Thematic Event: Future of Food - How to feed 8 billion sustainably?

By 2050, we will have to feed 10 billion people, and our current food systems are not up to the challenge. While demand is ever-increasing, resources are in decline. It is a vicious cycle that is further exacerbated by unsustainable agricultural practices and food systems that have negative effects on biodiversity, the environment and our health.

But what has to change in order to achieve a more sustainable food system?

A recent article by Prof. Robert Finger from the World Food System Center (WFSC) of ETH Zurich, outlines the most important fields of action to make the food system more sustainable. These include avoiding waste, increasing efficiency, closing cycles and replacing and improving current practices.

Technological advancements will certainly help. For example, precision fermentation needs 1,700 times less land than even the most efficient agricultural means of producing protein available today. However, food is deeply rooted in our cultures, so change will be difficult to achieve. Therefore, we need to start discussing solutions now and turn them into reality.

Join this event and learn more about the challenges in our food system and concrete actions to make it more sustainable.