Feeding the world into the

future: the role of food science

and technology
Nutrition:
Research, Innovation and Markets
University of Toronto
10 October 2013
Rickey Y. Yada, Ph.D.
Professor
Canada Research Chair in Food Protein Structure
Scientific Director
Advanced Foods and Materials Canada (AFM Canada)
President Elect IUFoST
Department of Food Science
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1

What is food security?

As defined by the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations:

Food security exists when all people at all

times have both physical and economic access
to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that
meets their dietary needs for an active and
healthy life.

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (2013). Hunger Portal: FAQ. Date retrieved: June 11, 2013.
Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/hunger/en/

Challenges

Increasing global population

Climate change
Potable water shortage
Loss of arable land, urbanization
Increasing food wastage
Food related issues

Malnutrition
Obesity

Challenges

An increasing global population, in combination with

climate change, poses a threat to food security as
arable land becomes more scarce

Global population: 4.4 billion 6.1 billion from 19802000

Projected 9 billion 2050

Food production: 50% increase from 1980-2000

Degradation of arable land:

75% in Central America

One-fifth in Africa
11% in Asia

Sample, I. (2007, August 31). Global food crisis looms as climate change and population growth strip fertile land.
The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/31/climatechange.food

Growing our Energy for

Security Food vs Fuel?

de Gorter, H., Drabik, D., & Just, D. R. (2013). Biofuel Policies

and Food Grain Commodity Prices 2006-2012: All Boom and No
Bust?. AgBioForum 16(1): 1-13

Malnutrition Worldwide
World
Number and percentage of undernourished persons
2010-2012

868

million (12%)

2007-2009

867

million (13%)

2004-2006

898

million (14%)

1991-2001

919

million (15%)

1990-1992

1000

million (19%)

The FAO defines undernourishment

as the state of consistently consuming
less energy, in the form of protein and
calories, to maintain a weight
appropriate for height, and for mild
activity.
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (2013). Hunger Portal: FAQ. Date retrieved: June 11, 2013.
Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/hunger/en/

Approximately 500 million people across the world are obese (BMI of
30 or greater), and if the population that is overweight was also
included (BMI of 25 or greater), 1.5 billion people would fall into this
category.
If nothing is done to remedy the issue, 1 billion people are predicted
to be obese by 2030.

Harvard School of Public Health (2013). Adult obesity. Date retrieved: June 11, 2013. Retrieved from:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-trends/obesity-rates-worldwide/
World Health Organization (2013, March). Obesity and overweight Fact sheet No311. Date retrieved: June 11, 2013.
Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/

Health Care Costs

Malnutrition & Obesity

Malnutrition on a global $3.5 trillion dollars, or

5% of the global GDP
Obesity
Obesity
Obesity
Obesity

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2013, June 4). FAO urges end of malnutrition as priority. Date retrieved: June 12,
2013. Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/176888/icode/
http://obesity.ulaval.ca/obesity/generalities/mortalite_morbidite.php

Vitamin/Mineral deficiencies

Vitamin A
Approximately 250000 500000 children that are
Vitamin A deficient develop blindness each year
Iron
Affects approximately 30% of people in the world
Zinc
As of 2009, it was estimated that approximately 2
billion people were deficient in zinc

Sprinkles

Iron Tea

Iron Fish

- Univ. Guelph project

- placed into water that is being sterilized or used to prepare food
- provide about 75 per cent of daily iron requirements

http://atguelph.uoguelph.ca/2013/09/iron-fish-a-finalist-in-innovation-competition/

Nanoencapsulation nanoemulsions

Shefer,A. (2005) www.foodtech-international.com/papers/images/application-nano/fig1

http://nanogreensinfo.com

Functional ingredients are essential components in many foods

e.g., vitamins, colours, flavours, preservatives, antimicrobials,
etc.)
Usually need some sort of delivery system to optimize activity.
Pay load substantially decreased

Stability of Iron Sources

NanoFe
Clear

Ferricpyrophosphate
White
precipitation

Ferroussulfate
Brown
precipitation

Sodiumferrouscitrate
Yellowish
brown

5mgFe/100ml,pH7.0,storedat40Cunderdarkconditions
Storagetime:NanoFefor3months,allothers2days

Protein Consumption
FAO and other institutions[1] suggest that global meat production (Figure 1)
and consumption will rise from 233 million tonnes (2000) to 300 million tonnes
(2020), and milk from 568 to 700 million tonnes over the same period. Egg
production will also increase by 30 percent. These predictions show a massive
increase in animal protein demand, needed to satisfy the growth in the human
population, and the increasing affluence of the emerging economies.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/y5019e/y5019e05.htm

Protein Utilization

Major industrial protein ingredients from plant sources [Day, L. (2013) Trends
Plant source

Soy protein
concentrates (SPC)
Soy protein isolates
(SPI)
Texturised soy
proteins
Vital wheat gluten
(VWG)
Isolated wheat protein
(IWP)
Texturised wheat
proteins
Enzyme hydrolysed
protein
Rice protein
concentrate
Rice protein isolate

Soy

Wheat

Rice

Canola

Major manufacturer
and/or supplier

6570%

www.solae.com

>90%

www.adm.com

60%

www.cargill.com

7580%

www.manildra.com.au

90%

www.mgpingredients.
com
www.cargill.com

>90%
80%

www.foodchem.cn

90%

www.freemanllc.com
www.showa-sangyo.co.
jp
Pea protein
www.nutripea.com
concentrate
8590%
www.roquette.com/
Day, L. (2013) Proteins from land plants Potential resources for human
Pea protein isolate
www.burcon.ca
nutrition and food security, Trends in Food Science & Technology 32: 25Canola protein isolate 90%
www.bioexx.com
42.

Maize/corn
Peas

Food Sci. Technol. 32: 25-42]

Protein products
Protein content

Zein

8896%

Multicomponent solution

http://www.campbellsoup.ca/en-ca/products/nourish/campbells-nourish-six-grain-vegetable

Way of the future?

http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/Main/Research1/ResearchUM/FirsteverPublicTastingOfLabgrownCulturedBeefBurger.htm

Innovative strategies

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/flour-made-with-insects-wins-1m-for-mcgill-team-1.1866685

http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Reduce-reuse-recycle-FAO-says-food-waste-costs-750bn-a-year/?
utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily&c=w92LS4%2BNc5sgI%2BmmWm8YcQ%3D%3D

Solar Dehydration

http://www.iufost.org/publications/books/documents/Mercer.pdf

Vacuum Microwave Drying

http://www.enwave.net/

Potable Water

http://akvopedia.org/wiki/images/0/0c/CPF1.jpg

Food insecurity - Canada

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/1-in-8-canadian-families-struggle-to-put-food-on-table-study-says-1.1346620

Food Deserts and Swamps

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-blumenthal/food-deserts_b_3822428.html

New technologies beyond

science?

Consumer attitude
Consumer acceptance

Food Security Challenge

Solution complex
Produce more food?
Huge opportunities
Social/Consumer Science

IUFoST - 2014

IUFoST 2014 World Congress

Montreal, Canada
17-21 August 2014

Acknowledgements

Brian Bryksa
Kara Griffiths
Julia Mirotta
Rhiannon Jamieson-Williams
Doug Grahame
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada
Canada Research Chairs Program
IUFoST
University of Toronto
Consul Generals Office of Italy