The University of Wageningen - WUR - (Netherlands) has built a greenhouse where plants are growing in rock wool and coco peat. If there would be an innovative solution to feeding the growing population of the world, it is probably coming from Wageningen, a small town in the Netherlands that is the link in the global food science industry.
Future Foods: What Can Wageningen Do?
The Dutch University, located in the Gelderse Valley, a region located in the central Netherlands, is transforming the way people eat. At the University they have built a greenhouse to grow bananas in both coco peat and stone wool. In the greenhouse works a world-famous banana scientist, who cannot wait to introduce Europeans the many varieties of bananas eaten across Latin America, Asia and Africa.
When was the WUR established?
In 1876 the Rijkslandbouwschool (National Agricultural College) was established in Wageningen. Due to the development of the training to a higher educational level it changed in 1896 to the Hoogere Land- en Boschbouwschool (Agricultural and Forestry College) and in 1904 in Rijks Hoogere Land-, Tuin- en Boschbouwschool (National Agricultural, Horticulture and Forestry College).
Cocopeat
In every direction, for kilometres, you can find crops. Drones monitor soil fertility from some crops, and at night light panels illuminate the greenhouses. This is big!
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Did you know that The Netherlands is one of the biggest food exporting nations in the world? This small country exports a large number of tomatoes, onions, dairy and potatoes. The Dutch export more eggs than any country in the world. The question of how the Netherlands attracts government delegations, multinationals and agricultural students from all over the world to wonder about the significant innovation juggernaut of the Netherlands. The answer is the University of Wageningen.
According to estimation, there will be 9,7 billion people to feed by 2050. To feed the entire humanity, we need to produce 56 per cent more food while at the same time prevent further deforestation. Climate change does not help. Temperature is rising, and there will be floods, droughts and crops will be destroyed due to these weather conditions.
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People have two options to choose from to face what is going to happen. One possibility: we innovate our way out. Take Wageningen University, scientists are developing plant-based meat, gene-editing technology, bananas to feed the world. If we need food from laboratory to survive, there is a big chance it is from Wageningen.
Which studies can you follow at the WUR
WUR consists of Wageningen University and the former agricultural research institute of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture. Wageningen University trains specialists (BSc, MSc and PhD) in life and social sciences and focuses its research on scientific, social and commercial problems in the field of life sciences and natural resources. It is widely known for its agriculture, forestry, and environmental studies programs
Multinationals and energetic start-ups donate money into this University so that they can innovate and develop. The second option is a bit more drastic. Hunger continues, agriculture takes up 70 per cent of all freshwater, 40-50 per cent of earth's habitable land and is responsible for 10-12 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions created by humans. A third of food is wasted. Will the Wageningen model be enough to avoid all these problems?
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Wageningen: Experimenting With Gene-editing Technology.
The president of Wageningen University, Louise Fresco, was born in the aftermath of the human-induced starvation known as the Hunger Winter. Since she was 15 years old, she has been thinking about feeding the world. She travelled to Papua New Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo where she witnessed first-hand scarcity. She thought about how little was available in the world. There was a great sense that something had to be done, that there is more than just going about your own life and being rich and happy.
Photo by: Adri Mouthaan. Professor L.O. Fresco, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
In the years after the war, The Netherlands' agriculture minister Sicco Mansholt wanted to guarantee the food supply of the country by increasing production. This change included heavy machinery, chemical fertilisers and new technology and research. He tried to build a post-war Europe of abundance and at the same time, lift small farmers out of poverty and integrate the European economies. But by the 1980's we dealt with environmental devastation, and a lot of food waste. Europe paid millions to store unwanted meat, undrinkable "wine lakes" and mountains of grain and butter. Wageningen was facing an existential crisis. Wageningen's settlement turned to the giants of the industry to keep the University alive.
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Nowadays, you see little of the fear and suffering during the war. What you see is the futuristic Wageningen in the modernist buildings. Wageningen, also known for 'Food Valley' has one goal: shaping the future of food.
What about the WUR’s ECTS label?
Wageningen University was the first Dutch university or school that was allowed to use the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) label. This label is awarded by the European Commission and guarantees the quality of the study programme. The university consequently applies this system, thus promoting the mobility of students within Europe and preventing study delay.
Photo by I.O. Eindhoven. Philips LED lights, NASA
As mentioned before, Wageningen provides stunning solutions for the threat of humanity's food problem. In highly monitored labs, plants are growing to produce more food. But there is a downside to all of this: the plants need a lot of artificial light. Philips partly provides the lamps. Not everyone is happy about the close relationship between scientists and industry in Wageningen. Students are wondering: is it only about financing? Do researchers choose their topic on the basis of funding? If so, how dependent is academic research?
Wageningen University Has Close Ties With Industry
Fresco says that the collaboration between private companies and scientists is necessary and could be positive. They work together because big companies have a considerable influence in the world. They need help to create sustainable ideas and products. It is about research into food products that are not only healthy for people but also good for the planet.
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At Wageningen, a couple of students is planting a forest on an abandoned apple orchard. There they will grow walnuts, berries and pumpkins. Their goal is to prove that small-scale farming is viable and environmentally friendly than big industrial farms.
Before you go!
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