Infections were reported in July and August 2018. The FDA has been reviewing distribution and supplier information for romaine and carrots.

But McDonald’s salads weren’t the only product affected. On July 30, 2018, the USDA issued a public health alert on beef, pork and poultry salad wrap products potentially contaminated with Cyclospora that were distributed by Caito Foods LLC, Indianapolis. Caito Foods had received notification from Fresh Express that the chopped romaine in these products was being recalled.

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Publication date : 10/16/2018 

Vertical Farming And 'Soft Power'

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By Edward Timperlake - - Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Whatever one’s religious belief, all can acknowledge that World War II was the closest humanity has come to unleashing what is symbolically known as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: war, famine, pestilence and death.

However, that Hobbesian view of humanity can be offset by walking along a unique “trail” in D.C., called “The Peace Trail,” on our National Mall. https://www.usip.org/peace-trail-national-mall

One of the central points of note on the Peace Trail are four bronze statues. Two are known as “The Arts of War” and flank the entrance leading from the Lincoln Memorial to Memorial Bridge, crossing over the Potomac River to Arlington Cemetery. The second two statues, “The Arts of Peace,” flank the road that runs parallel to the Potomac River.

The Arts of War have one word on each statue: “Valor” on one, “Sacrifice” on the other — appropriately so, given that the Memorial Bridge leads to Arlington Cemetery.

The Arts of Peace have carved in their stone bases “Aspiration and Literature” on one and “Music and Harvest” on the other.

No better connection of words embodies the power of human nature’s resiliency with pure joy as when these words, “Music and Harvest,” are joined together.

Those words take on additional importance when one reads that the stone castings were done in Naples, Italy, and they are a gift from the Italian people to the American people in 1950, just four years after the horrors of World War II.

From Roman engineers building roads and aqueducts to help harvests to the great “Green Revolution” beginning in the 1950s and continuing to this day, some of the best minds in the world have sought to meet the challenge of feeding humanity.

One key leader was Norman Borlaug, an American agronomist who is often called the father of the Green Revolution and who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for increasing food production. His efforts to develop — and deliver — high-yielding varieties of cereal grains to India and Pakistan are credited with saving as many as a billion people from starvation. Additional elements of the revolution were helping farmers improve their irrigation techniques and get access to man-made fertilizers and pesticides.

Imagine, one brilliant man saving a billion lives! Thus, all people can appreciate that the advances in agriculture are a genuine “soft power” contribution to world peace: Impoverished nations will not have to fight for basic survival if they can simply feed their citizens.

From the great land-grant institutions to scientific research labs and schools such as Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Science, research pioneers have played an important dynamic role in advancing knowledge in growing nutritious food.

Now, agriculture in the 21st century is entering the practical and achievable dimension of vertical farming. This phrase — describing growing plants in multistory buildings rather than on a horizontal farm — was actually coined in 1915. But thanks to renewed efforts in development, it is now possible to move from the scientific linear approach of advancing yields from a horizontal farmer’s field to going vertical. This is a true step-function into creating a “fourth Agriculture Revolution.”

There is tremendous promise when the best innovations of the Green Revolution are integrated into vertical farming, especially in urban and suburban settings.

Food insecurity is a concern for anyone living in a city. Poor quality, limited options and a fragile supply line are only some of the challenges in feeding people.

Looking at agriculture more broadly, many practices that have been used for decades — and even thousands of years — are breaking down and are ultimately unsustainable. Fertilizers produce chemical runoff that is polluting the water supply. This, in turn, has led to a number of aquatic “dead zones.” Huge amounts of water and land are needed to keep pace with the population.

Vertical farming can address these concerns in ways that greenhouses and regular urban farming can’t.

Picture several high-tech greenhouses stacked on top of each other. Now add in hydroponics, a fairly familiar growing technique that uses a third the amount of water required by regular agriculture.

Now think about a vertical farm using aeroponics, a technique that needs only a third the water of hydroponics and recycles the water so it can be used over and over.

Moreover, unlike some vertical farms, a new approach is to design the building to fully maximize sunlight to grow plants, with OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) as a supplement. OLED is like a protein bar for plants whereas sunlight is like dinner with all the fixings.

With greater use of vertical farming, some of the farmlands that are currently used in agriculture could be returned to a more natural state of better soil through carbon sequestration.

This, plus reduced water needs; multiple annual harvests; recycled waste; crops protected from disease and the elements; and real 21st century jobs, are just some of the benefits that can be brought by vertical farming.

• U.S. Marine Fighter Pilot Edward Timperlake, who owns a farm in Rappahannock County, Virginia, served in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and is a former assistant secretary with the Department of Veterans Affairs and former director of technology assessment in the Department of Defense. He has co-authored four books, including “Rebuilding American Military Power in the Pacific: A 21st-Century Showdown” (Praeger, 2013), and currently writes for Defense.info.

