wheat crop field

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We need to break down silos in science to address some of the most difficult challenges we all face

It’s easy to be pessimistic about food security today. The concept of food security – when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food – is a challenge for many reasons. Beyond the current issues supermarkets are facing with filling their shelves, climate change, water scarcity and population growth are diminishing crop, livestock and fish production. Those factors are also increasing food safety challenges such as the prevalence of pests and diseases. The University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment estimates that climate change is reducing global rice yields by 0.3% and wheat yields by 0.9% on average each year.

It’s part of my genetic make-up to be optimistic about the future and excited about the potential for scientific discovery and innovation to supercharge human progress. That’s why I can say resolutely that despite the urgency of rising food security threats, I’m not worried about our ability to rise to the challenge.

When I step back, I can see that through leveraging science the field of food safety has come a long way already. But there’s much more our industry can and will do. Of crucial importance will be scientific investigation, fostering scientific exchange and embracing the input of the next generation of scientists, seeking discoveries that fuel the future of innovation.

To date, there are several promising avenues that scientists are working towards such as genomics. Whole genome sequencing is the process of determining the entire DNA sequence of an organism’s genome. By mapping each organism’s unique genetic blueprint, we could open the door to better identification, tracking and tracing of foodborne pathogens, as well as improving the quality and resilience of crops.

In the future, we see these techniques being applied to support the tracing of contamination origins through metagenomics and the microbiome. For example, faced with an outbreak of e.coli, authorities could identify the source faster, potentially saving lives and protecting livelihoods.

I firmly believe industry has a key role to play in helping achieve food security. But no single entity can address global food safety challenges, which is why at Mars we’ve been calling for collaboration for some time and why we opened the Mars Global Food Safety Center in 2015 –because if it’s not safe, it’s not food.

It is also why this year we convened a food safety coalition with prominent academics, international organisations and industry. The group is focused on actionable solutions in food safety, starting with data and knowledge sharing on aflatoxins – a family of poisonous toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on agricultural crops.

What’s also important is that as we look to the future and solutions for these global challenges, we support the next generation of scientists. This summer, I was honoured to join a panel at the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings – an annual gathering of Nobel Prize winners and the next generation of scientists, with the aim of fostering meaningful scientific dialogue.

Nobel Laureate Ada Yonath rightly made clear that we need to break down silos in science to address some of the most difficult challenges we all face. For food security, that means all sectors and disciplines coming together, collaborating and sharing to leverage the full potential of genomics in the future, for generations to come.

And to that end, arguably the most important factor in achieving global food security will be the next generation of young scientists championing science through a multidisciplinary approach, working passionately together to secure the future of food.

It’s vital work because food security has the potential to be one of the greatest challenges faced by people, pets and the planet. There is, rightly, cause for concern – but no cause for panic. I’m confident that by leveraging science it is possible to create a sustainable future where food security is the benchmark and not the goal.