Food for thought, is 3D Food printing the answer?

There is an intensifying world food shortage problem in many areas around the globe, with the economy of the world in havoc. Experts believe that this could easily cause a situation where world food shortages become a widespread global issue. World grain reserves are so dangerously low that severe weather in the United States or other food-exporting countries could trigger a major hunger crisis next year, the United Nations has warned.

Failing harvests in the US, Ukraine and other countries this year have eroded reserves to their lowest level since 1974. The US, which has experienced record heat waves and droughts in 2012, now holds in reserve a historically low 6.5% of the maize that it expects to consume in the next year, warns the UN.

A few reasons for this worrying trend…

1.       There has been a dramatic increase in food prices around the globe for stable foods such as maize, lentils, flour, and oil. These basic foods are the substance that many families around the world live on from day to day. When the costs of these essential foods rise, it dramatically affects those relying on them. For example, what used to take a day’s wage to buy may now take three weeks wages to purchase...

2.     The price of rice over the past 20 years has risen substantially and has caused a shortage of rice in many parts of Asia.

3.      Many farmers in some Asian countries such as the Philippines are no longer growing rice because they have found more profitable crops to grow in their fields.

4.       Extreme drought has also prevented some rice crops from growing well.

Where is a World Food Shortage Going on Right Now?

The World Food Shortage is documented to be in certain parts of India, China, the Horn of Africa and many other African nations, and many South Asian countries all suffer from food shortages. There are many other areas that are affected; however, these are just some of the more prominent ones at the moment. It is estimated that within the next 5 - 10 years, world food shortages will become more widespread.

Environmental Reasons for World Food Shortage

Countries like Bangladesh are “particularly prone to food shortages due to the constant flooding the country experiences regularly. Their particular geographic location is not suitable for growing crops. Natural disasters like flooding wipe out crops and diminish the food supply” (ARDA, 2013)

"We've not been producing as much as we are consuming. That is why stocks are being run down. Supplies are now very tight across the world and reserves are at a very low level, leaving no room for unexpected events next year" said Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior economist with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). With food consumption exceeding the amount grown for six of the past 11 years, countries have run down reserves from an average of 107 days of consumption 10 years ago to under 74 days recently. 870 million people in the Middle East and Africa are reported to be malnourished and this numbers is growing at an alarming rate.

This year, for the sixth time in 11 years, the world will consume more food than it produces, largely because of extreme weather in the US and other major food-exporting countries. Oxfam last week said that the price of key staples, including wheat and rice, may double in the next 20 years, threatening disastrous consequences for poor people who spend a large proportion of their income on food.

A World in need of food (IMAGE FROM PLANET THOUGHTS 2013)

Lester Brown, president of the Earth policy research Centre in Washington says "We are entering a new era of rising food prices and spreading hunger. Food supplies are tightening everywhere and land is becoming the most sought-after commodity as the world shifts from an age of food abundance to one of scarcity," says Brown. "The geopolitics of food is fast overshadowing the geopolitics of oil. Armed aggression is no longer the principal threat to our future. The overriding threats to this century are climate change, population growth, spreading water shortages and rising food prices" Brown says (GUARDIAN, 2013)

Food Security Risks Index 2013 (IMAGE FROM: AFRICA JOURNALISMTHEWORLD.COM, 2013)

 

What is being done by world governments?

“Shortly after saying they were “deeply concerned” about soaring global food prices and supply shortages, world leaders attending the G8 summit in Hokkaido sat down to an eighteen-course gastronomic extravaganza, courtesy of the Japanese government” states food independence and real democracy with bestselling author, Frances Moore Lappé. (LAPPÉ, 2008) Lappé points to the following video as he states that this situation is TOTALLY AVOIDABLE…

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/9/as_global_food_crisis_tops_g8

Is there an answer for resolution? Maybe 3D Printing…

3D printing devices are already being used to make all sorts of components - but none of them edible. Now a company has unveiled its first food-safe printers, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Two versions will soon be available - allowing the casual confectioner or the seasoned pro to make their own sweet creations. 3D Systems' Liz Von Hasseln says the printers use technology similar to that in traditional computer printers. "They're the first food-safe 3D printers to be offered, which is really exciting" she says.

These food-safe printers are called the ChefJet and the Chef JetPro. The ChefJet is a monochrome counter top version that can print in chocolate and sugar and candy in a variety of different flavours. Ms Von Hasseln explains the technology inside the printer: "This is colour jet printing technology which means that it uses an ink jet print head. So basically it spreads a very fine layer of sugar and it uses an inkjet print head that's just like the one that you would find in your desktop 2D printer to paint water onto the surface of the sugar, and that water allows the sugar to recrystallize and harden and it forms these complex geometries."

Creating such complex geometric shapes takes some skill, especially when it comes to designing in Computer Aided Design, or "CAD" software. 3D Systems is helping to ease that transition by providing specialist software.

"We're offering what we call the Digital Cookbook with both of these printers and that's designed for the non-CAD user," says Von Hasseln. "So you might say, 'I want to work on a cake topper or I want to work on a drink sweetener' and the software will start you out with an object that's kind of the appropriate size and shape and you can add complexity from there. So you can generate really complex items that are printable without actually having to model them."

The ChefJet and the Chef JetPro are expected to cost between £3000 and £6000 when they go on sale. (TELEGRAPH, 2014)

Chief executive Avi Reichental believes the smaller of the two printers could be used by restaurants and bakeries (IMAGE FROM BBC, 2014)

So, if the technology is being worked on to make (maybe even burn food like humansJ), can the emergence of 3D printing help solve a world epidemic of a food shortage? Will governments pay for these printers and would the printers be able to keep up with demand of the world’s basic menu that decides if a person lives or dies? As the technology advances, so will the questions raised…

Watch this 3D printer make pizza fit for astronauts!!!

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/24/5342180/watch-this-3d-printer-make-pizza-fit-for-astronauts

REFERENCES:
AFRICA JOURNALISM THE WORLD 2013;

"Africa – News and Analysis Blog", africajournalismtheworld.com 2013. Retrieved: 15th Feb. 2013 from; http://africajournalismtheworld.com/tag/africa-food-security-index/

ARDA 2013;

"The Growing World Food Shortage", adra.org 2013. Retrieved: 15th Feb. 2013 from; http://www.adra.org/world-food-shortage.htm

BBC 2014;

"CES 2014: 3D food printers create sweets and chocolates", bbc.co.uk 2014. Retrieved: 15th Feb. 2013 from; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25647918

GUARDIAN 2013;

"UN warns of looming worldwide food crisis in 2013", theguardian.com, 2013. Retrieved: 15th Feb. 2013 from; http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/oct/14/un-global-food-crisis-warning

LAPPÉ 2008;

"As Global Food Crisis Tops G8 Summit Agenda, World Leaders Enjoy Lavish 18-Course Banquet", democracynow.org, July 9^th, 2008. Retrieved: 15th Feb. 2013 from; http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/9/as_global_food_crisis_tops_g8

PLANET THOUGHTS 2013;

"Hunger and World Food Shortage", planetthoughts.org, 2013. Retrieved: 15th Feb. 2013 from; http://www.planetthoughts.org/userfiles/image/2008/Jul/Hunger-and-World-Food-Shortage.jpg

TELEGRAPH 2014;

"CES: First 3D printer to make food revealed", telegraph.co.uk, 15^th Feb 2014. Retrieved: 15th Feb. 2014 from; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/ces/10560755/CES-First-3D-printer-to-make-food-revealed.html