**2. Sustainability of agricultural production system**

In response to the recurring famines in the early twentieth century caused by a lack of sufficient food supply and the rapidly increasing global population, several international research institutes focused on agricultural research were set up around the 1950s. Their mandate included developing science-based approaches to increase agricultural production. Among these institutes, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines is well known for developing many new rice varieties, resulting in a dramatic increase in rice production in South and South-East Asia. Similarly, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico City, where Norman Borlaug and his colleagues developed dwarf varieties of wheat and new varieties of maize, significantly increased yield of these crops around the globe. Norman Borlaug received a Nobel Prize for his work at CIMMYT. World grain production has grown remarkably during the past 5 decades. Wheat production increased almost four to five times than what it was in the 1960s [3].

The agricultural production system is now under a significant threat by the many facets of climate change in meeting the impending food gap. The global average temperature has been increasing at an alarming rate, as seen in **Figure 2**. The last 6 years have been the hottest years on Earth [5]. This dramatic increase in temperature, trending upwards at a rapid rate, has severe consequences on agriculture. Along with an increase in the global average temperature, there is also a rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions, mainly carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane (**Figure 3**). In each case, dramatic shifts have been occurring since the 1960s. A variety of economic sectors impact the global greenhouse gas emissions, such as industry, transportation, buildings, electricity and heat production, and agriculture, forestry, and land use. Up to 12% of the global greenhouse gas emission is attributed to agricultural operations (**Figure 4**) [3]. Estimates by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicate that if there is no intervention within the agricultural sector, greenhouse gas emissions are likely to increase by about 30–40% by 2050 [6]. This estimated increase is mostly due to the increasing demands of the population, income growth, and dietary changes.

With climate change, the frequency of extreme weather events has been increasing. For example, the heat waves, melting of polar ice resulting in rising sea levels,

**Figure 2.** *Global average temperatures from 1850–2020 (http://berkeleyearth.org/global-temperature-report-for-2020/).*

### **Figure 3.**

*Greenhouse gas emissions from 1850–2017 (based on data obtained from [5]).*

### **Figure 4.**

*World greenhouse gas emissions from various economic sectors in percent of total 49.4 Gigaton CO2 equivalent in 2016 (based on data obtained from https://www.wri.org/).*

increase in the number of heavy precipitation events causing floods, an increase in the length of drought periods, and increased incidence of wildfires as observed in California and Siberia. The strong links between agriculture and weather underscore the impact of weather on farming. In many regions with irrigated arable land, as more water is drawn from the underground aquifers for irrigation to overcome droughts' effects, the aquifers are getting depleted. For example, there has been a serious depletion of aquifers in central California in recent decades, causing land shrinkage and earthquakes [7]. Assuming the current rate of groundwater pumping for agriculture from the Ogallala Aquifer, it will be depleted by 60% by 2060 [8]. Water drawn from the Ogallala aquifer is used to meet 30% of the U.S. irrigation requirements. Similar impacts of climate change are seen in the western part of the Gulf of Mexico and the Indo-Gangetic plain, which serves as India's breadbasket.

Aquifers take a very long time to replenish. Therefore, the lowering of the water table in these heavily farmed regions is of grave concern to agricultural production sustainability.

Recent studies on the impact of climate change on agricultural production indicate that there will be a 25% reduction in maize production for most regions of the globe, a 3% reduction in wheat, and an 11% reduction in rice and potatoes [9]. These estimates indicating significant decreases in the crop yield will challenge efforts to meet the food gap predicted for the next decade. Along with reducing the yield, the increased carbon dioxide levels due to greenhouse gas emissions are also projected to lower the crops' nutritional quality. For example, when wheat is grown at high carbon dioxide levels, there is 6–12% less protein, 4–6% less zinc, and 5–7% less iron [6]. The reduction of nutrients in staple crops will have severe consequences for public health. Other climate change-driven impacts include the emergence of new pests and diseases, such as citrus greening, with growing risks and disruptions in the food system. Any shortages and subsequent increases in cereal prices will put more people at risk of hunger. Innovative farming practices are being considered to help mitigate some of the negative impacts of climate change such as increasing the soil organic matter and erosion control, improved land management, genetic improvements of crops for tolerance to heat and drought, and more diversification of the food system to implement integrated production systems. To address the needs of a sustainable agricultural production sector, many academic institutions in the United States are now focused on developing "smart" farming methods, seeking technological innovations in farming employing more efficient ways to use water and energy. For example, a multidisciplinary program referred to as SmartFarm at the University of California, Davis [10]. Similar efforts are underway at several land-grant universities in the United States.

In assessing the influence of producing foods for human consumption on the global environment, meat and dairy products rank high on the list. Meat production from livestock is responsible for using 30% of global ice-free land, 8% of global freshwater, and it generates 18% of the worldwide greenhouse gas emissions [11]. Many public and private institutions are currently engaged in research for developing cultured meats produced *in vitro* using tissue engineering techniques. Cultured meat production has the potential for substantially lowering the impact on the environment. Based on a life cycle assessment study, the environmental impact of cultured meat production in comparison to conventionally produced European meat, depending upon the product selected, shows 7–45% lower energy use, 78–96% lower greenhouse gas emissions, 99% lower land use, and 82–96% lower water [12]. Cultured meat production offers numerous opportunities for research and development for scale-up from the laboratory to the marketplace.

