The Futuristic Farms That Will Feed the World | Freethink | Future of Food

Summary

The Netherlands, facing the global food system's immense pressure, has emerged as a food superpower through sustainable production. With a commitment to double food output using half the resources, they've become the world's second-largest food exporter. Their advanced greenhouse technology yields 20 times more tomatoes per square meter with a quarter of the water. The Dutch innovation in agriculture, including AI and drone technology, is a model for global efficiency, aiming to share their knowledge worldwide to address food scarcity challenges.

Takeaways

• 🌱 The world faces a significant challenge in securing food production due to population growth, changes in consumption behavior, and the climate crisis.
• 🌍 Achieving sustainable food production is crucial to reduce inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides, and water, to prevent environmental degradation.
• 🌟 The Netherlands has emerged as a food superpower by focusing on sustainable production and efficiency, becoming the world's second-largest food exporter.
• 📈 The key to tackling the global food challenge lies in producing more with less land and fewer natural resources, as exemplified by the Dutch approach.
• 🏭 The Netherlands has a national commitment to produce twice as much food with half the resources, which has driven innovation and efficiency in agriculture.
• 🚀 Dutch greenhouse operations are a prime example of sustainable production, with yields 20 times higher and using four times less water compared to open fields.
• 💡 High technology in Dutch agriculture allows for precise control of growing conditions, from LED lighting to moth-killing drones, enhancing both yield and sustainability.
• 🌡️ The Dutch have perfected greenhouses as environments for continuous testing and optimization of growth, leveraging AI and sensor technology for autonomous climate control.
• 🌱 The Dutch lead the world in tomato yield and are among the top producers of various vegetables, achieving high yields with minimal resources.
• 🔬 At the World Horti Center, ongoing experiments aim to replicate any climate on Earth to adapt Dutch agricultural techniques for global application.
• 🌐 The Netherlands aims to be a developer for the rest of the world, exporting knowledge on creating production facilities and fostering global collaboration for innovation in agriculture.

Q & A

What is one of the world's most pressing challenges mentioned in the script?

The security of the food system is identified as one of the world's most pressing challenges.

What would be the consequence if everyone on Earth ate the diet of the average American?

If everyone on Earth ate the diet of the average American, all habitable land would need to be used for agriculture, and there would still be a 38% shortage.

What is the key to sustainable agriculture according to the script?

The key to sustainable agriculture is to produce more with less inputs, including less fertilizer, fewer pesticides, and less water.

Which country has become the world's number two food exporter by focusing on sustainable production?

The Netherlands has become the world's number two food exporter by focusing on sustainable production.

What is the result of the close collaboration between the government, science organizations, and the industry in the Netherlands?

The close collaboration has led to a shared goal of sustainable production and has driven efficiency on a level unmatched anywhere else in the world.

What is an example of the efficiency of Dutch greenhouse growing operations?

In the Netherlands, high-tech greenhouses can produce 80 kilograms of tomatoes per square meter, which is 20 times more than an open field situation in Spain.

How does the water usage in Dutch greenhouses compare to open field situations for tomato production?

Dutch greenhouses use four times less water to produce 80 kilograms of tomatoes per square meter compared to an open field situation.

What is the significance of the moth-killing drone in Dutch greenhouses?

The moth-killing drone is an example of high technology used to control pests without the need for human intervention, thereby improving efficiency in greenhouse operations.

How does the Netherlands lead the world in tomato yield while using less water?

The Netherlands leads the world in tomato yield by using high-tech greenhouses that optimize growth conditions, allowing for higher yields with significantly less water usage.

What is the role of AI in the latest Dutch greenhouse technology?

AI is used to learn plant behavior and constantly adjust conditions in the greenhouse without any input from a farmer, leading to more efficient and automated growing techniques.

What is the World Horti Center's ongoing experiment aiming to achieve?

The ongoing experiment at the World Horti Center aims to replicate any climate on earth within a greenhouse to figure out what modifications need to be made to achieve the same yields in different countries.

What does the future of the Netherlands in the global food production landscape look like according to the script?

The future of the Netherlands is not to be a producer for the rest of the world but to be a developer, exporting knowledge on creating production facilities all over the world.

Outlines

00:00

🌱 Sustainable Food Production Challenges

The script addresses the immense pressure on the global food system due to population growth, changing consumption patterns, and the climate crisis. It emphasizes the need for sustainable production methods that use fewer resources like fertilizers, pesticides, and water. The Netherlands is highlighted as a food superpower, achieving high efficiency in food production with less environmental impact. The country's commitment to sustainable practices and innovation is underscored, with a focus on greenhouse growing operations that yield 20 times more tomatoes per square meter with a quarter of the water compared to open fields.

