The economy based on the cultivation and use of biomass can help fight climate change and pollution, said the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) last month (20), during Global Dome of Bioeconomy. The event held in Berlin discussed alternatives for the use of organic materials for the production of material goods and food.
Turning pineapple skins into packaging or using potato skins as fuel may seem unlikely, but these innovations gain traction when it becomes clear that an economy based on growing and using biomass can help combat pollution and climate change. A affirmation was made by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) during the Global Dome of Bioeconomy of 2018, in berlin, in Germany.
"A sustainable bioeconomy, that uses biomass - organic materials, like plants and animals – as opposed to fossil resources to produce material goods and food, it is fundamental for nature and for the people who care for and produce biomass", said Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director General for Climate and Natural Resources. She explained that this involves family farmers, foresters and fishermen, who also "have important knowledge about how to manage natural resources sustainably".
The director of FAO highlighted that the agency works with member states and other partners in the conventional sectors of the bioeconomy – agriculture, forestry and fisheries – and also with relevant technologies, like biotechnology and information technologies, to serve the agricultural sectors.
“We need to promote internationally coordinated efforts and ensure the engagement of multiple stakeholders at the local levels, national and global”, she said, noting that concrete goals are needed, means to fulfill them and cost-effective ways to measure progress.
For her, how innovation plays a key role in bioindustry, all knowledge – traditional and new – must be equally shared and supported.
feeding the world, saving the planet
While there is enough food being produced to feed the entire planet, estimates show that about 815 millions of people still suffer from chronic malnutrition due to lack of access to food.
"The bioeconomy and the income generated from the sale of bio-products make food more accessible", scored Maria Helena.
She also noted that the bioeconomy has the potential to contribute to the issue of climate change, but warned against simplification: "Just because a product is bio doesn't mean it's good for climate change; it all depends on how it is produced and, in particular, the amount or type of energy used in the process".
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