Meiny Prins, CEO at Priva shares her vision on 2021

Even in 2021, the world will again produce more food than necessary to feed its population. But with 40% being wasted it is not about ‘more’, but about ‘how’: more sustainable, closer to where people live, healthier and true priced.

With all the available data and technological breakthroughs I like to call the 21st century, the Century of the City.
Todays mega-cities are perfectly situated to rethink their future, as food-producing cities for its inhabitants.

Let’s start with producing food locally in urban environments.
This will set a positive chain reaction in motion so things like growing healthy produce, recycling waste water to irrigate crops and combining energy flows between farms and households will start reinforcing each other.
The knowledge and technology to produce more food per square meter – and therefore for cities to feed their own growing population – are there.

Cities will be the biggest drivers for sustainability and radical innovations. And for technological breakthroughs. Local governments will use their cities as testing grounds for new technology, as long as their major problems with air quality, sewage, water, lack of greenery, mobility, high-quality and locally grown food are resolved.

Changing the way we produce and transport food will kick-start the circular economy and stop food waste altogether. A rewarding perspective for a better quality of life, solving many environmental problems along the way!