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Food without agriculture: Food from CO2, biomass and hydrocarbons to secure humanity's food supply against global catastrophe

  • J. B. García Martínez, J. Behr, D. C. Denkenberger
Published in Trends in Food Science & Technology on:
28 June 2024

Summary

This extensive literature review by García Martínez, Behr, and Denkenberger explores non-agricultural food production methods, emphasizing their potential to complement traditional agriculture and increase global food system resilience against climate shocks, biological threats, and extreme catastrophic scenarios like nuclear or volcanic winters. They highlight key technologies, such as fermentation and nonbiological synthesis, which can independently produce all essential macronutrients, amino acids, and vitamins, offering sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to agriculture, even in extreme conditions.

Abrupt Sunlight Reduction Scenario (ASRS), Literature review, Nuclear winter, Agricultural Resilience, Single Cell Protein (SCP), Lignocellulosic biomass

Abstract

Background: The growing human population requires consistent access to nutritious and sustainable food to thrive. To this end, non-agricultural, closed-environment food production methods can complement agriculture while increasing the resilience of the global food system to climate shocks, biological threats, environmental threats, trade restrictions, and even extreme scenarios such as abrupt sunlight reduction (e.g. from a volcanic winter or nuclear winter). Scope and approach: This review describes the existing production processes and recent developments in non-agricultural food production, including the activities of companies carrying out established processes and of those developing innovative production processes. The potential of fermentation for production of single cell foods and for biosynthesis of key nutrients, and the nonbiological synthesis of food compounds such as from CO2 are reviewed in depth. The study has a special focus on potential response to global catastrophic food shocks that disrupt agricultural production. Findings and conclusions: The enormous potential for food production via key non-agricultural pathways was described and quantified. All macronutrients can be produced by both biomanufacturing and nonbiological synthesis, independently from agriculture, even using CO2 . These technologies are capable of synthesizing all amino acids, as well as the essential fatty acids and multiple vitamins and micronutrients of interest. Many of these pathways are relevant industrially and resilience-wise compared to agricultural pathways due to their potential to produce at either lower cost, improved sustainability, in more extreme conditions and environments (e.g. outer space), or a combination of these. More research and resilience work is urgently needed to realize their potential.

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