The current production methods result in depletion of our natural resources and our farmland. Nature and biodiversity are on the decline due to the ever increasing scale of production. This situation calls for a change in food production, with sustainability, efficiency, safety and a reduction in wastage becoming top priorities. Consumer wishes will be tied to responsible decision-making by coordinating food with lifestyle and stage of life. In addition to societal and organisational innovations, this also calls for technological innovations and digital developments such as precision agriculture and city farming.
Researchers introduce themselves:
Agricultural improvement
In the SHARP project, we aim to develop models that can support in a change towards sustainable, healthy, affordable, reliable and preferable diets or food choices in Europe. In this project we combine and analyse data varying from nutrient intakes from individuals, prices in global food markets, preferance survey data for various age and income groups, environmental impact data for the whole food system, etcetera. The digital society will enable a huge data collection on consumer food habits using apps with daily food intake providing costs, sustainability and health information.
In the LOGICE project, we aim to build communities around logistics and chain processes enabling the transition to a circular economy. The proposition behind this project is that apart from product design, the design of collection system and reuse networks is essential to build circular economy business cases. Qualtiy, quantity and timely availability are key for the optimal valorisation of waste and residuals. In the digital society smart packaging and Internet of Things will ensure the monitoring of the return flows and reduction of waste to optimize the value pyramid. Especially for precious, scarce or perishable goods the value of information related to temperature or shelf life will pay off the investment in digital tags.
Biology is rapidly turning into a data science. Petabytes of data on genomes, genes, proteins and other molecules are routinely measured, processed and made accessible to the global research community. In the Wageningen Bioinformatics Group, we develop computer algorithms and models to integrate these various data sources, to answer fundamental questions on how life works at the molecular level. We apply this knowledge in collaborations with researchers and industry in the agricultural and biotechnological life sciences to develop better crops, breed healthier animals and redesign microbes, in order to address global challenges related to support a growing population in food security, energy and health.
