by Jalen Blackwell
6th grade at Gerstell Academy (Finksburg, MD)
Second place
According to the United Nations, up to 811 million people face hunger daily. The United Nations set a goal of zero hunger by 2030, but the world is not on track to meet this goal. By 2030, over 840 million people are expected to still be hungry. What is even more unsettling is that the world produces in excess of 1 1/2 times the amount of food needed to feed everyone on earth. The contrast between the amount of food produced and the number of people without food is devastating. Food waste, poor infrastructure, and climate change are significant contributing factors to this disparity. Fortunately, engineers are problem-solvers who use critical thinking and engineering design to lead the way in developing innovative and sustainable solutions to end hunger.
Approximately 1,000 tons of food are wasted every minute. A lack of access to food storage technologies contributes significantly to food waste. Fresh food frequently spoils before consumption, especially in rural areas and developing countries where electricity is limited and costly. A cost-effective and climate-positive engineering design used to prevent food waste from spoilage is the "pot-in-pot refrigerator" (Zeer), created by Nigerian Mohammed Bah Abba. The Zeer is a small pot inside a larger pot with wet sand between them covered by a wet cloth. As water evaporates, the temperature of the inner pot decreases, creating a refrigeration effect without needing electricity. Abba created an alternative to the original evaporative cooling system technology, resulting in an all-natural, non-electric, and economical version that extends the life of perishable foods from days to weeks and reduces food waste in rural and poor communities.
Poor infrastructure also prevents people from receiving food. It is virtually impossible to transport food using conventional vehicles through countries with rocky terrain like Bolivia, which has the highest malnutrition rate in South America. Unmanned Arial Vehicles or drones, an emerging technology led by engineers, are being tested to transport food. Drones present a better alternative to cars, boats, and planes for food delivery in remote areas due to their speed, compact size, ability to be controlled virtually, and ability to initiate food delivery within minutes. Drones can also capture aerial footage and data to ensure efficient and accurate food delivery to people who need it most. Collecting this data could assist in discovering new communities fighting hunger, allowing engineers to collaborate with humanitarian aid professionals to get food to more people in the future.
Food is frequently lost before harvest and never reaches hungry people in need. A study by Global Citizen found, "40 percent of all edible crops face imminent extinction, due to constantly changing climate conditions." High temperatures, water scarcity, extreme events, and higher CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere are responsible for killing many crops worldwide. The genomes of many bananas have a virus that, when triggered by drought and intense heat, can cause farmers to lose their harvests. An engineering solution being developed by Bioengineer Jennifer Brophy is genetically engineering crops to survive climate change. This engineering technology can help plants grow in various conditions, such as retaining more water during a drought by changing the genome of crops and figuring out how to activate specific genes on command.
World hunger is a complex problem, and engineers play an essential role in discovering sustainable solutions. However, the underrepresentation of minorities in engineering must also be addressed if the world hopes to reach its zero-hunger goal. According to the National Science Foundation, minorities occupy only 33% of science and engineering fields. Hunger disproportionately affects African-Americans, women, children, and other underrepresented populations. Engineers who represent these communities develop a deeper understanding of the causes of hunger and better understand the people they are designing solutions for. Diversity in engineering is necessary for sustainable and inclusive solutions to food waste, poor infrastructure, and climate change, which have contributed to 1 in 9 people worldwide going hungry each day.
Annotated Bibliography
Goal 2: Zero Hunger, End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. unstats.un.org. No Author or Date Available.
https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2021/goal-02/
This article is about the world hunger crisis and provides facts and statistics about the number of people suffering worldwide from hunger.
Foley, J. (n.d.) The Future of Food, Where will we find enough food for 9 billion? A Five-step plan to feed the world. Nationalgeographic.com.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/feeding-9-billion/
This article is about five steps that can be taken to increase food production while reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment.
Zuckerman. A. (2020, May 7). 48 Food Waste Statistics 2020/2021: Causes, Impact & Solutions. Comparecamp.com.
https://comparecamp.com/food-waste-statistics/
This article provides statistics about where food waste occurs, the impact of food waste, and possible solutions for food waste.
Mohammed Bah Abba, Cool Food In The Desert. (2000). Rolex.org. No Author Available.
https://www.rolex.org/rolex-awards/applied-technology/mohammed-bah-abba
This article is about how Mohammed Bah Abba created a “desert refrigerator” to conserve perishable foods and improved the lives and incomes of farmers.
Food Delivery Drone. (2021, January 13). Airbornedrones.co. No Author Available.
https://www.airbornedrones.co/food-delivery-drone/
This article discusses the different challenges and specifications required to develop a successful food delivery drone.
Howes, L. (2020, February 10). How we’ll reengineer crops for a changing climate. Chemical & Engineering News.
https://cen.acs.org/food/agriculture/ll-reengineer-crops-changing-climate/98/i6
This article discusses how making genetic changes to food crops can protect crops and plants against climate change.
Levin, D. (2022, January 28). Can we engineer crops to withstand climate change? Stanford University.
https://engineering.stanford.edu/magazine/can-we-engineer-crops-withstand-climate-change
This article is about how an Assistant Professor of bioengineering at Stanford is working on methods to enable plants to survive a variety of harsh climate conditions.