Fresh from the lab

High-tech solutions – such as the Dr Mark Post's lab-grown burgers – will be the key to growing enough food for the rising world population.

News that Mark Post, a Dutch scientist famous for pioneering a method to grow meat in a laboratory, is scheduled to speak at an agricultural innovations forum in Abu Dhabi next month, comes at a time when the world is facing a quandary over its food production. The number of people who can afford to buy luxuries such as meat is rising, but so too is the percentage of the world's population who do not have adequate food security.

With agricultural yields having plateaued since the green revolution of the 1960s, the world is in need of another technological leap forward to match production with the rising population. These can mean left-field solutions, such as Dr Post’s lab-grown burgers using bovine stem cells, or through other scientific advances that increase yields.

This is not without its challenges. Companies that spend vast sums developing high-tech crops want a return on their investment but the poorest nations, where access to such breakthroughs can mean the difference between survival and starvation, cannot afford to pay. For the rest of us, there is concern that these technologies could have adverse unexpected effects. But it would be foolish to bet against human ingenuity – with appropriate official oversight – meeting these challenges.