Today, we are on the cusp of multiple disruptions in food and materials. So why now? In a previous blog we discussed how precision fermentation (PF) has been around for 40 years. We know this because we can pinpoint the first product commercialized from PF – human insulin. Human insulin is an illustrative example of how PF created a superior product that led to a rapid disruption of an incumbent product.
Throughout history, technology has been the driving force behind major structural changes to the food system. The plough, fishing nets, irrigation, fermentation, canning, fertilizers, tractors and refrigeration, to name just a few, have enabled us to transition from hunter-gatherers to small-scale farmers to industrial food producers on a massive scale.
In Part 1 we discussed why Covid-19 has impacted industrial livestock farming. Here we discuss the rise of the new protein industry in a post-Covid-19 world. Covid-19 is accelerating the collapse of the old system and the growth of a new one.
In Rethinking Food & Agriculture, published in 2019, we predicted that there will be 50% fewer cows in the US by 2030 and that by 2035 the livestock industry will be all but bankrupt.
In my last blog, I talked in some detail about the need for leaders to rethink their road transport climate policy. This involves focusing on zero-emission miles (ZEMs) rather than zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).
Policymakers the world over are waking up to the power of electric road transportation. The problem is, they’re focusing on the wrong metrics.
