How we might build a food utopia

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Humans have reduced malnutrition in the past 70 years, but the situation is now
reversed, with 60 million more people undernourished today than in 2014.
Environmental problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss and a growing
problem with pests and diseases are beginning to impact our supply of food.
Scientists, farmers and businesses are already working on solutions to feed the
world sustainably by 2050.
To understand how things can get better, we need to look at a food utopia, where
everyone can access the types of food the middle and upper levels of rich Western
societies take for granted.
Some farmers think sustainability comes at the expense of yield, but a new
generation of farmers are keen to try out more environmentally-friendly methods
which would also increase their productivity. One such farmer is James Smith, who
has abandoned traditional farming practices in favour of regenerative farming.
Smith is using cover crops, which are incredibly high tech, to improve soil health.
They create a sort of artificial ecosystem, though it just looks like a pretty wildflower
field.
We can have choice and variety all year round, if we do away with the idea that local
food is always more sustainable. Growing tomatoes in a heated, lit greenhouse in
Northern Europe is much worse environmentally than importing tomatoes grown in
an open field in Southern Europe.
You can grow crops without any soil at all in a more sustainable way, no matter the
season. At 80 Acres Farms in Ohio, they were producing 10 acres of crops, year
round, using 99% less water and producing around 90% fewer carbon emissions.
Growing crops in confined environments could be crucial for year round food security
and food availability. There are already moves to make crops both more flavourful
and more nutritious, but one of the biggest barriers to fruit and vegetable
consumption is flavour.
If we can identify the genes that control the characteristics for traits that people like,
we can breed food that they otherwise would never have considered. This could
reduce food poverty and make sustainable food affordable for everyone.
The first step to improving people's diets is to make food more affordable. Tiering the
food system based on income can help people in poorer areas access healthier
food.
Globally, we have a growing population that is more affluent, which leads to a huge
demand for meat. We need to find sustainable sources of protein to increase the
total quantity.
Climate change is affecting harvests today. One farmer in southwestern Germany
was forced to buy soil to replace his fields because his soil was completely washed
away by the enormous July floods.
Many places are now looking to find new technological solutions to improve yields,
resilience to climate change and sustainability, including precision farming, which
uses drones, satellites and GPS to map out the conditions in a field. This can help
farmers do things in a smarter, more efficient and more informed way.
James Wong, presenter of the BBC's Follow the Food series, encountered many
people who were passionate about the environment and wanted to pass this on to
the next generation.
A multimedia series by BBC Future and BBC World News explores how agriculture
is responding to climate change, environmental degradation and rapidly growing
populations.