**3.2 Impact of technology on food production**

Crop production technology has changed significantly in recent decades. First, between 1980 and 1990 the direct sowing technique expanded rapidly to replace conventional tillage; later, production was intensified through a greater use of agrochemicals, mainly fertilizers; later transgenic crops were incorporated; and, more recently, differential management by environments, also called "precision agriculture" [26], began to spread.

Expected changes in income and demographics will lead to increased consumption of meat, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and edible oils, increasing demand for agricultural raw materials. More consumers will enjoy an economic and lifestyle situation that will allow them to buy more processed and packaged foods, as well as a growing variety of convenience and luxury food items, but which will not necessarily increase the demand for agricultural raw materials. The ability of the agricultural and food industries to continue to respond to the undoubted increase in demand over the coming decades will largely depend on the increased application of existing technologies, as well as the exploitation of new and innovative technologies [27].

Since its inception, industrial development has polluted the air, water, and land, irreversibly affecting, in some cases, ecosystems. The rapid and excessive use of natural resources and the disregard for preventive measures have favored environmental pollution. In Latin American and Caribbean countries, the overlap of old communicable diseases with new chronic degenerative diseases is notable, together with environmental risk factors or lifestyles that are the cause of increasing morbidity and mortality, and the increase in the costs of health care and decreased productivity and quality of life [28].

The gap is growing, in the generation and application of technology between countries of the center and the countries of the periphery substantially increased the magnitude of poverty in developing countries. Thus, despite spectacular increases in agricultural productivity in recent decades, undernutrition persists in many nations in Asia, Africa and to a lesser extent in Latin America.

Undoubtedly, food insecurity, more than a production problem, is a problem of access to available food [29].

According to Lorenzana [29], world food production grew at an unprecedented rate because of the application of the modern system between 1950 and 1970. By then, energy was cheap and there was worldwide the possibility of expanding areas cultivated. This expansion in food production occurred primarily in industrialized countries, especially the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The high subsidies that producers enjoyed in countries like the U.S.A. and Canada made it possible to offer abundant and low-priced food, not only for domestic consumption but also for export. Developing countries, with levels of technological advance far below industrialized countries, took advantage of the low international prices of cereals and later of oilseeds. It was simply cheaper to import the staples than to grow them. The fertile lands in the Third World countries were dedicated to the sowing of non-basic products for export, generating foreign exchange that industrialization required. This is how, during those two decades, there was food in abundance and at low prices.

Several reports indicate that the modernization of food production has had negative consequences on food security. Long ago the human diet was varied, it was made up of various species of plants and animal species. The development of technology and agricultural production methods generated a tendency to focus on the most productive and profitable species, being those that were commercialized in urban areas more profitable, with the rural areas having greater purchasing power. Changes in lifestyles, mainly in large cities, coupled with economic fluctuation, contributed to a more monotonous diet. With technology transfer in developing countries, traditional consumption patterns increasingly resemble Western patterns [29].

For some years and perhaps due to the general recognition of the role of diet in the achievement and maintenance of health, an intense search began, in most cases with great scientific rigor, on food and its effect on health [18].

#### **3.3 Technological and health trends**

Some trends in which not only the search for healthy food is combined, but also the possibility of eating properly in today's difficult world, show that the general public looks for less processed foods with a similar appearance and quality to freshly prepared ones. These include fresh or minimally processed foods, prepared or precooked dishes (refrigerated, frozen), semi-prepared or precooked products that only require heating for consumption and "fast food" in which it is valued that it is quick to consume, easy to carry and which are also healthy products [30].

Technologies have been developed focused on the maintenance or preservation of food, whose objective is the search for alternative heat treatments and the development of non-thermal preservation treatments, to achieve healthier products, with a longer shelf life, and to instead offer the consumer food with minimal processing. These treatments include electrical pulses that are based on the exposure of a food to an electric field, achieving that of microorganisms by destroying the cell membrane, high pressures in which the high hydrostatic pressure has partial sterilization effects, obtaining products of optimal microbiological quality. With few modifications in aroma, flavor, and nutritional value [30].

