“Food as you know it is about to change”
So claims an article published a few weeks ago by the New York Times. If you have access, it’s absolutely worth reading in its entirety, but there’s a few highlights that are especially relevant for AmHydro’s followers and members of the Controlled Environment Agriculture industry.
“The world as a whole is already facing what the Cornell agricultural economist Chris Barrett calls a “food polycrisis.” Over the past decade, he says, what had long been reliable global patterns of year-on-year improvements in hunger first stalled and then reversed. Rates of undernourishment have grown 21 percent since 2017. Agricultural yields are still growing, but not as quickly as they used to and not as quickly as demand is booming…
“And then there are prices. Worldwide, wholesale food prices, adjusted for inflation, have grown about 50 percent since 1999, and those prices have also grown considerably more volatile, making not just markets but the whole agricultural Rube Goldberg network less reliable. Overall, American grocery prices have grown by almost 21 percent since President Biden took office, a phenomenon central to the widespread perception that the cost of living has exploded on his watch.”
One of the core goals of CEA is to help feed a hungry planet. You don’t need to tell us about the challenges. But a look at the stats is always a sobering reminder of how much more still needs to be done.
“Though American agriculture as a whole produces massive profits, Mr. Barrett says, most of the country’s farms actually lose money, and around the world, food scarcity is driving record levels of human displacement and migration. According to the World Food Program, 282 million people in 59 countries went hungry last year, 24 million more than the previous year. And already, Mr. Barrett says, building from research by his Cornell colleague Ariel Ortiz-Bobea, the effects of climate change have reduced the growth of overall global agricultural productivity by between 30 and 35 percent. The climate threats to come loom even larger.”
The author is quick to share a reminder. Yes, we’re all participants in the unfolding human story of hunger, climate change, and incredible challenges. But as the world changes, our relationship to food and agriculture will inevitably change too. The problem is, many of the solutions that have been heralded in recent years are proving to offer less salvation than advertised.
“But a lot of the buzziest approaches have gotten a bit less buzzy with more scrutiny: sequestering carbon in soil looks trickier than advocates expected, and no-till, climate-smart regenerative farming practices now look less like miracle cures, as well. Much-ballyhooed vertical farming has experienced only stunted growth, thanks in part to its astronomical energy demands. And while genetically-modified varietals look perennially promising, they remain unpopular or even illegal in many parts of the world — a Philippines court recently banned nutritionally-enhanced golden rice, a decision that could result in the deaths of many thousands of children from malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies.”
It’s sad to see the disappointments of the Silicon Valley-induced vertical farming bubble highlighted in an article like this. But we can’t say it’s not justified. Cavalier projects fueled by low interest rates and a mindset of “build fast and figure out sustainability later” have created a stain on the reputation of the entire CEA industry, one that will likely continue to last – even though there are countless examples of successful CEA farms growing at scale by focusing first on horticulture and unit economics.
As the article continues, the author explores more angles of the polycrisis confronting the world’s food supply, and the comprehensive challenges in solving it that will be required.
“And innovation at this scale doesn’t just happen at the snap of a finger. The seedlings tend to bloom only after a decade or two of scientific, political, social and economic germination (and often difficulty). Even where politics are relatively stable, market incentives are often perverse, infrastructure often insufficient and support systems lacking for smallholder farmers trying to innovate their way toward greater crop stability and abundance…
“Mr. Jägermeyr of NASA calls it “the challenge of our generation” — how to save the food system from what he calls a “quadruple squeeze.” First, the problem of productivity and hunger. Second, the risk to ecosystems, under threat from fertilizer runoff deforestation and other pollution. Third, the challenge of nutritional deficiency, as those foods we are growing more of are generally getting worse for us over time. And finally climate, which is driving a “fundamental change across most breadbaskets on the planet,” he says. “It’s pretty complicated,” he admits. “And the scary part is that we have to solve them all.””
The challenges are scary. And they are complicated. But CEA has proven worthy to be considered a part of the solution. Hydroponic farming in a greenhouse uses 90% less water than soil farming, and can grow pesticide-free food, without fertilizer runoff. Greenhouse structures provide resilience in climates that may otherwise grow inhospitable to food production, and they can grow more food in less space than traditional farmland, mitigating the need for ill-effects of expanding agriculture like deforestation.
As evidenced from the vertical farming shoutout in the article, members of our industry have a ways to go to rebuild trust in CEA as an essential part of the solution to the world food polycrisis. But our customers and CEA farmers around the world are already doing their part to make the viability and benefits clear.
Regarding the effectiveness of solutions (like, we would suggest, CEA), the author claims “The seedlings tend to bloom only after a decade or two of scientific, political, social and economic germination (and often difficulty).” We couldn’t agree more. There are difficulties to be sure. But we’re farmers. If anyone can help seedlings bloom, it’s us.
