What’s on the menu in 2050?

As the world faces growing challenges like climate change, population growth, and  shifting diets, the way we produce and consume food is rapidly transforming. But what will our plates look like in the decades to come? 

Join us as we explore the innovative ways small-scale farmers around the globe are adapting and revolutionizing our plates for a more resilient future.

Tracking food from the field to your plate

Blockchain is not just reserved for cryptocurrencies. As the world’s biggest and safest ledger, farmers will use blockchain to keep reliable records of their crops and contracts.

Consumers will be able to trace produce as it makes its way from the field to the market and on to our plates. With this focus on provenance, farmers who prioritize quality can get better rates for their products.

Less meat, but better 🌽

Right now, people in rich countries eat far more meat than they need for a healthy diet. Not only does large-scale livestock farming account for nearly a fifth of greenhouse gas emissions, but animals are often reared in harsh conditions and diseases can pass to humans.

At the same time, livestock are essential for the nutrition, livelihoods and cultures of many people in developing countries — and they help keep rangeland ecosystems healthy. In fact, there is a better way to consume meat.

In the future, plates across the world will be mostly filled with fruit, vegetables and legumes, while meat will come from animals reared in ways that keep them free of disease . Circular food systems, where animals fertilize the land and use scarce resources efficiently, will be the norm.

To the universe and to farms 🛰️

Science fiction becomes reality as technologies developed in space are used to sustainably grow food here on earth. Parasites become pesticides and hydroponics mean plants can flourish year-round.

Using micro-sensors developed by NASA , plants will text farmers when they need water, so each plant gets exactly the right amount, reducing water waste by up to 45 per cent. When it’s hot, the insulation technology used to cool space instruments will be used to prevent fruit from rotting while in transit between farms and markets.

Bugs as a sustainable solution to rising food prices 🐛

Once considered a novelty, insects are now emerging as a powerful tool in the global fight against hunger and climate change. With their high protein content, low environmental impact, and potential to provide livelihoods for rural communities, edible insects are not just the food of the future - they could be the key to a more sustainable and resilient food system.

With food prices soaring and global agricultural productivity slowing, we face some tough questions about the future of food. Fortunately, there are some intriguing and innovative ways out there to meet these challenges – including using insects to feed the world. So in this #FarmsFoodFuture episode , we’re bugging out and turning our attention to the wonderful world of edible insects.

Diverse and delicious dinners

Today, half our calories come from just three crops: wheat, maize and rice. With little genetic diversity, these crops are at risk every time a disease breaks out, or climate conditions change.

In the future, thanks to seed guardians who’ve preserved and propagated countless indigenous varieties of seeds, we will eat more varied and nutritionally diverse diets. And instead of vast fields of genetically identical wheat, food will come from small-scale farms which are hotspots of diversity.

Seaweed-wrapped snacks

Soon it will be hard to imagine that single-use plastic packaging — which pollutes our oceans and leaches microplastics into our food — was so prevalent.

Instead, we’ll go back to wrapping foods in sustainable and natural materials, like woven baskets and banana leaves, while seaweed will lead the way in a new bioplastics economy. Our packaging will protect the food, then nourish the soil once you’ve enjoyed your snack.

🌱 How do you think your daily meals might change by 2050?