Other technologies used in food preservation are irradiation, ideal for solid or even frozen foods, the pulses of light which, as the name implies, are flashes of light of great intensity and short duration that eliminate microorganisms and bio conservation in which the Normal bacterial flora of food is controlled to increase its shelf life. It can also favor the growth of a natural microorganism, to limit the growth of others [30].

**191**

the group 20 and over [33].

*Meaning and Health Impact of Food: Historical and Ecological Analysis*

same time allows reducing food loss and waste [31, 32].

tion of food products from the remnants [31, 32].

**4. Health impacts: an analysis of the main determinants**

Recent estimates indicate that a third (30 to 40%) of the food produced globally is lost and wasted in the global food system. Food insecurity is an issue that motivates greater production and quality of food through sustainable ways, but at the

Along with reducing food loss and waste (FLW) are new ways to preserve food

The reduction of food loss must be sought from initial production (farm) to final consumption at home, through short marketing chains. One option is to obtain

On the other hand, public policies should be established that motivate both the government and the private sector to develop infrastructure for roads, transportation, storage, and refrigeration facilities, which allows reducing food losses. In addition, sensitize the population to avoid the compulsive purchase of food and provide information and knowledge that allows the actors of the agri-food chains to have standards of safety and hygiene, guaranteeing quality food. However, it is necessary to reactivate the exchange of food, at the local level, to reduce the loss of foods. Likewise, carry out research to develop innovations that allow the elabora-

The challenge is not only the production of food for a population in constant growth, but also how to ensure sufficient clean water, agricultural land, energy, and labor, in such a way that the adverse effects on the environment are reduced and satisfying the basic needs of present and future generations [31]. Despite the technological development generated in recent decades, there is still a deficiency in food production, as well as in its transformation; on the other hand, the immense amounts of FLW in the entire food chain causing problems of food insecurity, in addition to serious contamination problems, which opens a huge possibility for the development of strategies to improve the food security conditions of the population.

The changes in health with an increase in the prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases are increasing according to the statistics at the world and national level. These results are a summary of the main problems that continue to be sustained in the country such as obesity, overweight, dyslipidemia, hypertension and an innovation in this survey is the data on blood lead levels and the frontal labeling questionnaire (**Table 3**). For physical activity, only 29% of the population performs physical activity for less than 150 minutes per week and the other extreme, 28.1% performs 1680 minutes per week. The survey separates figures for food security and breastfeeding by urban and rural area, but those presented in the table are for urban areas. For the consumption of fruit, vegetables, and legumes, they were below 50% of the different age groups except for the consumption of legumes that was 54.4 for the group of 20 and over. For non-recommended foods, non-dairy drinks sweetened or with added sugars were among the highest for the population of all age groups without difference, being in a range 83.3% for the group of 1 to 4 years to 85.5% for

On health issues and at the time this review is being carried out, we can observe that sufficient evidence has been generated on the impacts on the industrialization

for more. For example, the dehydration of fruits and vegetables with CO2 that excludes negative aspects of conventional dehydration, resulting in a product with better quality, low refrigeration cost, the nutritional quality is maintained and when

the product is rehydrated it acquires the appearance of a fresh product [31].

foods from local markets and thereby reactivate local economies [31].

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96371*

**3.4 Loss and waste foods and its reduction**

### **3.4 Loss and waste foods and its reduction**

*Natural History and Ecology of Mexico and Central America*

access to available food [29].

abundance and at low prices.

