Top-Talent, Purpose-Driven, and Willing Food Scientists and Engineers: Our Time is Now

Twenty-five years ago, when I started studying food engineering, it was considered a less prestigious engineering discipline, along with chemical, metallurgical, and geological engineering, compared to the more popular engineering fields like computer, electronics, and industrial engineering. I'm not sure if the perception of food science and engineering has changed significantly. However, I know for sure that the world we live in has undoubtedly transformed. This new reality demands top-talent, purpose-driven, and willing food scientists and engineers more than ever.

The global food system is at an inflection point. The way we produce, distribute, and consume food is not sustainable. The time has come for food scientists, engineers, and professionals to take the lead and reimagine a global food system that provides enough, nutritious and sustainably sourced food for everyone.?????????

In this article, I will make my case for why I firmly believe that we need not just any food scientists and engineers, but top-talent, purpose-driven, and willing food scientists and engineers to ensure humanity's future.

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Food is essential

Food is the substance that contains essential nutrients ingested by an organism to provide energy, sustain life, and enable growth. And as humans, our interesting and very intimate relationship with food starts within the moments of being born. Danny Meyer very eloquently says it in his book Setting the Table:

“Within moments of being born, most babies find themselves receiving the first four gifts of life: eye contact, a smile, a hug, and some food. We receive many other gifts in a lifetime, but few can ever surpass those first four. That first time may be the purest “hospitality transaction” we’ll ever have, and it’s not much of a surprise that we’ll crave those gifts for the rest of our lives.” -Danny Meyer

This relationship continues throughout our lives, for food is one of our fundamental needs, like air and water. We cannot sustain our lives without food after a certain period. Food is so essential and so ingrained in our lives that we keep taking it for granted, just like we take air and water for granted. We do not mindfully think much about breathing; we just breathe (other than those who meditate), and the same with water. These are so essential that we mostly experience them in auto-pilot mode, and we undervalue their importance, especially if we always have them available and accessible.

On the other hand, their absence is not good. Actually, it is tough, very tough...If a loaf of bread is within our arm’s reach, we likely value it at a dollar or so. What about if we haven’t eaten anything for a few days already? History is full of events where the unthinkable happened, even as recent as in the last century. My Mom always expresses her gratitude after every meal by praying, “May God never let anyone stay hungry”. The absence of food is tough.

In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinback describes hunger powerfully.

“How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children? You can't scare him—he has known a fear beyond every other.” -John Steinback

Food is essential to sustain our lives.

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Food is essential, and it is also a human right

The United Nations (UN) recognized the “Right to Food’ in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as part of the right to an adequate standard of living, and it is enshrined in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to food, and its variations, is a human right protecting the right of people to feed themselves in dignity, implying that sufficient food is available, that people have the means to access it, and that it adequately meets the individual’s dietary needs. The right to food protects the right of all human beings to be free from hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition.

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Food is essential, it is a human right and it is also magical

Just smelling some black olives can take me, instantly, from wherever I am in the world to the beautiful Aegean coast of Anatolia. Closing my eyes while eating some cevapi can make me as happy as I was when I was eating cevapi in the restaurants of the wonderful White City, Belgrade. Reminding myself how indescribably tasty the tapas Tigre was can shoot me momentarily to the tapas bars along the fabulous, medieval, cobblestone streets of Burgos.

Think about your favorite childhood dish, chewing gum, or ice cream flavor. Close your eyes, and try to feel how it tastes in your mouth and on your tongue. Does it not take you to the place, to the moment, to the people around you that you associated that flavor (aroma, to be more accurate) with?

Here I just created a time machine for you, right there, with the help of the magic of food!

??A Madeleine de Proust is an expression used to describe smells, tastes, sounds or any sensations reminding you of your childhood or simply bringing back emotional memories from a long time ago. This is a phenomenon referred to as the Proust effect. While other stimuli can also make us recall past memories, they are usually not as detailed, sudden, or vivid as those related to smells.

