- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Researchers are developing new technological advances that farmers and ranchers can use to become more efficient and sustainable even as the farm labor force is shrinking, reported Stacy Finz in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The story quoted Ted Batkin, the former president of the Citrus Research Board who served as a panelist at the University of California's Global Food Forum last spring. He said a robot currently under development could be used to pick citrus, apples, pears, peaches and other stone fruit.
"It's a game changer," he said. "We'll no longer be dependent on human labor for harvesting."
The story also delved into drone technology, which a professor at UC Davis believes may be employed for agricultural production needs ranging from herding cattle to spraying chemicals.
"Anything that's boring, repetitive and dangerous: Get a drone," said Ken Giles, professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis.
Shrinivasa Upadhyaya, another UC Davis engineering professor, and Bruce Lampinen, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, are working on a light bar sensor that measures how much light energy is absorbed by plants, providing farmers with a guide for pruning orchards, which is normally labor intensive. They are also developing leaf monitor sensors that report plant water status. These sensors can be monitored through the internet to make irrigation management decisions.
"Now no one needs to go to the field," he said. "You get the data every five minutes on your laptop."
- Author: Jennifer Rindahl
"Insects provide food at low environmental cost, contribute positively to livelihoods, and play a fundamental role in nature."
Insects form part of the traditional diets of at least 2 billion people according to a recent report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization: Edible Insects, Future prospects for food and feed security. http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3253e/i3253e.pdf
Over 1,900 species have reportedly been used as food. The most commonly consumed insects are beetles (Coleoptera) (31 percent), caterpillars (Lepidoptera) (18 percent) and bees, wasps and ants (Hymenoptera) (14 percent).
Highlights from the report:
- Insects are a highly nutritious and healthy food source with high fat, protein, vitamin, fibre and mineral content.
- The environmental benefits of rearing insects for food and feed are founded on the high feed conversion efficiency of insects. Crickets, for example, require only 2 kilograms of feed for every 1 kilogram of bodyweight gain.
- Because of their nutritional composition, accessibility, simple rearing techniques and quick growth rates, insects can offer a cheap and efficient opportunity to counter nutritional insecurity by providing emergency food and by improving livelihoods and the quality of traditional diets among vulnerable people.
- Insects offer a significant opportunity to merge traditional knowledge and modern science in both developed and developing countries.
"Insect rearing for food and feed remains a sector in its infancy, and key future challenges will likely emerge as the field evolves. As such, readers are encouraged to contact the authors with feedback on this book. Such contributions will undoubtedly assist the future development of the sector."
While it's unlikely many of us in the US will be dining on insects during this year's Memorial Day picnics, maybe someday soon those pesky ants will be forming the basis of grandma's famous potato salad.
Edible Insects
El departamento de Agricultura y Recursos Naturales (ANR, por sus siglas en inglés) de la Universidad de California presentó la semana pasada un foro de un día sobre Sistemas Alimentarios Globales. Proveer a ocho millones de personas alimentos de calidad, costeables y accesibles es el tema económico, sociopolítico y ético determinante de nuestros tiempos. Es un reto global. Pero también es un reto para uno de los principales productores agrícolas del mundo. UC se enorgullece de haber proveído la oportunidad de discutir sobre este vital tema.
La charla de Robinson fue seguida por un panel sobre alimentos globales en el que se abordó una serie de asuntos, incluyendo el de GMO, agua, pobreza, acceso a alimentos y salud humana. Los comentarios durante el almuerzo fueron presentados por el líder sobre sustentabilidad, Wes Jackson, del Land Institute de Salina, Kansas, donde la producción agrícola bio diversa tiene gran importancia.
California juega un papel importante en el sistema alimentario global y la sesión de la tarde se dedicó a discutir temas relacionados con California. Varias instituciones, incluyendo la UC y el Departamento de Agricultura de Estados Unidos estuvieron representadas; los productores también participaron. La participación de jóvenes envueltos en el movimiento de justicia alimentaria añadió vitalidad a la discusión; la suya es la generación que sentirá por completo los efectos de las decisiones que tomemos ahora. No obstante que no se logró un consenso en cada uno de los temas, sí surgieron algunos pensamientos sobre la agricultura en California. Somos innovadores, somos de vital importancia para el suministro alimentario nacional y global, y lo que hagamos aquí importa.
Información adicional sobre el programa y los oradores está disponible.
El enlace para la transmisión se localiza en http://food2025.ucanr.edu/webcast.
Esperamos que vea la transmisión y pueda aportar a la conversación. Es algo que vale la pena tener y en lo cual todos tenemos un interés.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
With more than 1,500 individuals watching live from 34 different countries and six continents last week, the Global Food Systems Forum live webcast was a huge success. The online conversation on Twitter attracted nearly 300 participants, and the forum hashtag #Food2025 trended as the third most popular topic on Twitter during the event.
If you missed the Global Food Systems Forum webcast, videos from the event are now available online at food2025.ucanr.edu/webcast.
The online conversation will continue on Twitter using hashtag #Food2025 and on the conference blog. Please join us in our continuing discussion of how to sustainably feed the world by 2025.
View or leave comments for ANR Leadership.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.