Food sciences

In the middle of the 20th century, many countries around the world were suffering from a poor supply of food. However, in response to the devastation of two world wars, science had prepared the ground for major advances in agriculture. A key question was how to combat hunger. The answer came in the decades-​long process of constantly increasing yields and the mechanisation of farming.

Around one third of all food worldwide ends up in the trash bin instead of on our plate. With the help of digital twins, researchers at Empa and Stellenbosch University are now aiming to reduce food waste, for example in the case of citrus fruits, along the production and supply chains. 

Before it reaches our plates, the food we eat usually has travelled a long way. In this episode of the ETH Podcast, we talk about how far a breakfast travels and the resulting political and ecological significance.  

Empa and BASE (Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy) launched a data-science driven mobile app that aims to minimize the loss of food production and lower greenhouse gas emissions by enabling access to cooling facilities and allowing smallholder farmers to monitor the shelf-life of their produce. After successfully implementing the app "YourVCCA" in India, the team has recently expanded the project into Nigeria where they have cemented key partnerships with public and private stakeholders in the industries of technology, data science and financing.

ETH researchers have shown that the Swiss population is willing to pay more to reduce food waste. It is in favour of government regulations that set strict reduction targets and ensure transparent monitoring of implementation.