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AS THE world鈥檚 population grows, so does its appetite. By 2050, there will be an estimated 鈥� but we may not have the resources to meet that need. Current intensive farming practices rely on huge inputs of fossil fuels, land and water. They are also inefficient, unsustainable and damage the environment. But teams of plant biologists, animal scientists and veterinarians are working to change all that, with the aim of carving a path to a future in which no one goes hungry.

One of the biggest challenges lies in cutting our overuse of resources. Take meat production, for example. . In fact, it wouldn鈥檛 be possible for the rest of the world to adopt the meat-rich diet of the average person in the US, 鈥� there just isn鈥檛 enough land on the planet.

The agriculture industry is also responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions, which result from the manufacture of fertilisers and animal feed, for example. All in all, . Ironically, climate change resulting from this is likely to harm the growing conditions of many crops, including staples such as wheat, rice and maize. At the same time, around 70 per cent of the world鈥檚 fresh water supply is used for irrigation and food production.

鈥淕lobally, we鈥檙e facing a significant increase in population, climate change and depleting fossil fuels,鈥� says , a farm animal health scientist at the University of Bristol, UK. 鈥淥ur food production system, as it is now, is probably not adequate to respond to these challenges of future food security,鈥� he says.

Eisler, who originally trained as a vet, thinks diseases that affect livestock represent an important target. Sick animals might produce lower milk yields, or fail to gain sufficient weight or reproduce. Not only do these animals waste precious food and energy resources, says Eisler, they can pose a health risk to people 鈥� bovine tuberculosis, avian flu and salmonella can all be transmitted from farm animals to humans. Eisler is working with research farms in the UK, Australia and India to find and develop alternative farming practices that reduce the spread of disease among animals.

鈥淲orking with colleagues across a range of disciplines, who include soil scientists, animal nutritionists, biochemists and vets helps put my work into the broader context,鈥� Eisler says. 鈥� Together we might be making some contribution to the broader challenges of global health, sustainable food production and the viability of the growing human population that are facing society.鈥�

, a plant scientist at the UK Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA), focuses on crops. 鈥淧art of the issue we have is that, globally, we lose a whole lot of what we grow to pests and disease,鈥� he says. A single disease-causing pathogen can wreak a vast amount of damage in the agricultural industry. For example, the fungus-like Phytophthora infestans, which causes potato blight, is thought to destroy around 拢3.5 billion worth of potatoes globally every year.

The first step in tackling crop diseases is to catch them before they spread. Farmers and FERA plant health inspectors routinely take samples from plants and send them to laboratories, where they are subjected to lengthy and expensive screens for pathogens. Mumford鈥檚 team has been working on a simpler, portable system that can be used by farmers or inspectors themselves, in the field. The system amplifies pathogen DNA for faster identification. The device will be put to use later this year by FERA health inspectors based at Heathrow airport in London, who will use it to test imported fruit, vegetables and other fresh produce for disease-causing agents.

While this kind of technology plays an important role in monitoring disease, inspectors themselves must be up to the job. FERA plant health inspectors tend to hold degrees in biology and horticulture, and receive on-the-job training to recognise pests and diseases by eye. Statisticians also play a key role in developing sampling strategies that aid better detection, while engineers develop devices to diagnose plant disease.

Mumford himself followed up an undergraduate degree in plant biology with a PhD in plant virus diagnostics at the Central Science Laboratory, now FERA. This helped him to pursue a career in plant health beyond academia, he says. 鈥淚 think that the sort of experience gained by working in an industry or government science lab is really important and I would encourage people to do that.鈥�

Meanwhile, , a plant biologist at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, is more concerned about the nutritional value of the world鈥檚 diet. 鈥淧eople tend to think of food security as producing enough food for everyone in the world to eat, but there鈥檚 absolutely no point in having an objective to provide enough unhealthy fast foods to eat,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t is the nutritious quality of the food that鈥檚 important 鈥� everyone should have access to sufficient nutritious food for an active and healthy life.鈥�

Martin is working on ways to boost the nutritional content of existing fruits and vegetables. For example, she has attempted to make tomatoes even healthier by genetically modifying them to produce a compound called anthocyanin. This antioxidant, which naturally occurs in blueberries and plums, also turns the tomatoes a deep shade of purple.

In addition, the compound appears to extend the shelf life of fruit. When Martin compared the shelf life of her purple tomatoes with that of regular tomatoes, she found that . She hopes that the modified plant could help reduce the number of tomatoes thrown away by UK households each year, .

鈥淥ne of the things that I find most interesting here is that we are very much applied scientists,鈥� Mumford says. 鈥淚 particularly enjoy the idea of doing something with tangible results.鈥� Martin agrees. 鈥淚 love the idea that some of the work I do could actually benefit people,鈥� she says.

鈥淚 love the idea that the work I do could actually benefit people鈥�

This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淎 lot on their plate鈥