The Future of Food: Defining Challenges to Reinvent Food Systems

Catalog description

One of the greatest challenges facing modern humanity is how to provide nutritious food to a growing population without contributing to human disease and destroying the environment. Many of the leading causes of death in the US directly relate to our dietary habits, costing billions in health care costs annually, while globally it is estimated that 1 in 3 people suffer from nutrition deficiencies. In parallel, approximately 1/3 of the world's energy production and 2/3 of fresh water is diverted to food production and current industrial food systems contribute to a quarter of carbon emissions. Given the complexity and scale of this collective challenge it can be difficult to predict and quantify how a proposed solution or technology might contribute to a shift in our food systems towards a more sustainable future for both human and planetary health. In this course we will examine in depth a single facet of our current food system (based on class interest - e.g. water systems, crop biotechnology, pesticide use, food waste). We will do a historical analysis of this technology and/or current practices and identify opportunities for innovation by defining the scope of the current problem. Inspired by the World Health Organization "Target Product Profile" model that guides the development of new vaccines and disease diagnostics, the outcome of our work will be a solution-agnostic problem statement that identifies specific needs, stakeholders, and solution criteria for a specific food system challenge. We will integrate feedback from topical experts, relevant stakeholders, and community members. Ultimately, our work will culminate in a white paper defining a critical unmet need in our current food system that will inspire innovative solutions towards a sustainable food future. Graduate or upper level undergraduate students who have a background in engineering or science and…