Global food and nutrition security is clearly a pressing grand societal challenge, given an estimated population to reach between 9 and 10 billion people by 2050. On top of that, agricultural and biological production systems as a foundation of advanced industrial manufacturing and consumer products will further mount on this daunting challenge to meet the requirements toward sustainable agriculture, food and natural resources in the future. Finite land, water and other resources of the Earth used for agricultural and food production and processing have already largely been exploited. Climate change and variability further exacerbate global agricultural production. Current practices, products and applications need to be much improved in terms of use efficiency of energy and water to protect the environment, ensure safe and nutritious food supply, and sustain long term development. It should be invoked and encouraged for a broad recognition that many different approaches designed for any given system are needed to coexist to meet this huge challenge. Innovative ideas and transformative solutions emerged from collaborative transdisciplinary approaches will likely be better positioned to address system-framed challenging research questions and to lead successful inquiry. It is clear that there is no systems than food and agriculture more in need of and more likely to benefit from a comprehensive application of convergence technologies embodied in physical and biological sciences, nanotechnology, biotechnology, information sciences, and new technologies based on cognitive sciences. The presentation will discuss a framework of science and technology convergence and its implications to food science and technology. It will highlight some examples and considerations of science and technology convergence that address sustainability, vulnerability, health, and joy of living relevant to food production, processing and consumption chains.

Convergence of science and technology to address nexus of food, energy, & water

255th National Meeting (2018)

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