World Food Day 2018 - Our Actions Are Our Future - A #ZeroHunger World By 2030 Is Possible

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October 16 is World Food Day, a yearly initiative created by the United Nations to promote awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure food security, healthy, safe and  nutritious diets for all. Across the world, many initiatives are organized over 130 countries, making World Food Day one of the most celebrated days within the United Nations calendar.

This year's main theme is focusing on the Sustainable Development Goal No. 2: Zero Hunger. It is not just linked to eradicate hunger, but also aims at improving nutrition and sustainable agriculture. In fact, after a period of declining in the global data, hunger is once again on the rise. According to the FAO's report "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018", over 820 million people worldwide are suffering from hunger and other forms of malnutrition.

What can be done? Policy-makers, media, governments, civil society and  International institutions can take the lead to reach SDG2 of the UN 2030 Agenda.

The solution can be transforming radically the way we look at the food we produce and consume, changing our nutritional habits that have created a a sustainable and healthy diets, such as Mediterranean Diet. Recent data show the alarming trends, particularly among young generations: in Italy 36% of children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years old is overweight, a percentage that exceeds 58% in adults. 

Overweight and obesity, unhealthy diets and poor physical activity, contribute to the proliferation of non-communicable diseases (especially diabetes, some forms of cancer and cardiovascular problems) that put quality of life at risk and in some cases lead to premature mortality.

According to the preview of the data based on the third edition of the Food Sustainability Index (which will be released on 28 and 29 November at the International Forum on Food and Nutrition, organized by BCFN in Milan), Italy is trying to limit the progressive "nutritional transition", putting in place some concrete measures in school canteens that focus on portions, quality of ingredients and nutritional standards of meals.

"Never before has there been such a need for a food revolution that can make food the focus of our way of thinking. .Thanks to our partnership with the MIUR, we created the Digital Education initiative “Noi, il Cibo, il nostro Pianeta”, which aims to educate new global citizens by way of an innovative digital program centered round the role of food and the effects that its production and consumption have on the environment, health, society and even the phenomenon of migration. We will be discussing this issue at the International Forum on Food and Nutrition to be held at Hangar Bicocca" explained Anna Ruggerini, Operations Director of the BCFN Foundation.

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An educational program for tomorrow's adults

The BCFN Foundation is committed to building a new food and environmental sustainability, paying particular attention to education and the active role of young generations. This means opening a dialogue with children and young people, contributing to food education which pays closer attention to health and the environmental impact of eating habits. Within this view, teachers play a critical role, and the BCFN Foundation supports their work with the 'We, food, our Planet" program.

Part of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry for Education, 'We, our food, our planet' is an educational project designed to provide incentives for innovative ways of teaching. It offers online training for teacher on the themes of food and food sustainability and digital tools for class work. The project, which also comes with practical lab activities for more dynamic learning, and is designed for three different age groups to better prepare tomorrow's global citizens.

The interactive program, available on the website www.noiilciboilpianeta.it, is divided into four modules and is based on one assumption: food is the element that connects all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations.

 

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Food-Insecure Schools Are The Next Major Frontier For Indoor Farming

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By Jennifer Marston

September 17, 2018

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Tech startups and pundits alike are considering the many places (anywhere, really) in which indoor agriculture can become a reality. But an organization in the Bronx, NYC provides the most obvious clue as to where this type of farming can make its biggest impact.

Teens for Food Justice (TFFJ) is a nonprofit dedicated to training youths on hydroponic farming techniques, health and nutrition education, and entrepreneurship skills. In real life, that translates to working with schools in NYC to build and maintain indoor hydroponic farms that provide fresh produce to school cafeterias on a daily basis.

By TFFJ’s estimates, their farms yield around 22,000 pounds of fresh produce annually at each location, including bok choy, herbs and lettuces, hot peppers, and cucumbers. At some locations, the yield is even greater. Thanks to a donation from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, DeWitt Clinton high school produces over 25,000 pounds of produce per year. The 1,300 square-foot indoor farm lives in a former chemistry lab in the high school, and feeds not only the students but also the surrounding area — which happens to be one of the most food-insecure communities in NYC.

TFFJ grew out of Students for Service, a nonprofit created in 2009 to involve at-risk-area teens in community service projects. A focus on food justice and sustainability developed a few years later, in 2013, when the first TFFJ model raised over $90,000 to build its first hydroponic farm in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. A second farm launched in 2016, and TFFJ now operates in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn at Title 1 schools. These schools typically serve low-income areas, many of which are also food-insecure zones.

Roughly 42 million Americans, including 13 million children, are considered food insecure. Lucy Melcher, director of advocacy and government relations for Share Our Strength, last year described food insecurity as “a family that has enough money to buy groceries three out of four weeks; it’s a mom skipping dinner; it’s having to choose between buying groceries and paying rent.”