The increasing trend in urbanization has created numerous megacities worldwide—for example, Mexico City, with a population of 24 million, and Tokyo, with almost 40 million. Many of the cities with large populations are facing inner-city food deserts. Novel opportunities are being considered to fulfill the needs of fresh foods in the inner cities to develop urban agriculture, including vertical farming, and the production of vegetables and other crops under a controlled environment. These new farming methods in urban environments offer considerable opportunities for research and development of sustainable production, processing, and distribution systems.

## **3. Sustainability in food processing**

In a modern food processing plant, it is not uncommon to find equipment designed and built several decades ago during the era of plentiful water and energy. Since water use and energy use were most often not used as design constraints, there is considerable opportunity for retrofit and new design of systems to efficiently use water and energy. To identify such opportunities, industrial data of resource use in processing operations is crucial. Studies aimed at energy accounting conducted in food canning plants provide such data methodologies [13]. For example, as seen in **Figure 5**, the energy accounting diagram of canning whole-peeled tomatoes provides quantitative information on energy use in the form of electricity and natural gas and the mass flow of products. The energy use data obtained from accounting studies are helpful to identify energy-intensive operations to develop modifications and design new equipment to conserve energy.

Recent advances in sensor technology, data acquisition, and data handling offer ways to collect and retrieve data using cloud-based systems. Process data from line operations are passed on to the cloud server, stored, and made available to the equipment manufacturer for remote diagnostics and updates. Such systems offer advanced control and maintenance levels to minimize equipment breakdown and the loss of food during manufacturing operations. The development of these systems for the food industry requires skills in the computational field and electronic hardware.

A related emerging area in food manufacturing is creating digital twins of processing equipment. The digital twin technology has its origins in the aircraft industry. There is a digital twin for an airplane in flight, essentially a simulation of the plane fed with live data from the aircraft in flight to help identify any operational issues before they become severe. A similar approach is also feasible in the food processing industry. For any processing equipment, a digital twin operates in a virtual environment, providing valuable information to operators and equipment manufacturers. These systems can reduce frequent interruptions in the processing lines, thus reducing food losses during processing. While artificial intelligence and machine learning are still in their infancy, they promise to minimize human error in food processing operations.

**Figure 5.** *Energy accounting diagram of canning of peeled tomatoes [13].*

*A Quest for Sustainability in the Food Enterprise DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99973*

**Figure 6.** *A disc-peeler used to separate tomato peels.*

Along with energy, considerable water is used in food processing operations. Water recovery and recycling are vital for sustainability. A typical practice in a food processing plant is to discharge water streams from various processing equipment into a common floor drain. Different water streams containing multiple chemicals used in processing and cleaning equipment get mixed in the common drain, and the commingled stream is then conveyed to a water treatment facility. A potential approach to reduce water use and food waste is to recover effluent water from each piece of equipment separately to recover any food or chemicals and recycle water in the same or other operations as appropriate. For example, as shown in **Figure 6** for canning whole-peeled tomatoes, pure water is used to aid the separation of the peel from the tomato in the disc-peeling process. The effluent from the disc peeler is water with tomato solids. By separately treating the peeler's effluent using a filtration system, both the tomato solids and water are recovered. Numerous such examples exist for different food processing operations where economically valuable food and chemicals can be recovered as long as the discharge from individual operations is handled separately without mixing discharge streams into a common waste stream. Membrane-based separation systems are most suitable for such applications. A comprehensive project conducted at the University of California demonstrated this water recovery and recycling approach at over 50 food processing plants across the United States [14]. This project also reinforced the importance of industrial collaboration in academic research to reduce water use and improve the food system's sustainability.

In designing the next generation of food processing equipment, it is imperative that due consideration is given to design constraints such as low water discharge and minimal energy use. There are certain situations where these constraints become essential. For example, these constraints were at the forefront in a project to design a food processing system for a manned mission to Mars under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) [15]. Specifically, a multipurpose fruit and vegetable processor was built for operation on the Mars surface (**Figure 7**). The design of this equipment involved a strict design constraint of zero-water discharge and the use of minimal energy. Several innovations were introduced to process fresh fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes to create multiple products. Based on the results of parallel research studies to determine optimal processing conditions, a multipurpose processor was fabricated using an ohmic heating system for rapid heating of crushed tomatoes, and membranes for separation processes. The final processed products were diced tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Water extracted from tomatoes during the concentration process was recovered and reused for cleaning equipment and other purposes. With minimal energy requirements, the

**Figure 7.** *A multipurpose fruit and vegetable processor built for manned mission to Mars.*

processor, although built for space applications, is equally adaptable for small-scale processing operations on Earth. Notably, the project demonstrated that it is possible to incorporate novel concepts in designing equipment that is highly conserving in its resource use. This equipment scale is particularly well suited for processing products of urban agriculture with minimal release of effluents in the inner-city setting.

Recent developments in the area of additive manufacturing offer new opportunities for precision food processing. While the 3D printing of foods is mostly in the research stage, this technique promises minimal food loss and an efficient process with low water and energy use. Additive manufacturing processes are also being considered in new food product development involving meat analogs derived from plant proteins. Meat analogs are gaining rapid growth in consumer acceptance. They offer health benefits and improved sustainability of the food system by reducing reliance on meat from livestock in the traditional diet.