“No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me…..And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane.” ― Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time

Food is essential, a human right, and it is magical!

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Our food system is not sustainable

Yet, our global food system, which is supposed to ensure our access to food, is not sustainable. Here, I use the word “sustainable” not as in an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goal. I use it in its literal meaning, our food system is not working. It does not deliver the world population’s needs. The way we produce, process, distribute, consume food, and manage its waste must evolve.

800 million people are affected by hunger every year. (Please note that it is 10% of the global population) If we talk about food insecurity, which is not as severe as hunger (roughly means you are unsure if you will have food in your next meal), we are talking about 2.3 billion people! One-third of the entire world population… [1]

30% of the population is impacted by food insecurity, while 30% of the food we produce yearly is lost or wasted[2] . About half of this loss and waste occurs post-harvest up to the retail part of the value chain, and the other half is at the retail, logistics, and consumption stages. Interestingly, both developed and developing countries have similar figures regarding food loss and waste. The only difference is that developing countries lose and waste most of it between post-harvest to retail, and for developed countries, it is more on the retail and consumer side. Total annual food losses and waste amount to ~$1 trillion globally[3] , which is about 1% of the entire global economy.

Our global food system not only fails to meet the world’s population’s needs, but it also puts the delicate balance of the LIFE on the planet at risk. It does it in two ways.

The first one is via greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The global food system (agriculture and food production combined) is responsible for about 30% of global GHG emissions, while all transportation (all the cars we drive and the planes we fly) is responsible for 16% of the total emissions[4] [5] . GHG emissions cause global warming, which causes many bad things, including decreasing crop yields meaning even less food per arable land.

The second one is via biodiversity loss. Biodiversity roughly means the variety of life on Earth in different forms, species, genes, and ecosystems. Scientists estimate about 10 million species on Earth, of which only about 1 million are cataloged. The food system causes biodiversity loss in two ways; via carbon emissions and via deforestation. About 80% of total deforestation is done to enable more land for livestock (mainly cattle) and crop farming[6] .

I believe in an “interconnected LIFE” philosophically, which can be considered “biodiversity” in scientific terms. In an interconnected life, things are all connected and need each other, as the 20th-century French philosophers Deleuze and Guattari’s Rhizome, German philosopher Heidegger’s Dasein, or Spinoza’s Deus sive Natura, or the Anatolian Sufi mystic Yunus Emre’s deep oneness belief in his heart, which was full of universal love. While we rely on this oneness (biodiversity) to enable our food, it is absurd that we have been harming it in the last century to produce food.

Food is essential, it is a human right, and magical. Yet, our global food system fails to meet our needs and also puts the delicate balance of interconnected life at risk.

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However, I am not presenting this picture as a bleak or pessimistic one, but as a substantial opportunity for the top-talent, purpose-driven, and willing food scientists and engineers. They can advance us to a world where everyone has access to enough, nutritious food, sourced sustainably.

? A Vision: A world where everyone has access to enough, nutritious food, sourced sustainably.

I believe this is a vision (What) no one would disagree with. Then, the below would follow;

• Why is this vision critical?
• How do we get there?
• Who will lead the way?

? Why is this vision critical?

Our planet’s human population has increased exponentially in the last few centuries. In 1800, it was about 1 billion. Research and findings indicate that the oldest Homo Sapiens fossils are dated back to a few hundred thousand years ago. This means that it took our ancestors a couple of hundred thousand years to get to 1 billion population. However, it took our grand and a few great-grandparents mere 200 years to add 7 billion to it. (Thanks to their reproduction rates, love for each other and all the advances in science and technology, medicine, increased fertility rates, and longer life spans)

While there are some varying opinions and projections about our population’s growth over the next 50-100 years, it is expected to continue to grow until 2100, even if the pace of growth might slow down due to slowing fertility rates. On top of the current food system’s problems, the United Nations estimates that we will have about additional 2 billion people to feed by 2050[7] . In other words, we will have 25% more people to feed in 30 years. This population increase, combined with other factors, demographics, income changes, urbanization…etc. will require 40-50% more food, which under current industry practices and yields, will need a minimum of that much of an increase in arable land. However, by 2050, we will have only 4.5% growth in arable land globally[8] . (As we touched on earlier, further deforestation is not an option!)

