Global food production

In contrast to fuels and energy, the much lower amount of renewable resources needed for the production of biodegradable polymers does not lead to a competition to global food production. As mentioned, according to the authors, the market for biodegradable polymers will grow to 400 kt in 2015. The volume of com needed for... 

The tradition in agriculture has been to maximize production and minimize the cost of food with little regard to impacts on the environment and the services it provides to society. As the world enters an era in which global food production is likely to double, it is critical that agricultural practices be modified to minimize environmental impacts even though many such practices are likely to increase the costs of production. (Tilman 1999)... 

Chemistry - or chemicals - lies at the heart of everything fibers for new textiles, catalysts for a clean environment, colors that gleam in the sun, polymer electrolyte diaphragms for fuel cells, chemicals for chip production, or fertilizers that help plants grow, ensuring global food production. The chemical industry develops the intermediate products that other industries use, and often develops new processes and products itself, or in conjunction with customers. 

Innovation in crop protection is essential for the sustainability of agriculture and global food production. A continuous evaluation of chances and limitations of new and established technologies is necessary in order to build up and to run modern and innovative platforms in the area of crop protection research. Modern tools, complementing conventional ones, have to be integrated into the drug discovery process to create a comprehensive technology portfolio. 

Due to the sensitive implications of expansion of agricultural areas (considerable investment and lower average yields, while possibly incurring social and environmental costs), the alternative to increasing global food production is to further increase land productivity. From the 1960s on, global cereal yields have continually increased. 

The bulk of global production from aquaculture is utilized directly as human food, with pubhc aquaculture playing a minor role in many nations or being absent. Private aquaculture is not only about human food production, however. There is, in some regions, weU-developed private sector aquaculture involved in the production of bait and ornamental fishes and invertebrates. 

Plant nutrient sulfur has been growing in importance worldwide as food production trends increase while overall incidental sulfur inputs diminish. Increasing crop production, reduced sulfur dioxide emissions, and shifts in fertilizer sources have led to a global increase of crop nutritional sulfur deficiencies. Despite the vital role of sulfur in crop nutrition, most of the growth in world fertilizer consumption has been in sulfiir-free nitrogen and phosphoms fertilizers (see Fertilizers). 

Wittwer, S. (1995). Food, Climate, and Carbon Dioxide The Global Environment and World Food Production. New York Lewis Publishers. 

Quality of food products and the ability to guarantee the quality of a food product is becoming increasingly important in a global economy where there are multiple sources for the food product. This need to measure, control and guarantee quality has resulted in an emphasis to develop more analytical techniques/sensors to measure a product for both external and internal quality. Consider quality evaluation of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

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