**3.3 Technological and health trends**

Undoubtedly, food insecurity, more than a production problem, is a problem of

According to Lorenzana [29], world food production grew at an unprecedented rate because of the application of the modern system between 1950 and 1970. By then, energy was cheap and there was worldwide the possibility of expanding areas cultivated. This expansion in food production occurred primarily in industrialized countries, especially the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The high subsidies that producers enjoyed in countries like the U.S.A. and Canada made it possible to offer abundant and low-priced food, not only for domestic consumption but also for export. Developing countries, with levels of technological advance far below industrialized countries, took advantage of the low international prices of cereals and later of oilseeds. It was simply cheaper to import the staples than to grow them. The fertile lands in the Third World countries were dedicated to the sowing of non-basic products for export, generating foreign exchange that industrialization required. This is how, during those two decades, there was food in

Several reports indicate that the modernization of food production has had negative consequences on food security. Long ago the human diet was varied, it was made up of various species of plants and animal species. The development of technology and agricultural production methods generated a tendency to focus on the most productive and profitable species, being those that were commercialized in urban areas more profitable, with the rural areas having greater purchasing power. Changes in lifestyles, mainly in large cities, coupled with economic fluctuation, contributed to a more monotonous diet. With technology transfer in developing countries, traditional consumption patterns increasingly resemble Western patterns [29].

For some years and perhaps due to the general recognition of the role of diet in the achievement and maintenance of health, an intense search began, in most cases

Some trends in which not only the search for healthy food is combined, but also the possibility of eating properly in today's difficult world, show that the general public looks for less processed foods with a similar appearance and quality to freshly prepared ones. These include fresh or minimally processed foods, prepared or precooked dishes (refrigerated, frozen), semi-prepared or precooked products that only require heating for consumption and "fast food" in which it is valued that it is

quick to consume, easy to carry and which are also healthy products [30].

few modifications in aroma, flavor, and nutritional value [30].

Technologies have been developed focused on the maintenance or preservation of food, whose objective is the search for alternative heat treatments and the development of non-thermal preservation treatments, to achieve healthier products, with a longer shelf life, and to instead offer the consumer food with minimal processing. These treatments include electrical pulses that are based on the exposure of a food to an electric field, achieving that of microorganisms by destroying the cell membrane, high pressures in which the high hydrostatic pressure has partial sterilization effects, obtaining products of optimal microbiological quality. With

Other technologies used in food preservation are irradiation, ideal for solid or even frozen foods, the pulses of light which, as the name implies, are flashes of light of great intensity and short duration that eliminate microorganisms and bio conservation in which the Normal bacterial flora of food is controlled to increase its shelf life. It can also favor the growth of a natural microorganism, to limit the

with great scientific rigor, on food and its effect on health [18].

**190**

growth of others [30].

Recent estimates indicate that a third (30 to 40%) of the food produced globally is lost and wasted in the global food system. Food insecurity is an issue that motivates greater production and quality of food through sustainable ways, but at the same time allows reducing food loss and waste [31, 32].

Along with reducing food loss and waste (FLW) are new ways to preserve food for more. For example, the dehydration of fruits and vegetables with CO2 that excludes negative aspects of conventional dehydration, resulting in a product with better quality, low refrigeration cost, the nutritional quality is maintained and when the product is rehydrated it acquires the appearance of a fresh product [31].

The reduction of food loss must be sought from initial production (farm) to final consumption at home, through short marketing chains. One option is to obtain foods from local markets and thereby reactivate local economies [31].

On the other hand, public policies should be established that motivate both the government and the private sector to develop infrastructure for roads, transportation, storage, and refrigeration facilities, which allows reducing food losses. In addition, sensitize the population to avoid the compulsive purchase of food and provide information and knowledge that allows the actors of the agri-food chains to have standards of safety and hygiene, guaranteeing quality food. However, it is necessary to reactivate the exchange of food, at the local level, to reduce the loss of foods. Likewise, carry out research to develop innovations that allow the elaboration of food products from the remnants [31, 32].

The challenge is not only the production of food for a population in constant growth, but also how to ensure sufficient clean water, agricultural land, energy, and labor, in such a way that the adverse effects on the environment are reduced and satisfying the basic needs of present and future generations [31]. Despite the technological development generated in recent decades, there is still a deficiency in food production, as well as in its transformation; on the other hand, the immense amounts of FLW in the entire food chain causing problems of food insecurity, in addition to serious contamination problems, which opens a huge possibility for the development of strategies to improve the food security conditions of the population.