50% more food will be needed, while only 4.5% more arable land will be available. Therefore, we will need to figure out more efficient ways of producing food while wasting and losing much less. We need to feed the world’s population more efficiently.

Not only will there be much more people to nourish, but an aging population will also demand varied food requirements to address health-related necessities and issues. We need to feed the world’s population more nutritiously.

As we mentioned earlier, our food system is already responsible for about 30% of global emissions. Reaching net zero emissions and limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C or even 2°C is not possible without tackling emissions from the global food system. In fact, if all non-food system GHG emissions were immediately stopped and reached net zero, emissions from the global food system alone, under a business-as-usual scenario, would still likely exceed the 1.5°C temperature limit[9].

Global temperature increase generates a very dangerous feedback loop for the efficiencies of food production. Each Celsius increase in global mean temperature could, on average, reduce global yields of wheat by 6%, rice by 3.2%, maize by 7.4%, and soybean by 3.1%[10] , which would cause in loss of food that can feed 700 million people every year. ?

Therefore, while we enable more food, we cannot add further to the climate change problem. We need to feed the world’s population more sustainably.

? How do we get there?

We can achieve the aspired vision via a roadmap spearheaded by extensive R&D efforts guided by Science and Technology.

I can start listing some ideas and focus areas, such as digital agriculture, leveraging automation, alternative proteins, indoor/vertical farming, supply blockchain, and so on. However, I would like to focus on “how” more as the guide of the roadmap rather than the roadmap itself. I don’t know a clear roadmap on how to get to this vision. However, I know the right guide or approach to leverage to get there, and it is Science and the Scientific Approach. Why?

Science is humble.

True scientific approach starts with the acceptance that “We don’t know” (Ignoramus). Whatever the research topic is, the scientist rolls up her sleeves and is not shy to say, “I don’t know, I will research”. This sincerely humble approach is a key enabler in dealing with unknowns because science deals with the unknowns. It seeks answers to unknowns.

Science is self-correcting.

In the scientific approach, you identify a problem-to-solve, then generate hypotheses to solve the problem. You repeatedly test (and pressure test) your hypotheses and measure the outcomes objectively. If you are satisfied with the repeatability of your results, then you recognize and appreciate your best and most consistent result-producing hypothesis. This becomes your truth, your known. However, this truth or the new known is valid only until a better hypothesis generates more consistent, more repeatable, and more precise outcomes. Once there is a better hypothesis that produces better and more consistent results, it replaces the old known and becomes the new known. Therefore, by its very nature, the scientific approach enables continuous advancement; it is progressive and does not accept any absolute truth.

Science has a proven record.

Throughout history, science and the scientific approach proved that it leads to better and more accurate knowledge than dogma. And when it is not misused, it led to prosperity and welfare in humanity’s lives.

The pre-Socratic Ionian philosophers tried to explain natural events independently of supernatural, mythical, and religious beliefs and deities. They regarded a thunderbolt as a natural occurrence rather than something Zeus threw at us when he was angry. By doing this, they laid the foundation for the advances in medicine, freedom, and individual autonomy.

Central Asian and Middle Eastern philosophers and scientists translated the Ancient Greek works into Arabic and promoted free inquiry and a scientific approach. The rulers during these periods were learned, literate, and even sometimes scientists.

Roger Bacon, then his namesake, Francis Bacon, argued for scientific knowledge based on inductive reasoning and careful observation of nature. Francis Bacon would highly influence later scientists and philosophers, especially Isaac Newton and John Locke, providing the impetus for the ongoing and sustained scientific progress in the fields of, firstly, physics, then chemistry, and then biology.

