The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 800 million people in the world suffer from chronic starvation.\u00a0 While food technology has been strongly associated with the production of sweets, snacks, and processed foods, this technical field has also been important in the development of solutions to tackle world hunger.\u00a0 Here are some cutting-edge examples of how food technology can potentially solve the issues of malnutrition and hunger the world over.<\/p>\n
Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food<\/strong><\/p>\n Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a life threatening condition that affects nearly 16 million young children around the world.\u00a0 These children at nine times more likely to die compared to nourished children.\u00a0 To combat this global malnutrition epidemic, ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) were developed to provide in-home nutritional therapy using low-cost, low-moisture materials.\u00a0 Using peanuts as a protein and lipid base, RUTFs contain vitamins and minerals, sugars, and other protein additives such as whey or milk powder for a complete amino acid composition.\u00a0 RUTFs are designed to be easily digestible, be nutrient dense, maintain a long shelf-life from the low-moisture content, require no refrigeration, and packaged for ease of transport and storage.\u00a0 Several organizations compete for supply contracts with UNICEF, including MANA Nutrition, Valid Nutrition, and Nutriset, which supplies the highly successful Plumpy\u2019Nut.<\/p>\n Protein Reactor<\/strong><\/p>\n Researchers from a joint study between Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and VTT Technical Research<\/a> Centre of Finland have found a way to produce synthetic protein using electricity from renewable resources.\u00a0 The process involves applying an electric current through a mixture of water, carbon dioxide, and microorganisms.\u00a0 After two weeks, the bioreactor produces a gram of crude food containing 50 percent protein, 25 percent carbohydrates, and 25 percent lipids and nucleic acids.\u00a0 Since the process is continuous and independent of environmental conditions that can affect farm-based methods of food production, it can be used to help feed people suffering from famines and starvation.\u00a0 While still in its early development stages, the goal of the project is to produce environmentally sustainable food with greater energy efficiency than current farming practices.<\/p>\n Food Powder<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, one third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted, with fruits and vegetables suffering the highest wastage of all foods.\u00a0 FoPo Food Powder<\/a> is the brain child of an international team from Lund University.\u00a0 The startup collects low-cost fruits and vegetables near their expiration from farms, and transform them through spray-drying into a shelf-stable product that can last up to two years.\u00a0 In powder form, the product can be easily transported while still retaining the nutritional content of the original produce.\u00a0 The team recently competed and won the Thought for Food Challenge, and completed a successful fundraising campaign through Kickstarter.<\/p>\n Cricket Farming<\/strong><\/p>\n Entomophagy, or insect eating, is becoming a hot trend as a sustainable solution for alleviating world hunger.\u00a0 In 2013, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization wrote a report that showed insect-based foods contained high levels of essential nutrients, including a complete protein composition.\u00a0 Using this knowledge, start-up companies like Exo, Bitty Foods, Six Foods, Aspire and Entomo Farms are attempting to develop and supply cricket-based food products for human consumption. The main ingredient used in these products is cricket flour, which is a powdered protein derived from roast-dried crickets and combined with a regular flour for flow.\u00a0 However, one major challenge in the edible insect market includes changing the predominant food culture that views insect eating as a taboo.\u00a0 Additionally, technical knowledge on how cricket powder behaves in a food is still lacking, as the lipids in cricket powder produce off-flavors during storage.<\/p>\n Microalgae<\/strong><\/p>\n With a growing population of people in the world, there will be a greater need for high-nutrient foods.\u00a0 A recent study was completed that suggests microalgae could be one of many potential solutions to the looming challenge of food abundance and sustainability.\u00a0 Microalgae boasts a high nutritional content, complete with omega-3 fatty acids and amino acids.\u00a0 For example, spirulina microalgae contains a protein content of 65% its total dry weight.\u00a0 Microalgae can be easily grown using carbon dioxide and sunlight in open ponds using either fresh or saltwater.\u00a0 Alternatively, they can be grown in photobioreactors, using LEDs as a source of light.\u00a0 These have the advantage of being stackable and independent of changing solar light, providing a way to scale food production vertically.\u00a0 However, new processes are needed to convert the microalgae into an edible product consumable by humans.\u00a0 And companies like Corbion (formerly\u00a0TerraVia<\/a>\u00a0and Solazyme), are still facing technological issues when growing microalgae to scale, as well as food safety challenges with the recent backlash from consumers due to incidences of gastrointestinal distress when their algal flour was used in Soylent\u2019s product.<\/p>\n Edible Drone<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a large amount of resources involved with emergency food supply airdrops onto food-starved, inaccessible regions.\u00a0 The cost of an airdrop is estimated to be $1,000 per ton of food, which includes fuel, air transport, materials, crate packaging, and parachutes. To reduce this wastage, Nigel Gifford started Windhorse Aerospace<\/a> to design the first disposable, edible drone to serve on missions for humanitarian aid.\u00a0 Called the Pouncer, the drone is largely constructed of food materials, with its main body and wings filled with a variety of foods.\u00a0 The remaining structure is made of wood, which can be used as a fuel for cooking and heat.\u00a0 However, the edible drone has received criticisms for its poor execution and lack of insight into the problems involved with humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n While none of these technologies will solve the world hunger crisis alone, they may each contribute in their own way to the growing challenge as the global population continues to rise.<\/p>\n ______<\/p>\n Need to speak with a food technology expert? Consult Bryan Le for a freelance project here<\/a>, or take a look at Kolabtree’s freelance food scientists<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 800 million people in the world suffer from chronic starvation.\u00a0 While food technology has been strongly associated with the production of sweets, snacks, and processed foods, this technical field has also been important in the development of solutions to tackle world hunger.\u00a0 Here are some<\/p>\n