Food waste, community kitchens & how farming methods are changing to accommodate Earth’s growing population. #COP26

With COP26 underway in Glasgow, all areas of our lives are under scrutiny to make impactful changes to advancing climate change. One of the sustainability statements from COP26 is about food & food production.

With COP26 delegates being served sustainable, locally-sourced food at the summit with at least 95% of the food served being from the UK, largely sourced from Scotland & seasonal; this puts sustainability at the heart of catering for the summit, reducing emissions & promoting environment-friendly food production.

However, despite the COP26 summit itself being a sustainable food event, the issue of food waste, hunger & the food production needs of an ever-growing population cannot be ignored.

With the Earth’s current population estimated at 7.9 billion people (2021) & predicted to rise to 10 billion people by 2050; how is planet Earth going to be able to sustainably feed them all?

Food waste

The human race produces more than enough food to feed the global population – but more than 810 million are still without enough food to sustain them & their families. (1)

Alarmingly, roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes – gets lost or wasted. (2)

Community Kitchens tackling food waste & hunger

‘No Waste’ kitchens & ‘Community/National Kitchens’ have been around for decades but have only really been in the public eye since social media channels have been able to promote them.

During WW1 the National Kitchen was a Government based incentive whereby families could be fed for a matter of pence each & combat the hunger forced upon the UK by the war & the German U-Boat disruption to food supply chains.

Bring this forward to a modern setting & ‘No Waste’ kitchens are now tackling another human made issue, food waste.

UK Harvest who are a not for profit food rescue organisation, deliver surplus food to charitable organisations around the UK.

They are on a mission to eliminate hunger & food waste through the redistribution of quality surplus food, & by providing education on healthy eating. (3)

Vertical farming

Vertical farming enables crops to be grown in a controlled environment, where they can receive just the right amount of heat, light, water & nutrients, & can be harvested when they are in peak condition.

Using hydroponics means farmers do not need to use soil to grow their crops, much less water is used & can be recycled many times & can increase crop yields by up to 500% per unit land area compared to more traditional farming.

Aquaculture & underwater farming

Nemo’s Garden is an underwater farming project consisting of six air-filled plastic pods, or biospheres, anchored at the bottom of the sea off the coast of Noli, Italy. (4)

The plastic pods are anchored at different levels from between 4.5 – 11 metres below the water’s surface. Each pod has sensors which measure carbon dioxide, oxygen levels, humidity, air temperature & illumination.

The Ocean Reef Group started the project in 2021 & they have already harvested tomatoes, courgettes, beans, herbs, orchids & aloe vera all using hydroponic techniques.

The saltwater evaporating on the inside of the pods helps generate fresh water for watering & as the plants are grown underwater, no pesticides are needed as no pests can enter the pods, unless they are introduced.

With a possible 10 billion people set to inhabit Earth by 2050, there is a genuine need for alternative food production, to eradicate food waste/tackle hunger & to provide sustainable food chains for an ever growing population.

Written by Katy-Jane Mason for & on behalf of Virtually Smart