How to produce without planting? See the free farming alternative

“Farm-free” may be the new label on your food for years to come, thanks to research developed by the University of California at Irvine. Focusing on oil production through industrial processes, the team published their work in the journal Nature Sustainability.

Agriculture plays a big role in climate change. Some studies show that This type of food production contributes to at least a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions.

Through pesticide use, commercial industrialization processes, land exploitation, deforestation and other consequences resulting from this agricultural culture, Food production is becoming increasingly complex and less accessible.

There is a way forward for the UCI team and collaborators from other universities: non-agricultural food production. So how is this possible?

Steven Davis, professor of Earth system science at UCI and leader of the research team, explained in the article published by UCI News: “Large-scale synthesis of edible molecules by chemical and biological means, without agricultural feedstocks, is a possibility ‘real’.”

Currently, the group of researchers is focusing on the production of oils synthesized from hydrogen and carbon dioxide found in water and air, respectively. The synthesis of fats is simple and does not require existing biological material for its production: “This is pure chemistry,” the researchers explain.

However, the first step towards reducing deforestation and thus minimizing the carbon footprint can already be considered in order to achieve the UN targets on the carbon emission neutrality project by 2050.

The research describes various environmental benefits also related to working conditions, such as reducing the carbon footprint, protecting green areas and forests, reducing poor working conditions in fields and crops, and the possibility of soil regeneration between harvests.

Market

But there is still much to discuss about food production without the need for cultivation. With New movements for sustainable agriculture and because of the search for natural foods, many consumers may not be invited to join this movement.

Alternatively, the use of such industrially produced foods, which have the same properties as oils obtained from plants, will also be included in the composition of industrial foods. The future of food may no longer depend on soil and photosynthesis, researchers say.

Stay tuned to the news on TecMundo to learn more about how technology can help minimize climate change. And take the opportunity to discover how technology is helping to reforest planet Earth.