global hunger

Insects On The Menu | Earth Wise

March 6, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to the World Food Programme, a record 349 million people across 79 countries are facing acute food insecurity. This constitutes a staggering rise of 200 million people compared to pre-pandemic levels. Nearly one million people globally are fighting to survive in famine-like conditions, which is ten times more people than just five years ago.

As a result, many experts contend that alternative or so-called novel food sources – such as lab-grown meats, seaweed aquaculture, and insects – will be necessary to help fight global hunger and global food insecurity.

Insects already form a significant part of diets in many cultures around the world. Insects are great sources of nutrients, including protein, vitamins, and minerals. But insects have yet to be embraced in any substantial way in western cultures… but that may be changing.

In fact, the European Union has now certified four types of bugs as food fit for human consumption. The larvae of lesser mealworms and house crickets recently became the third and fourth insects approved for sale as food in the EU, joining yellow mealworms and grasshoppers. Eight more applications are awaiting approval.

Insects are already a delicacy in many high-end restaurants around the world, and a normal and healthy part of diets in countries like Mexico and Thailand. Embracing insects as a food of the future will not only help in the fight against global hunger, but will also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to slow species extinction.

In Western food markets, the so-called “yuck factor” remains the biggest hurdle to cross. But as the world population grows, the need for sustainable solutions in the food industry grows with it.

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Insects on the menu as EU approves two for human consumption

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Photo, posted April, 2014, courtesy of Shankar S. via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Turning Plastic Into Protein | Earth Wise

November 18, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Our planet is choking on plastic. According to the United Nations, 79% of the 6.3 billion tons of plastic produced every year accumulates in landfills. Half of all plastic produced is actually designed to be used just once and thrown away. But plastic is not only accumulating on land. In fact, the world’s oceans are projected to contain more plastic by weight than fish by the year 2050.

According to new research, solving the plastic waste issue could help address another prominent global issue: hunger. A multidisciplinary team of engineers, chemists, and biologists led by researchers from Michigan Tech University has developed a process to break plastics down to be recycled into useful products, including edible protein powder.

The research team’s process converts plastic into compounds using heat and a reactor that deconstructs the material’s polymer chains. The oil-like substance is then fed to a community of oil-eating bacteria. The bacteria grow rapidly on the oily diet, producing more bacterial cells composed of roughly 55% protein. This majority-protein byproduct is then dried out and turned into an edible powder. The end result doesn’t look like plastic at all. In fact, it resembles a yeast byproduct that comes from brewing beer.

This research is funded by an award from the US Department of Defense. The DoD often deploys soldiers in areas where access to food is challenging. Converting plastic to protein could be part of a solution to that problem.

While eating something that began as plastic might take some getting used to, it could be part of the solution to both plastic pollution and global hunger.

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Turning Trash Into Treasure: The Plastic to Protein Powder Solution

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Photo, posted February 2, 2022, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Food For The Future | Earth Wise

September 19, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Researchers predict that climate change will negatively impact most staple food crops, including rice, corn, and soybeans. Therefore, climate resilient food crops – those that are salt, drought, and heat resilient – will have an important role to play in global food security. Examples of climate resilient crops include quinoa, kernza, amaranth, millet, and tepary beans.

According to a new study by researchers from Northwestern University, breadfruit – a starchy tree fruit native to the Pacific Islands – will be relatively unaffected by climate change. Because breadfruit is climate resilient and well-suited to grow in regions with high levels of food insecurity, the research team suggests breadfruit could be a part of the solution to global hunger.

While it has ”fruit” in its name, breadfruit is more like a potato. It’s starchy and seedless, and is closely related to jackfruit. Breadfruit is nutrient-rich, and high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It can be steamed, roasted, fried, fermented, and even turned into flour. People in tropical regions around the world have been eating breadfruit for thousands of years.

In the study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS Climate, researchers determined the climate conditions necessary to cultivate breadfruit and then looked at how these conditions are predicted to change in the future. They examined two future climate scenarios: one that reflects high greenhouse-gas emissions and another in which emissions stabilize.

In both scenarios, the regions suitable for breadfruit cultivation were mostly unaffected. Additionally, the researchers identified new suitable land where breadfruit cultivation could expand.

As the climate continues to change, breadfruit might soon be on a table near you.

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Climate-resilient breadfruit might be the food of the future

Photo, posted August 11, 2007, courtesy of Malcolm Manners via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio