Ag Tech Sunday - Are our food systems ready for the fourth agricultural revolution?

By: "Farm Tender" News
Ag Company News
Oct 27, 2018
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By Ashley Rootsey

The future of food is fast approaching, so our agrifood industries must brace themselves for transparency.

For decades now it has become increasingly easy for urban populations to lose touch with their food, meaning that current generations are more removed from the processes that drive the food that sits on ours plates than ever before. Here in Australia, this has been well-documented and has revealed itself through the ongoing issues plaguing our nation such as the obesity epidemic and our $8b food waste problem.

In our time-poor society, the competitiveness of the retail sector has and will continue to ensure that we as consumers are being gifted a level of convenience when it comes to sourcing and preparing our food that is likely unprecedented in history.

This convenience has fuelled the expansion of the cognitive gap between farm and fork for the majority of city-based eaters. Plus the globalisation of food systems and trade now means that even the most fundamental characteristics of primary food production — such as the seasonality of fruits and vegetables — are being overcome and disregarded.

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While there are undoubtedly growing food movements that champion clean, green, local and sustainable production, these groups remain niche. Only sub-sectors of society are currently willing to pay the premiums required for an understanding of the journey their food takes before in ends up on their plates.

However, this all is about to change.

Whether we like it or not, there is a data-driven digital revolution that is going to shape the future of food consumption across the globe.

The changes have already begun at the farm level — If farmers are going to come anywhere close to meeting the dietary needs of the world’s expanding populations, data-driven farming will continue to become the norm. And the drive for knowledge of food provenance from regulatory and consumption quality perspectives, will ensure that this technology will end up in the hands of the general customer.

This means that a thorough knowledge of where your food comes from and how its made will no longer be confined to the niches. It is likely this deep insight into our food will be available to anyone and everyone with a smartphone and even the slightest sense of curiosity.

This revolution will consist of digital tools (apps or otherwise) that can spell out the exact step-by-step traceability of a food product from paddock to plate. Meaning that we will have full transparency of even the most basic of our foods.

We’ll be able to know the diet of the cow that makes up our beef patties, the chemicals that were sprayed on the wheat that makes the flour in our bread buns, and the time and place that the tomatoes were picked before they were processed into the sauce that we squirt from the bottle. And that’s just a simple hamburger; any additional ingredients will bring a plethora of new information.

This futuristic-feeling technology will be in our hands much sooner than we expect — certainly within this generation.

So the question is; are the global food systems ready for digital transparency of our agricultural supply chains?

Are they ready for consumers to be confronted with the ins and outs of animal farming systems and processing methods? Are they ready to reveal the timing of storage and logistics of produce before it is sold as “fresh”? Are they ready to expose the working conditions of farmers in major cocoa and coffee exporting nations of the developing world? The questions go on…

Hopefully the answer is yes.

The upcoming revolution of the food consumption system as we know it will completely transform the connection consumers have with their food. Global food systems will be put under the microscope with a brighter light and a stronger focus than ever before.

For some this will be a blessing whilst for others a curse. What will be the consequences for businesses, value chains and even entire industries if the general populace don’t like what they see?

The social, economic and political shifts that may spring from an exposed food system will certainly be a sight to behold.

I look forward to watching this space with you.