883. Promoting Science and Technology Innovation and Dietary Change to Achieve SDG 2

The challenge of feeding an expected global population of around 10 billion by 2050, compounded by conflict and climate change, requires a multifaceted approach. Achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) - Zero Hunger - requires a two-pronged strategy: harnessing scientific and technological advances in food production, and redesigning consumption patterns to ensure access to more nutritious food while minimizing environmental impact.

A blog from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) titled Ten Billion Mouths to Feed by 2050 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) underscores a stark reality. While the mass food production system of the 20th century successfully eradicated famine, it inadvertently led to crops losing their nutritional value, biodiversity suffering from monocultures, and a startling revelation: the food system is now responsible for one-third of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

While technology alone cannot solve these challenges, in recent years researchers from a variety of disciplines have been working on comprehensive solutions across the global food supply chain. Innovations include seed selection, genome editing, cultivation, harvesting, transportation, processing, and packaging. The blog is also optimistic about interdisciplinary collaborations, envisioning a fusion of chemical, robotic, and biomimetic techniques in crop cultivation.

On the other hand, the blog emphasizes the critical role of reevaluating our eating habits for sustainability. Despite hunger-related deaths, billions of people face health problems due to environmentally unfriendly eating habits. In addition, nearly 30% of food production is lost due to food waste, harvesting and storage issues.

To build a sustainable future through scientific and technological innovation and behavior change, we must first understand the sources and production processes of our daily food. We must also explore the role of science and conscientious consumer choices in this endeavor.

Contributor: IIYAMA Miyuki (Information Program)