At the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), experts and interested parties come together at the beginning of the year to discuss key future issues of global agricultural and food policy. Due to the pandemic, the 14th edition of the World Food Conference will take place online from January 24 to 28.
Microplastics are not only found in oceans and inland waters, but also in aquacultures. Consequently, they enter the food chain via fish. One of the reasons for this are so-called growth bodies, which are used in closed pond systems for water treatment. The problem: these filters are made of petroleum-based plastics. Researchers at Hof University of Applied Sciences have come up with an alternative for aquaponics, the joint cultivation of fish and vegetables.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a major component of the cannabis plant and is known primarily for its intoxicating effects. In a weakened form, the natural substance has also long been used in medicine to alleviate neurological diseases and pain. However, isolating the natural substance in pure form from the hemp plant is very costly. Therefore, such plant compounds are increasingly produced biotechnologically using bacteria such as Escherichia coli or the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Many people associate Katjes primarily with fruit gums and licorice. But the confectionery company from Emmerich am Rhein has also been one of the pioneers of vegan confectionery for years. The company has long dispensed with animal gelatin in the manufacture of its products. As early as 2016, it converted its entire Katjes range in Germany to vegetarian products. With Katjes Greenfood, the confectionery manufacturer has also established a platform to further promote plant-based foods.
Susanne Baldermann cares about the nutrition of the future. Her research goal: to enable healthy nutrition within planetary boundaries. A stay in Japan had inspired the food chemist with a doctorate in algae research, but also sharpened her eye for sustainable food production. She sees modern agricultural systems such as vertical farming as a way to ensure a healthy diet in the future. To this end, Baldermann is also targeting secondary plant compounds from indoor vegetables and herbs.
In its overall balance, natural gas is a similarly strong driver of climate change as petroleum. An alternative to this would be climate-neutral methane that is compatible with the existing infrastructure. Electrochaea, based in Planegg near Munich, promises to produce just such methane, and has now received €14.9 million from the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund) for further growth. This brings the Series D funding round to a total of €36 million. According to Electrochaea, this is the world's largest financing round for a power-to-methane company.
As part of the bioeconomy strategy published in 2020 "Zukunft.Bioökonomie.Bayern" ("Future. Bioeconomy. Bavaria"), the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs has launched a funding program to strengthen the industrial bioeconomy. With "Bioeconomy Scale-Up", companies are supported in setting up production facilities that use renewable raw materials with high added value and positive climate effects. These include biorefinery concepts and bioproduct plants.
Since 2014, the Association for General and Applied Microbiology (VAAM) has annually selected a significant organism from the field of microbiology. With this year's decision for the eukaryotic unicellular organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the choice has fallen on one of the oldest and best-known production organisms in biotechnology.
Chocolate, potato chips and organic fuel all have one thing in common - they all contain the popular resource palm oil. However, the cultivation of palm oil is controversial. Worldwide, around 19 million hectares of rainforest have already been cleared for this purpose. This not only releases large quantities of the greenhouse gas CO2, but also destroys important habitats for flora and fauna.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator has distributed €627 million to 99 startups and SMEs in its latest and largest funding round to date. Twelve German companies were among the beneficiaries - including BIOWEG, CO2BioClean and Genome Biologics. The funds come from the Horizon Europe program.