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Maybe you’re reading this while tucking into kaya toast in Kuala Lumpur, or a chapati in Chennai? Perhaps you’ve just set everything up for a barbecue in Boston, Brasilia or Brisbane? There are probably also some of you looking forward to picking up a pasty in ҹè��Ƶ. 

Before you answer, we should probably say this isn’t an undercover attempt to pry into your eating habits. But how would you feel about not being able to get your teeth into your favourite foods in the future?

At the time of writing, the global population sits at 8.2 billion people. It’s only projected to rise – and quickly – which will obviously place increasing demands on the planet’s resources. “Providing sufficient food is one of the major challenges of the 21st century,” says Professor Richard Preziosi , Head of the School of Biological and Marine Sciences. 

“But coupled with that, we’re living in a time when the demand for sustainable and healthy food has never been higher. It’s critical that the University continues developing the tools needed to support those working across a number of industries.”

For almost two decades, we’ve been working with fishing communities in Lyme Bay and along the south coast to monitor species that are regulars in the region’s restaurants. We’ve run initiatives with aquaculture companies to develop and assess new types of feed to be used in fish farms. We’ve driven projects involving regional, national and international agencies looking at ensuring we don’t degrade our soils to the point nothing can grow in them. We’ve led pioneering studies aiming to better understand and preserve animal welfare.

All of that work is continuing. But these days, if you want to keep growing tomatoes or catching trout, you don’t only need tomato growers and trout fishers. It’s why we have experts in robotics and genetic ecology looking at the use of sensors to monitor soil health and farming practices. We have marine biologists and technologists looking at the deployment of cameras and acoustic technologies to assess fish habitats and offshore aquaculture.

Other experts in computer science are working with researchers in animal behaviour on sensors and data generation that will improve welfare and efficiency in livestock production. And our expertise in controlled environment agriculture is developing systems that ensure produce can grow in urban environments, deserts and anywhere else it is required in the future.

says Dr Jennifer Rowntree , who leads our recently formed Sustainable Food Production Research Group.

“As an example, it is now possible to use satellite images and innovative agri-tech to monitor plant growth and disease, as well as degradation and water content of soil, and to see changes over time. So better decisions can be made about how best to farm sustainably without further degrading the soil in certain places.”