The problem is that traditional food production leads to high greenhouse gas emissions – and not only in the area of meat production. It also requires other valuable resources such as water, energy and agricultural land. Prof. Dr. Volker Sieber, Rector of TUM Campus Straubing, used a photo of a typical Bavarian pub meal – roast pork with dumplings and cabbage – to illustrate the topic and formulate the two main questions of the evening: ‘Can we eat something else that is sustainable to produce? Can we produce what we eat in a more sustainable way?’
Many possibilities for good alternatives
Prof. Sieber began by saying that there are many possibilities for sustainable food production. He mentioned plant-based alternatives such as oat drinks, mushroom-based alternatives, insects as food or animal feed, algae-based foods, fermented foods and animal feed, and vertical farming.
One focus of the sustainability talk was precision fermentation. This is currently a major topic, Prof. Sieber emphasised. The question is what can be achieved with biotechnology. The Technical University of Munich and Campus Straubing are very active in this field. ‘Brewhouses instead of farms – what alternatives do we have for food supply?’ was also the title of the keynote speech by Dr Martin Reich, author of the book ‘Revolution aus dem Mikrokosmos – Nachhaltige Ernährung durch Fermentation’ (Revolution from the microcosm – sustainable nutrition through fermentation) and project manager for bioeconomics.
In response to the question of how ten billion people can be fed sustainably, three main solutions are being discussed, according to Dr Reich: intensification, organic farming and consuming fewer animal products. However, none of these is the only correct solution. According to Dr Reich, the solution of the future lies in the ‘single-cell microcosm’. The advantages of production in brewing kettles include significantly reduced land use, lower emissions and less water consumption. Production becomes more resilient. Closed cycles could also be created.
During the discussion moderated by Prof. Sebastian Goerg (TUM Campus Straubing), Dr Andrea Funk from FarmInsect presented her product as a company representative: feed made from black soldier flies. Dr Malte Rubach (Bavarian Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism) dismissed as unfounded the panic that substitute products for meat and milk would lead to the abolition of the dairy and meat industries. The reason for declining meat consumption lies rather in price increases. Modern fermentation technologies also require substrates such as corn grown in fields, Dr Reich pointed out, adding that agricultural land will remain.
Nutrition is purely a matter of habit
The greatest lever for greater sustainability in the food industry is to eat fewer animal products, said Prof. Dr Jan Paul Lindner (Technology Assessment, University of Augsburg). He admitted that he himself had not completely given up meat consumption. But if meat is more expensive, people eat less of it and the meat is then also of higher quality.
The consumer side was presented by Prof. Dr. Jutta Roosen (Chair of Marketing and Consumer Research, Technical University of Munich). She said that reducing responsibility to the consumer was simplistic. Nutrition is purely a matter of habit, and cultural traditions play a major role. Many of the new approaches make it possible to find meat substitutes and preserve traditions. However, some of these foods are highly processed. Thanks to fermentation, foods can be produced in their natural form.
In his outlook, Toni Hinterdobler, chairman of Hochschulstadt Straubing e.V., announced that the topics of food waste and energy production would round off the series of the Straubinger Nachhaltigkeitsgespräche.
