Nanotechnology in Food & Agriculture

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Time to choose sustainable food and farmingProducing enough safe, healthyfood to meet the needs of all globalcitizens, and doing so in an ecologicallysustainable and socially just manner,will be a growing challenge in thedecades ahead. Proponents ofnanotechnology predict that it willdeliver more environmentally benignagricultural systems which are also vastlymore productive - the solution both toenvironmental degradation associatedwith conventional agriculture, as wellas to widespread hunger. HoweverFriends of the Earth is concerned thatwhile nanotechnology may deliverefficiencies in some areas, on balanceit may introduce more health andenvironmental problems than it solves,while doing nothing to redress the rootcauses of existing inequities in globalfood distribution.Nanotechnology is unlikely to deliverenvironmentally sustainable foodsystemsNanotechnology in agriculture standsin contrast to growing public supportfor more environmentally sustainablefood production. Against the backdrop of climate change, there is amounting recognition that meeting agreater proportion of our food needson a regional basis, reducing thegreenhouse gas emissions associatedwith food production and transport, andusing less fossil-fuel intensive agriculturalinputs makes environmental sense. Yet,nanotechnology appears likely to resultin new pressures to globalise each sectorof the agriculture and food system andto transport agricultural chemicals, seedsand farm inputs, unprocessed agriculturalcommodities and processed foods overeven further distances at each stage inthe production chain.Nano agrochemicals designed forcontrolled self-release in response tochanging environmental conditions andnano-sensor based farm managementsystems, aim to enable larger scales ofproduction of more uniform crops. Inthis way, nanotechnology entrenchesand expands the industrial scale modelof monoculture agriculture which hasresulted in rapid losses of agricultural and32| NANOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD & AGRICULTURE
iological diversity over the past century.Nanotechnology in agriculture appearslikely to entrench our dependence ona chemical-intensive system at a timewhen there is increasing public supportfor organic farming that reduces the useof chemicals (Feder 2006). Becausenano-pesticides are designed to bemore potent weed and pest killers, theymay also prove more toxic to non-targetwildlife than conventional agrochemicals.If these nano agrochemicals arebiopersistent, they could simply introducea new generation of hazardous pollutioninto soils and waterways.Worldwide food systems are in troubleThe world produces more than enoughfood to meet the dietary needs ofour population of 6.6 billion, but thedistribution of this food is extremelyinequitable (FAO 2006). While over 300million people are now clinically obese(WHO 2007) more than 850 million peopleexperience extreme hunger (FAO 2007a).Over 2.5 billion people world-wide relyon agriculture to make a living (OxfamAustralia undated). However control ofthe global food system, valued at US$4trillion, is held by a dwindling number ofmultinational companies (U.S. DoA ERS2005). Food distribution and retail sales areconcentrated in the hands of a few bigcompanies, who exert a great influenceover product supply, and who play akey role in determining which cropsfarmers grow, where and at what price(Reardon et al. 2003; WHO Europe2007).This disparity between who producesagricultural products and who ownsand profits from them is one of the majorfactors in the growing inequity in accessto food. It has also resulted in theparadox where many of the peoplethat experience extreme hunger includepeople who are engaged in successfulfarming.Nanotechnology could make existinginequities worseBy underpinning the next wave oftechnological transformation of theglobal agriculture and food industry,nanotechnology appears likely tofurther expand the market share ofmajor agrochemical companies, foodprocessors and food retailers (Scrinisand Lyons 2007). Nano track andtrace technologies will enable globalprocessors, retailers and suppliers tooperate even more efficiently over largergeographic areas, giving them a strongcompetitive advantage over smalleroperators. Nano food packaging willextend food shelf life, enabling it to betransported over even further distanceswhile reducing the incidence of foodspoilage, significantly reducing the costsof global suppliers and retailers. Potentnano agrochemicals are beingdeveloped by the major agrochemicalcompanies and appear likely to furtherconcentrate their market share in whatis already a highly concentrated sector(ETC Group 2005).Furthermore, nano-encapsulatedpesticides, fertilisers and plant growthtreatments designed to release theiractive ingredients in response toenvironmental triggers could enable evenlarger areas of cropland to be farmedby even fewer people. Nanotechnologyenabled remote farm surveillanceand automated farm managementsystems could dramatically accelerateexisting trends towards large-scale, hightechnologyagricultural production,requiring almost no on-farm labour (ETCGroup 2004; Scrinis and Lyons 2007).Some observers see the potentiallygreater efficiencies associated withautomated nanomanagement systemsas delivering social benefits (Opara 2004).However as automation would reducedramatically the need for farmers andfarm labourers, this could also result inthe further decline of rural communities(Foladori and Invernizzi 2007; Scrinisand Lyons 2007). Nano agriculturalapplications that reduce labourFriends ofthe EarthNANOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD & AGRICULTURE | 33
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Page 66: Australia March 2007. Available at:

Nanotechnology in Food & Agriculture

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