Current Trends in Green Technologies in Food Production and Processing

Food Engineering Reviews, Mar 2013

Finding a balance between food supply and demand in a manner that is sustainable and which ensures the long-term survival of the human species will be one of the most important challenges for humankind in the coming decades. Global population growth in the last several centuries with the attendant demands resulting from industrialization has made the need for food production and processing an important issue. This need is expected to increase in the next half century when the population of the world exceeds 9 billion. Environmental concerns related to food production and processing which require consideration include land use change and tremendous reduction in biodiversity, aquatic eutrophication by nitrogenous and phosphorus substances caused by over-fertilization, climate change, water shortages due to irrigation, ecotoxicity, and human effects of pesticides, among others. This review summarizes key highlights from the recently published book entitled Green Technologies in Food Production and Processing which provides a comprehensive summary of the current status of the agriculture and agri-food sectors in regard to environmental sustainability and material and energy stewardship and further provides strategies that can be used by industries to enhance the use of environmentally friendly technologies for food production and processing.

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Current Trends in Green Technologies in Food Production and Processing

Joyce I. Boye 0 Yves Arcand 0 0 J. I. Boye (&) Y. Arcand Food Research and Development Centre , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saint Hyacinthe, QC, Canada Finding a balance between food supply and demand in a manner that is sustainable and which ensures the long-term survival of the human species will be one of the most important challenges for humankind in the coming decades. Global population growth in the last several centuries with the attendant demands resulting from industrialization has made the need for food production and processing an important issue. This need is expected to increase in the next half century when the population of the world exceeds 9 billion. Environmental concerns related to food production and processing which require consideration include land use change and tremendous reduction in biodiversity, aquatic eutrophication by nitrogenous and phosphorus substances caused by over-fertilization, climate change, water shortages due to irrigation, ecotoxicity, and human effects of pesticides, among others. This review summarizes key highlights from the recently published book entitled Green Technologies in Food Production and Processing which provides a comprehensive summary of the current status of the agriculture and agri-food sectors in regard to environmental sustainability and material and energy stewardship and further provides strategies that can be used by industries to enhance the use of environmentally friendly technologies for food production and processing. - Food is an integral component of life and human existence. Since the beginning of time, humans have had to eat to survive. In earlier times when human population was much smaller, resources were abundant and there was less need for food processing and storage. As populations grew, limitations in food processing and storage techniques forced more individuals to devote considerable amounts of time daily to feeding themselves and their families (i.e., harvesting and hunting). Industrialization shifted a large percentage of the population toward a myriad of activities creating the need for an industrialized food sector to feed an increasing number of urbanized humans. Burgeoning population growth in the last several centuries with the attendant demands resulting from industrialization has made the need for sustainable food production and processing technologies even more important. At the same time, changes to climate and population health have made evident the precarious balance between sustainable food production practices, a healthy environment, and a healthy population. In 2050, the population of the world is expected to reach 9 billion FAOSTAT [23]. Adequate supplies of healthy, nutritious food will be needed to maintain global socioeconomic viability. To do this successfully will require that we produce more food with much less impact on our environment. Our ability to meet growing demands for food supplies will, thus, hinge on the sustainability of the practices used in food production and the fervor with which novel processes and technologies are developed to address ever-changing and conflicting pressures. Since the industrial revolution, worldwide food production has increased significantly but at a slower pace than global population and with much more waste and less efficient resource distribution. Food supply shortages have left 3 billion people malnourished globally with iron deficiency affecting 2 billion people and protein/calorie deficiencies affecting nearly 800 million people [25]. At the same time, most land and aquatic resources are overused. And even more startling is the estimate that currently 3050 % of food produced is wasted [4]. Among some of the more serious environmental concerns we face are land use change and extensive reduction in biodiversity, aquatic eutrophication by nitrogenous substances caused by over-fertilization, global warming caused by enteric fermentation and use of fossil fuels, aquatic eutrophication by phosphorous substances caused by fertilizers overuse, water shortages due to irrigation, ecotoxicity, and human effects of pesticides [7]. Growing awareness of these challenges is causing social shifts with some stakeholders including farmers, food manufacturers, consumers, and policy makers, desiring more efficient approaches in agricultural and food production practices. Increasing use of organic inputs in processing, use of recyclable and good-for-the-environment packaging, establishing of just employeremployee relationships, buy local, whole foods, free-from, and fair-trade are examples of some of these trends. Green technology is defined by the global collaborative encyclopedia, Wikipedia, as the application of one or more of environmental science, green chemistry, environmental monitoring and electronic devices to monitor, model and conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement (http://en.wikipedia.org). (...truncated)


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Joyce I. Boye, Yves Arcand. Current Trends in Green Technologies in Food Production and Processing, Food Engineering Reviews, 2013, pp. 1-17, Volume 5, Issue 1, DOI: 10.1007/s12393-012-9062-z