Current Trends in Green Technologies in Food Production and Processing

Abstract

Finding a balance between food supply and demand in a manner that is sustainable and which ensures the long-term survival of the human species will be one of the most important challenges for humankind in the coming decades. Global population growth in the last several centuries with the attendant demands resulting from industrialization has made the need for food production and processing an important issue. This need is expected to increase in the next half century when the population of the world exceeds 9 billion. Environmental concerns related to food production and processing which require consideration include land use change and tremendous reduction in biodiversity, aquatic eutrophication by nitrogenous and phosphorus substances caused by over-fertilization, climate change, water shortages due to irrigation, ecotoxicity, and human effects of pesticides, among others. This review summarizes key highlights from the recently published book entitled Green Technologies in Food Production and Processing which provides a comprehensive summary of the current status of the agriculture and agri-food sectors in regard to environmental sustainability and material and energy stewardship and further provides strategies that can be used by industries to enhance the use of environmentally friendly technologies for food production and processing. © 2012 The Author(s).