It’s also a vicious cycle. As anyone who’s ever skipped a meal knows, hunger throws both brain and body out of whack and can severely impact things like the ability to concentrate and even make sound decisions. In a school setting, that usually means lower academic performance, higher dropout rates, and lower-paying jobs as an adult — all of which can perpetuate the food insecurity cycle for any given individual.

TFFJ’s mission has the potential to halt that chain of events early on: in the classroom. You might say the organization is trying to build a new cycle, one that focuses heavily on getting hands-on with the food-growing process, education oneself, then taking those lessons to others in the communities:

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It’s obviously quite a bit more complicated than an infographic can show, but getting indoor agriculture into more schools is definitely becoming a legitimate movement. Consider “Growing Brooklyn’s Future,” a $2 million initiative to create hydroponic classrooms in a dozen schools across Brooklyn neighborhoods Brownsville, Bushwick and East New York. Or Princeton University’s Vertical Farming Project, which this past May announced a partnership with Hopewell Elementary school in Hopewell, NJ, to develop a vertical farm-to-cafeteria program.

Right now, however, most of these programs rely on donations and grants, and literal and figurative growth will depend on much more funding in future. This is where indoor agriculture companies could really step in. There are plenty of high-tech farming startups out there, all hoping to play a role in the $27 billion indoor agriculture market. But as I wrote last week, these companies have an opportunity to expand their reach from the farmer’s market and the upscale grocery store to areas in greater need of both fresh food and better nutritional education.

One other advantage of schools: if indoor agriculture is going to be the force many hope it becomes, the world will need more people who actually know how to grow the food using hydroponics and other indoor farming techniques. Bringing these programs into schools is effectively training an entire generation on skills that will soon be critical for us all.

The Innovation Turning Desert Sand Into Farmland

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By Aamir Rafiq Peerzada

BBC News, Al Ain

•  16 May 2018

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Faisal Al Shimmari hopes the innovation will help him create "a human Garden of Eden" in the desert

Faisal Mohammed Al Shimmari farms in some of the most extreme conditions in the world, at Al Ain, an oasis in the United Arab Emirates desert, where temperatures can reach 50C.

"It's expensive as we have to buy water regularly to irrigate these plants," he says.

Farmers have to use tankers to bring in water, and in the desert, farms use almost three times as much water as those in temperate climates. This makes farming in the desert impractical so the UAE imports about 80% of its food.

Yet for many, this might be the future of farming. Increased drought, deforestation, and intensive farming methods are turning an area half the size of Britain into desert each year.

According to the United Nations, by 2030, 135 million people could lose their homes and livelihoods to desertification.

That raises the challenge of how to grow food in increasingly hostile conditions, but one scientist has come up with an innovation that could turn those deserts green again.

Liquid clay

Norwegian scientist Kristian Morten Olesen has patented a process to mix nano-particles of clay with water and bind them to sand particles to condition desert soil - he has been working on Liquid Nanoclay (LNC) since 2005.

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Liquid Nanoclay halved the amount of water used to grow these okra plants in desert soil

"The treatment gives sand particles a clay coating which completely changes their physical properties and allows them to bind with water," he says.

"This process doesn't involve any chemical agents. We can change any poor-quality sandy soils into high-yield agricultural land in just seven hours."

Kristian's son Ole Morten Olesen, who is also the chief operating officer of the company they founded, Desert Control, says: "We just mix natural clay in water that is inserted into the sand which creates half a metre layer into the soil that turns the sand into good fertile soil."

Normal sand particles are very loose, which means that they have a very low water retention capacity.

But when you add Liquid Nanoclay to the sand it binds those sand particles together, says Kristian, which means it can hold water for longer, "increasing the possibility of agricultural yield".

UAE trial

Back in the UAE, Faisal agreed to host a trial of Liquid Nanoclay last December, and two areas were planted with a selection of crops: tomatoes, aubergines and okra.

One was treated with LNC while a second control area was left untreated.

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Kristian Morten Olesen says liquid clay "could be a game changer" for farming in arid conditions

"I am amazed to see the success of LNC," says Faisal. "It just saved consumption of water by more than 50%, it means now I can double the green cover with the same water."

He says that the untreated area used almost 137 cubic metres of water for irrigation and the one treated with LNC used just 81 cubic metres.

"I can double the farming area using the same amount of water I was using before," says Faisal.

The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $1,800-$9,500 (£1,300-£6,900) depending upon the size of the project - which currently makes it too expensive for most farmers.

The soil requires a 15%-20% retreatment after four or five years if the land is tilled and if untilled then the treatment lasts for longer.

Desert Control says initially it will target municipal governments and commercial growers but eventually would like to make the cost accessible to all growers.

"This is a great game changer" for farmers in arid areas, says Kristian.

Part of our series Taking the Temperature , which focuses on the battle against climate change and the people and ideas making a difference.

This BBC series was produced with funding from the Skoll Foundation