By Tony Hunter, food futurist
Global protein demand will rise by 50 -70% from 2020 to 2050. The two factors dominating this requirement are undoubtedly global population growth and the rise of the middle classes in Asia and Africa.
With global demographics everyone talks about millennials, Gen Z, or both. But if we’re looking to the future of 2030, 2040 and beyond, we need to be looking at the generation that comes after Gen Z, Gen Alpha. By 2030, there will be some 2 billion Gen Alphas on the planet, the biggest generation the planet has ever seen. They’ll represent nearly 25% of the global population.
The important thing to realise about Gen Z and especially the upcoming Gen Alpha is that they’re not just digital natives, but technology natives. They’ve grown up with private companies launching rockets into space, mRNA vaccines, drones, dancing robots from Boston Dynamics and, probably in their lifetime, a colony on Mars. They will be the most technologically savvy generations to have existed, they won’t know any other reality.
And research on Gen Z shows that they’re likely to accept a much higher level of technology in the manufacture of their food than other generations. One study showed that 77% of Gen Z would try food made using technology versus 67% from millennials, with Gen X and Boomers tied at 58%. Gen Alpha will likely view the use of technology in their food even more positively than Gen Z and as Gen Alpha age their values will drive the long term Future of Food.
It’s this acceptance of technology that improves our chances in feeding the world. That’s because there’s simply not enough arable land or fresh water on the planet to meet future food demands by simply scaling conventional agriculture. Unless of course we deforest the entire planet, and that probably won’t end well. We’re going to need a raft of new food production technologies if we’re to feed the world sustainably and equitably in 2050. With the rise of Gen Alpha and their likely acceptance of new food technologies the future of food looks a lot brighter!
Tony Hunter is a global futurist, food scientist, speaker, and foresight strategy consultant. He consults and speaks globally, using his distinctive combination of scientific qualifications, business experience, and detailed understanding of exponential food technologies to deliver a unique perspective on the future of food.
