‘Supporting a growing population is becoming increasingly vital’

Bioengineers have proposed using an innovative method called “electrofarming” to grow food. technology This allows food to grow in the dark and greatly reduces energy use.

As Interesting Engineering reportedOur rapidly changing climate makes it difficult to grow crops efficiently and requires technological adaptations to close this gap. Traditional agriculture requires tons of resources such as land, water and fertilizer, which are under great pressure as the population increases.

That’s why bioengineers came up with this idea. growing food indoors in the dark to increase efficiency. IE report explained The process will mimic photosynthesis in plants using a solar-powered chemical reaction between carbon dioxide and water, producing acetate. The genetically modified plants will then use acetate for energy instead of sunlight, resulting in an efficiency rate four times higher than photosynthesis.

Under normal climate conditions, even if only 1% of sunlight is converted into chemical energy, photosynthesis would be efficient enough to provide food for everyone. However, with the increase in demand, harness technology So we have enough food for the future.

“Since electrofarming does not depend on climatic conditions and offers greater efficiency than conventional agriculture, it can serve as a valuable method to produce additional food when necessary,” senior author Feng Jiao told IE.

“With global climate change “Innovative food production technologies that impact agriculture are increasingly vital to stabilizing food markets and supporting growing populations.”

Researchers announced that if the electrofarming method were made commercially available, it could reduce the amount of land required for agriculture by 94%. newsletter.

Agriculture is a major contributor to our overheating planet, accounting for approximately 10% of total pollution in the United States per capita. Resources for the Future. Growing food in solar-powered indoor vertical farms will help reduce heat-trapping gases and free up land for conservation or other purposes.

The key to success with this method is to have the plants eat acetate instead of consuming sunlight for energy. While bioengineers are still trying to reengineer plants to consume acetate, we can look at fungi, algae, and yeast because they already depend on acetate for energy. This, with further research, technology Growing other crops using this process may be possible on a mass scale sooner than we thought.

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The team is currently working on growing lettuce and tomatoes using electrofarming, but hopes to produce other nutritious foods such as cassava, sweet potatoes and grains in the future.

“We have successfully grown mushrooms entirely from CO2-derived acetate. These mushrooms look and taste just like conventional mushrooms, with no noticeable differences. Other food products are still in development but are expected to have a similar taste to conventional options.” Jiao said I.E.

vertical ocean farms producing oysters and oysters and indoor farms that grow fruits and vegetablesIt is becoming an increasingly popular way to support our food supply. One way we make a difference is eating more plants and less meat For our health and our planet.

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