Renewable energy and food safety do not seem to overlap, but they directly influence one another to create a more sustainable planet. Eco-friendly food safety happens with renewable energy, and responsible energy use correlates with sustainable farming and storing practices.
Workforces in the renewable energy industry can bolster agriculture’s cleanliness and efficiency by implementing and advocating for renewable energy access. Food safety does not stop after harvesting, so the agricultural and food processing sectors must find unique ways to employ renewable energy for better, healthier products.
Realizing Where Renewable Energy Could Help
It starts with analyzing where the food industry uses electricity, and seeing how standardization and technology take it to the next level. Many machines and technologies used to preserve or harvest food use copious amounts of fossil fuels and energy, sometimes impacting the product’s health. Safety involves more than the food's health — it also encompasses food security and eliminating food scarcity worldwide.
Agriculture and the food industry are responsible for over 30% of the world’s energy use, compounding upon its severe greenhouse gas emissions from methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide from operational necessities. Renewable energy could minimize these costs and resources, improving output and nutrient density.
Other essential metrics about developing countries where agriculture is more prominent cite the specifics on where the food sector could improve most with renewables:
- 45% of energy is for food processing and distribution
- 30% goes into sales, considering preparation and cooking
- 25% lies within production, which includes crops, livestock and fisheries
Standardizing Farming Accessibility
Knowing the source of the most energy consumption can help farmers acquire and install renewable energy like wind, hydropower, and solar for each phase of food production. However, not all farms have the same degree of equipment, and not all countries provide the same assistance or subsidies for agricultural development.
Renewable energy workers and advocates can start organizations, lobby for benchmarks and vote for legislation that helps continue advancement. For example, the United States has the Food and Agricultural Organization with its Energy-Smart Food for People and Climate program, which gets low-carbon energy to places that need it most.
The food industry needs to keep food safe from pests, and store and transport them in ways that keep them safe and clean without relying on unclean, environmentally dangerous methods. Agricultural independence starts with addressing the needs of developing countries that will be the main contributors to population growth and agricultural production in the upcoming decades.
These countries already do not have adequate machinery, energy generation, or supplies to increase efficiency and sanitation on their farms, making the urgency to adopt renewable energy for cleaner technology more essential. Giving them more tools for cleaner farming and food safety will improve family livelihoods and national economies. For example, farmers with solar fields could rely on solar irrigation, regularly providing more consistent and cleaner water stores to their crops.
Refreshing Old Technology
Switching to smart, clean tech is the most reasonable option for innovating and decarbonizing antiquated operations. These include renewable energy generators like solar panels, but it also considers equipment that runs on renewable power instead of oil or gas.
Additionally, these newer technologies will be more capable of handling population increases, therefore managing more food processing demand. The additional benefits smart tech run on renewable energy could provide are:
- Automation
- Irrigation
- Fertilization
- Moisture control in storage systems
- Quality assurance for package sealing
- Crop health analysis
- Invasive species data
- Predictions for yields
All these empower farmers to make smarter decisions about their food safety and security. The more farmers worldwide leverage technology, the more productive and healthy crops become, increasing yields while reducing waste.
Embracing new tech allows farmers to see how their food travels, and how to protect their exports more thoughtfully to prevent foodborne illness or the transferral of pests to grocery store shelves. Every stage informs process discovery for safer, more efficient agricultural practices — all because of renewable energy.
The Link Between Food and Eco-Friendly Energy
Renewable energy helps farmers’ independence and resilience with the safety and well-being of their crop output. Those working in renewable energy can continue regulatory and legislative discourse to help spread these technologies to those who need them most, eliminating food scarcity and improving the health of food stores worldwide.