Food production is one of the most important activities that is undertaken at scale by humankind. Currently, the world population is at around 8 billion people, all of whom need access to high-quality nutrition to allow them to lead healthy and productive lives.
The global population continues to increase, and with this comes a need to ensure that food production can take place at a level that can support the increasing numbers. Thankfully, in all areas of food production and manufacturing, technology is being used to achieve the goal of providing the world with adequate supplies of nourishment.
This article looks at three different types of technology that is commonly used in the food production industry. Some of this technology has been present for decades within the food sector although, in the case of drones, the benefits of this form of technology are just starting to be realized.
1. Use of hot air heaters
Hot air heaters are commonplace in the food and beverage industry and serve a wide range of functions. For example, hot air heaters and industrial air blowers can be used to sterilize and clean equipment and components that produce the food that we consume.
In the food industry it’s extremely important to ensure that all equipment is free of bacteria and therefore safe for human consumption. This type of technology can keep all food production factories operating safely while being free of any harmful contaminants in the production process.
Heaters and air blowers can also be used as part of creating the final food product. For example, this type of technology can be used to dry fruit and even roast coffee beans thanks to the ability to accurately control the temperatures that these products are exposed to.
2. Drones
As mentioned previously, drone technology is becoming an increasingly common sight in the food production industry. One key way it can be used is to quickly and accurately survey crops to give a precise indication of their yields and to monitor livestock. This can save considerable amounts of time as there’s no longer a need for a farmer or human worker to assess crops and livestock themselves. This can lead to the process being automated to a considerable degree.
In recent years, large industrial drones have been equipped with crop spraying apparatus to enable crop fertilizing and pest control chemicals to be sprayed onto large fields in a far shorter time than was previously achievable.
3. Genetically modified foods
The subject of genetically modified foods is one that has a mixed opinion in the eyes of the public. In the early years of this food technology, there was considerable public outcry to this form of food production. However, the use of genetically modified foods has been shown to increase crop yields by changing the genetic structure of crops to be more resilient to disease, or to grow faster.
Today, a wide range fruit and vegetables have been genetically modified to grow larger and produce a greater yield per crop. In a world that’s experiencing rapid population growth, this technology is already proving to be vital in feeding the planet.