“Science is not perfect. It’s often misused; it’s only a tool, but it’s the best tool we have. Self-correcting, ever changing, applicable to everything: with this tool, we vanquish the impossible.” – Carl Sagan

Who will lead the way?

The agriculture industry alone consists of over 600 million farms and employs 874 million people (27% of the global workforce)[11 ] . Another interesting figure is that 56 companies are involved in making one can of chicken noodle soup[12] .

What this tells us is that this is a complex problem to solve within a very complex system, and complex problems require complex solutions and collaborations. Therefore, it would be na?ve to call out a single group to solve this problem for us heroically. There will be many players and stakeholders to take important roles, such as; governments (policies, legislations, campaigns, subsidies, taxes), consumers (reduce food waste, change diets, guide manufacturers through their choices), companies (R&D, pre-competitive and collaborative efforts, innovation), multiple science and engineering fields.

With that, food scientists and engineers, and food professionals are to be and will be, at the forefront. We (should) know the science of food the best. Therefore, we need to lead the way.

However, these efforts are to be spearheaded by top-talent, purpose-driven, and willing food scientists and engineers, but not just any food scientists and engineers.

Great problems can be solved only by great talent. We need curious, continuous-learner, humble, adaptable food scientists and engineers with solid forward-thinking skills. We need to attract some of the great talents that have been going to the technology industry in the last few decades to the food industry. We need, more than ever, creative, questioning, challenging-the-status-quo talent in the food industry. We need top-talent food scientists and engineers.

Top talent and top-notch skills do not mean much unless they are guided by a calling for a greater cause, a purpose. If we ask healthcare professionals, i.e., paramedics, doctors, and nurses, about their shared purpose, their answer would be along the lines of “saving lives”. I don’t regard the purpose of food scientists, engineers, and professionals as vastly different or any less. For all the aforementioned reasons, the shared purpose here is to enable humanity’s future, hence, saving the lives of billions of people. We need purpose-driven food scientists and engineers.

Last but not least, we need, not just any food scientists and engineers, but willing ones who are perseverant. In the journey of achieving every great vision, there are always naysayers and pessimists along the way. Not only those, but there will also be many failures, which should be regarded as learnings, not disappointments. In order to overcome these people and task challenges, we need willing food scientists and engineers.

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In conclusion, food is essential, it is a human right, and it is magical. Yet, our global food system is not sustainable, and it is not working. It does not meet the needs of humanity’s current population. With a business-as-usual approach, it is even prone to cause an existential crisis for humanity with the further growing population in the next 50-100 years.

Therefore, the global food system needs to be advanced and evolved significantly to enable a world where everyone will have access to enough, nutritious food, sourced sustainably. This is a great opportunity for the top-talent, purpose-driven, and willing food scientists and engineers to lead the way while guided by science and the scientific method.

Kaan Demiryurek

March, 2023

[1] FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2022. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022. Repurposing food and agricultural policies to make healthy diets more affordable

[2] FAO. 2011. Global food losses and food waste – Extent, causes and prevention. Rome

[3] FAO, 2018

[4] 2 Poore, J., & Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), 987-992.

[5] There are various estimations and figures when it comes to the food system’s share in total greenhouse gas emissions, all the way up to 37%. In the context of this work, I believe highlighting its significance is more important than the actual figures.

[6] Gibbs et al. (2010)

[7] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019: Data Booket. ST/ESA/SER. A/424

[8] Global Agriculture Towards 2050 Report by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)

[9] Clark et al. (2020)

[10] Zhao, Chuang et al. (2017) “Temperature increase reduces global yields of major crops in four independent estimates.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America vol. 114,35 (2017): 9326-9331. doi:10.1073/pnas.1701762114

[11] FAO. 2021. World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2021. Rome.

[12] Pomeranz, J.L., & Adler, S.S. (2015). Defining Commercial Speech in the Context of Food Marketing. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 43, 40 - 43.