The Future of Food in 2035

The future of food – and particularly of meat and meat consumption – can be promoted as a “no choice” future with plant-based meat as the only viable option for human health, the good of the planet, and animal welfare. But is that the case? Are there other solutions that provide consumer choice and reap the benefits to health, the planet and animal welfare? And when we look into the solutions, what are the wider implications of a fundamental change to our food system in the future?

To explore the future of food in 2035, I am painting a brief scenario focusing on:

• The New Future of Arable Farming
• Meeting the Need for Meat - Plant-Based and In-Vitro Meat
• Tax as Carrot and Stick (to change consumer behaviour)
•  Supply Chains
•  Land Use and Re-purposing

Click below to listen to the podcast on YouTube or click here  listen on Spotify’s Anchor platform.

You can learn more about me and my work by connecting with me as follows:

Email: steve@stevewells.uk
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/steve-wells-futurist-speaker
Twitter: twitter.com/informingchoice
YouTube youtube.com/user/InformingChoices
Website: stevewells.uk

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/meat-beef-raw-marinated-steak-2602031

Informing Choices Mini-Pod - The Future of Agricultural Efficiency

The need to produce food for increasingly urbanised populations in ways that pays attention to the requirements for minimising carbon emissions and therefore help to minimise climate change is clear. Carbon emissions in agriculture come from:

• Crop fertilisation using chemical fertilisers
• Materials used to build and maintain farms
• Energy use of the farm buildings and vehicles
• Transport & distribution during and after growing
• Soil based emissions from disturbing soils
• Waste produced as a result of farming processes

So what is the future of agricultural efficiency? To consider this question, I am joined on the podcast by Adam Greenberg, CEO of Seattle-based iUNU, an industrial computer vision company. Together, we explored:

• The range of technologies deployed to increase agriculture productivity and efficiency.
• The plausibility of integrated "seed to table" supply chains.
• The link between automated urban agriculture and future urbanisation and smart city development.

You can listen to the podcast on You Tube by clicking below or on the Anchor podcast platform here. 

You can learn more about Adam, his business, and the technologies he works with work at www.iuni.com and contact him at adam@iunu.com.

Image Source: Jatuphon Buraphon https://pixabay.com/photos/greenhouse-organic-farming-2139526

Foresight Video Shorts 12

Robots typically feature in this Video Shorts series, and this week is no different with an incredible shape-shifting example. This time, we also look at a number of sustainability related examples, and the potential concern of supercomputers creating their own language. The videos are from Mashable, World Economic Forum, WasteEd, and Digital Trends.

​1. This reconfigurable robot is able to change its entire body shape on a link-by-link basis. Via Mashable. 

2. Google AI supercomputers have created their own secret language. Should we be worried? Via World Economic Forum. 

3. You can soon start booking carbon-free trips in this fully electric flying taxi. Via WasteEd. 

4. 95% less water and 99% less land — is intelligent agriculture the future for farming? Via Digital Trends. 

5. Charging forward - Learn more about Britain's plans to reach net zero emissions. Via World Economic Forum. 

​Image Source: Hans Braxmeier /  https://pixabay.com/photos/telescope-by-looking-view-122960

Informing Choices Mini-Pod - The Future of Sustainable Urban Agriculture

Agriculture is responsible for nine percent of all Greenhouse Gas emissions in the UK, according to Farm Carbon Toolkit. These emissions are the result of livestock rearing and natural processes, crop fertilisation using chemical fertilisers, materials used to build and maintain farms, energy use of farm buildings and vehicles, transport and distribution during and after growing, soil based emissions from disturbing soils, and waste produced as a result of farming processes. So how might the urbanisation of agriculture change this landscape in the future?

To talk about the Future of Sustainable Urban Agriculture, I am joined on the podcast by Diana Davidson, who helps enterprise develop performance for the zero carbon emissions economy, to explore:

• What are the critical drivers for the urbanisation of agriculture?
• What are the specific enabling technologies for urban agriculture?
• How do you see urbanised agriculture integrating with smart city concepts?
• How will the urbanisation of agriculture impact rural life and change land management in the future?

You can listen to the podcast on You Tube by clicking below  or on the Anchor podcast platform, here. 

You can learn more about Diana and her work on LinkedIn, on Twitter, and on her website, vertemis.com. 

Image Source: https://www.agritecture.com/blog/2018/5/2/the-future-with-urban-farming