05:01

🚀 Dutch Innovations in Global Food Solutions

This paragraph delves into the Netherlands' role as a developer and exporter of agricultural knowledge rather than just a food producer. It discusses the World Horti Center's experiment with a 'greenhouse within a greenhouse' that can replicate any global climate to optimize crop yields. The Dutch are working on projects with countries like Columbia to emulate and adapt their climates for better agricultural outcomes. The narrative concludes with a call for collective innovation and the sharing of knowledge to tackle the global food challenge, hinting at a future series on the 'Future of Cities' and inviting viewers to subscribe for updates.

Keywords

💡Food System

The 'food system' refers to the complex network of activities involved in the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food. In the video, the food system is under pressure due to population growth and changing consumption behaviors, highlighting the need for sustainable production methods to secure food production without harming the planet.

💡Sustainable Production

Sustainable production in the context of the video means growing food with minimal environmental impact, using fewer inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and water. It is a key concept as it represents the approach needed to prevent the destruction of the planet while meeting the food demands of a growing population.

💡Food Security

Food security is the state where all people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. The video discusses food security as a pressing global challenge, emphasizing the need for efficient and sustainable food production to meet the dietary needs of an expanding population.

💡Efficiency

In the script, 'efficiency' pertains to the ability to produce more food using less land and fewer natural resources. It is central to the video's theme as it illustrates the concept of maximizing output while minimizing environmental impact, which is crucial for sustainable agriculture.

💡Netherlands

The Netherlands is highlighted in the video as a country that has become a food superpower through its commitment to sustainable production. It is the world's second-largest food exporter, demonstrating that it has 'cracked the code' on producing high yields with minimal resources.

💡Greenhouse Growing Operations

Greenhouse growing operations are a type of agriculture that takes place in controlled environments, allowing for the manipulation of conditions to optimize plant growth. The video uses the Netherlands' greenhouses as an example of how technology and innovation can lead to significantly higher yields with reduced resource use.

💡Yield

Yield refers to the amount of crop produced per unit area. The video emphasizes the high yield per square meter achieved in Dutch greenhouses as a testament to the efficiency and sustainability of their agricultural practices.

💡Water Conservation

Water conservation is the act of using water resources wisely to protect them. The script points out that Dutch greenhouses use four times less water to produce 80 kilograms of tomatoes compared to open fields, illustrating the importance of water conservation in sustainable food production.

💡Innovation

Innovation in the context of the video refers to the development and implementation of new ideas and technology to improve agricultural practices. Examples include the use of LED lights to increase pest resistance and AI to optimize growing conditions, showcasing the Dutch approach to continuous improvement in agriculture.

💡Climate Control

Climate control in the video is about the ability to manipulate environmental conditions to suit plant growth. The Netherlands uses advanced greenhouse technologies to create ideal growing environments, allowing for the production of high yields with minimal resources.

💡Knowledge Export

Knowledge export is the sharing of expertise and information with other countries. The video suggests that the Netherlands' future role should be as a developer and exporter of its agricultural knowledge, helping other countries to create efficient production facilities and adopt sustainable practices.

Highlights

Indication of the pressure on the food system due to population growth, changing consumption behavior, and the climate crisis.

The key to securing food production is sustainable production with less input: less fertilizer, pesticides, and water.

The story of how a small country became an unexpected food superpower offers answers to global food challenges.

If everyone on earth ate the average American diet, all habitable land would be required for agriculture, and we'd still be 38% short.

With two billion more people, the focus must be on efficiency: producing more on existing land using fewer natural resources.

The Netherlands has become the world's number two food exporter by committing to produce twice the amount of food with half the resources.

Close collaboration between the government, science organizations, and industry in the Netherlands led to sustainable production.

Dutch greenhouse operations are the most efficient globally, yielding 20 times more tomatoes with four times less water compared to open field production.

High-tech greenhouses in the Netherlands allow for the continuous testing and implementation of growth optimization techniques.

Innovations include LED lights to increase pest resistance and improve nutritional value, and drones to detect and eliminate moths.

AI and climate computers in greenhouses can autonomously adjust conditions based on plant activity.

The World Horti Center replicates any global climate to adapt Dutch greenhouse yields to different countries.

Collaboration with Columbia to mimic their climate and improve crop yields demonstrates the exportability of Dutch greenhouse technology.

The Netherlands aims to be a developer of agricultural production facilities worldwide, rather than just a food producer.

Bringing networks together is crucial for innovation in sustainable agriculture, highlighting the need for collaboration.

Transcripts

And that gives a little bit of an indication

of the pressure on the food system.

We just face a huge challenge.

With the growth in population, with the change

in consumption behavior.

With the climate crisis, how do you secure

your food production?

The real secret is the sustainable production.

It should be with less inputs, with less fertilizer,

less pesticides, less water.

It needs to be sustainable.

