A better understanding of microbial communities could bring profound benefits to the agri-food sector. The EU-funded MASTER project has developed a wide range of microbiome products, foods, services and processes. These innovations are helping improve the quantity, quality, safety and sustainability of our food and farms.
Projects that successfully connect food producers to nearby consumers can struggle to be seen. The EU-funded SKIN project brought together partners from across Europe to share their knowledge. Reconnecting the two ends of the food supply chain benefits farmers and citizens alike, improving access to local resources while protecting the environment.
Ancient European hunter-gatherers have been characterised as mainly meat eaters. Yet the EU-funded HIDDEN FOODS project unearthed clear evidence that they in fact routinely ate plant-based foods. This suggests that alongside protein and fat, glucose was potentially key to the survival of the ancestors of European citizens.
By 2050, the world population may reach 10 billion people. Unfortunately, there’s not enough agricultural land available to sustainably produce the food needed to feed this many people. To help, the EU-funded FutureAgriculture project has designed a new type of crop capable of producing the amounts required to feed a rapidly growing population and to adapt to the effects of climate change.
People love tomatoes so much that they are now the most important vegetable crop worldwide. But as world temperatures rise, the risk of losing this vital source of food has become very real. The EU-funded TomGEM project has identified new varieties with better heat tolerance to ensure citizens can continue to enjoy all the tasty tomato-based foods they adore for a very long time still to come.
Farmers need access to suitable organic seed but there is a lack of high-quality organic seeds in Europe. The EU-funded LIVESEED project addressed this by developing a new organic seed quality strategy, a Europe-wide seed database and sustainable breeding techniques that target specific farming conditions. By strengthening the EU’s organic agriculture, these results will benefit all citizens.
Once the crops are planted, grown and harvested, many agricultural facilities sit unused. But converting them into bioproduction plants could extend their activity year-round - meaning more money for farmers and agriculture-based industries. To help, an EU-funded project developed and demonstrated a range of potential bio-based products that could be produced at these newly converted facilities.
An EU-funded project has pioneered new techniques to detect and share information about infectious disease outbreaks. These methods will be used in the future to improve public health responses to pandemics. Already, some of the tools devised in the project are being further developed to specifically tackle the spread of COVID-19.
What, exactly, will it take to transition to a low-emission society? Where can we make improvements? Will they be sufficient? How do the options combine? EU-funded researchers have produced a website where users can mix and match possible solutions and explore how these choices play out across key areas.
Waste is only waste if you cannot put it to good use. EU-funded researchers have developed a circular value chain deriving income sustainably from deep litter, wet straw, biogas digestate and similar residues, via products such as fertilizer, fuel pellets and substrate for mushroom and growing media for plants - and boosting biogas production in the process.
