Though population growth will slow
Demographers now think they know
The population will still grow
But at nine billion or so
It may well stabilise.
Nevertheless it would be wise
To study what new technology
Could possibly help us to be
Quite hunger free sustainably.
What is the challenge that we see?
Greater resources, it can be seen,
Are needed to produce protein.
And this indeed would be the case
Whether animal or not be the base.
It is true that vegetable sources
Would require fewer resources,
Environmental damage would be less
But all the same I must confess
That vegetable sources have their flaws.
There's a reason why we're omnivores!
Low concentrations are very sad
Amino acid profiles are pretty bad.
One exception can be seen
And that would be the soya bean.
But before nutrients are won
Much processing needs to be done.
These are the reasons many eat
Considerable amounts of meat.
But now we eat more and more.
More than we need and that's for sure.
A major problem with meat is that
It often comes with too much fat.
But fat can add to the taste
So very few would then make haste
In eating meat that's very lean
As most of us would not be keen!
But a bigger problem that is seen
Meat production isn't green.
The biggest problem would be beef
That is the general belief.
For chicken and pork as we know
The feed conversion would be low.
For milk and eggs lower still
And I'm confident that there will
Be technologies that will soon prove
That feed conversion can improve.
And if indeed this is so
It is very good to know
That the environmental mess
Would also be that much less.
At any rate we should make haste
In valorising animal waste
Through biogas and fertiliser.
This approach is so much wiser!
We should clearly understand
There are ways to use less land
Vertical agriculture and hydroponics
Can prove to be useful tonics.
By now I think you would have seen
That we can get much more protein
Without using more resources.
There could be several sources
If new technologies are made available
Animal protein could be more sustainable.
We could also eat much less meat
For those who think that's not a treat
In innovation we should trust:
Impossible Burger, Perfect Day and Just.
There are technologies in between
Such as single cell protein
That can be used for food or feed
With all of this we could succeed
In feeding all sustainably
With improvements in technology.
Technology will find a way
Technology will save the day.