Otherwise, we will destroy our planet, yeah?

- [Narrator] The security of the food system is one

of the world's most pressing challenges.

But the story of how this small country became

an unexpected food superpower might just

have some answers for how we tackle it.

Consider this: if everyone on earth ate the diet

of the average American, that would require

all the habitable land to be used for agriculture,

and we'd still be 38% short.

And that's right now.

What do we do when there are two billion more people?

Well, the key is more exciting than it sounds,

and that's efficiency.

Basically, how do we produce a lot more on the land

we're already using, and do it using a lot

fewer natural resources.

- When it comes to sustainable agriculture,

one country has seemed to crack the code.

Bolstered by a national commitment to produce

twice the amount of food with half the resources,

the Netherlands has become the world's

number two food exporter.

(upbeat music)

- It was very close collaboration between the government,

science organizations, and the industry.

And they started out of a common interest.

So they say, okay, we want to go for sustainable production,

but everybody was aligned.

- [Interviewer] Everyone involved in the system

was aligned and embraced innovation to reach

that shared goal, and that has driven efficiency

on a level unmatched anywhere else in the world.

If there's one place that approach is most clear,

it's in their unrivaled greenhouse growing operations.

- There's a very nice example of about tomato

which really gets a good insight on how we want

to produce our foods in sustainable ways.

So, if you produced tomatoes in an open field situation

in Spain, then you will, uh, end up at the

end of the growing season with four kilograms

per square meter.

If you do this in a high tech greenhouse in

the Netherlands at the moment, you will end up with

80 kilograms per square meter which is 20 times more.

But the best part of the story is that the 80 kilograms

of tomatoes, we do it with four times less water

compared to an open field situation.

Water is one of the big challenges that we face.

Just had a cup of coffee.

Do you know how many liters of water were needed to

produce that cup of coffee?

Rough guess.

- [Interviewer] Ten?

- 150.

So, high technology offers, really, a possibility of

producing a lot of food per square meter

in a sustainable way.

- [Interviewer] The Dutch lead the world in tomato yield

while using a fraction of the water that

other countries use.

But it's not just tomatoes.

Measured by yield per square mile,

they're the world leader in the production

of chilies, and green peppers, and cucumbers.

Number five for potatoes, onions, and carrots.

The list goes on.

But the bottom line is they've been able to get

so much out of so little.

- If we are able to produce 80 times more

with four times less water,

that's, that's great.

That's great news.

- [Interviewer] Most people know that greenhouses

allow a grower to tweak every little thing,

but the Netherlands is taking it to the next level.

They've perfected the greenhouse as the ideal

environment to continuously test and implement

all kinds of ways to optimize growth.

From things as simple as testing what hues

of LED lights can increase pest resistance

and improve nutritional value,

to things as crazy as moth killing drones.

- So we're, at the moment, we don't have any products

who can control actually the moths.

And then finally they will produce caterpillars,

and those caterpillars they can do a lot of harm

to many different crops.

A drone is able to detect the moth.

Also, to see how it's flying and with it wings,

propellers will just, will just

crush, actually, the moth.

- [Interviewer] Wow.

There's a relentless drive towards innovation to

create better and more efficient growing techniques.

They've even started taking the human touch

completely out of it.

Some of the latest tech relies on AI to learn

plant behavior and constantly adjust conditions

without any input from a farmer.

- For example, what we're testing in this

compartment is a climate computer.

So we have different sensors,

and it actually, we measure the plant activity.

Based on plant activity, the computer

is actually controlling the whole climate by itself.

- [Interviewer] Ultimately, the key to solving

our global food challenge isn't just in relying

on super efficient food producers to carry the

weight for everyone else, it's learning from and

adopting that technology.

At the World Horti Center, you see that effort

first hand in an ongoing experiment.

They've built, basically, a greenhouse within a greenhouse.

Inside the largest structure,

they're able to replicate any climate on earth

to figure out what modifications need to be made

to realize the same yields they're getting in

the Netherlands in any other country on earth.

- We have a cooperative project going on with Columbia.

And we can, in fact, mimic, we can emulate the climate,

the current climate conditions in Columbia,

put their crop in and see how crop behaves under the

circumstances that we have in Columbia.

We can totally flip the seasons around.

We can make it a sunny day on Christmas.

We can close the curtains on a sunny day and

make it completely dark.

- [Jeroen] I think, in the long run, the future of the

Netherlands should not be to be a producer for

the rest of the world.

We should be a developer for the rest of the world.

- We are the country that will export our knowledge

on creating production facilities all over the world.

- Innovation starts, really, by bringing all

these networks together.

In the world we live now a days, you need to link

up with other people.

You can't do it on your own.

We need to produce more.

We need to do it with less inputs.

And we need to do it better.

Thanks for watching.

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