Sustainability has become a buzzword in the food industry as consumers demand more environmentally friendly practices from companies and brands. Among the most common promises are: to reduce food waste, support regenerative agriculture, stop consuming animal protein, and reduce carbon emissions in general. In this regard, the weight given to sustainable technologies has started to increase.
Let’s take a look at some of these innovations together!
A new type of “cube” produced for cooling processes holds power to create a “revolution” in serving food and beverages in their freshest form, without the need for both ice and traditional cooling methods. In addition, these new innovative ice cubes, produced in jelly form, have anti-bacterial and compostable characteristics and do not contain any plastic.
“When ice melts, it’s not reusable. So we thought we could make so-called solid ice to serve as a cooling medium and be reusable. You can use it for 13 hours for cooling, collect it, rinse it with water, and put it in the freezer to freeze again for the next use,” says Gang Sun, a professor in the biological and agricultural engineering department at the University of California, Davis.
Luxin Wang, Associate Professor at the Food Science and Technology Department at The University of California, Davis, underlines that this new product’s “sustainability” quality is one of their primary goals. After seeing the amount of ice used in fish processing plants and the fact that melted water can spread between products through sewer systems, Wang states that she started working on these innovative cubes. In the future, the researchers involved in the project aim to be at the forefront of the battle against the devastating effects of the climate crisis by replacing the material used for these cubes with elements obtained from agricultural wastes and preventing health problems brought by traditional cooling methods.
Another example,that is a bit more low-tech, is the off-grid indestructible houses being built by David Pressler in response to the damage caused by hurricanes and tornados. It’s important to remember that we also need innovation to protect us from the consequences of climate change right now because people are suffering from extreme weather as we speak.
Artwork by Vivien Schwarz
Google wants to encourage its users to make environmentally friendly and sustainable decisions focusing on less consumption. For example, at the beginning of last September, Google joined the “Travalyst Coalition”, which continues its work in the travel industry to offer more sustainable options to its users. This partnership aims to provide similar data for sustainable choices for hotels, financial services, or electronic devices. As a result, hotel groups like Hilton or Accor are already starting to align themselves with Google on the transparency of their sustainable practices.
Scientists announced that they developed ‘’a white paint’’ that reflects more than 98 per cent of sunlight. It has been found that this paint has a more significant effect compared to some of the traditional air conditioning units. In terms of innovative solutions to the climate crisis, this paint can help overcome the disastrous consequences of this crisis with its points on energy saving. Therefore, the choice of this paint in buildings is of vital importance for the fight against the climate crisis, as it reduces energy use. The origin of this “paint” developed by US engineers is based on obtaining “radiant cooling paint” 50 years ago at Purdue University in Indiana. After working on more than 100 materials over a six-year research period, the scientists developed a highly effective paint that reflects sunlight, allowing existing surfaces to be cooled below the temperature of the surrounding environment. Compared to the areas where commercially produced paints are used, it is possible to talk about cooling processes on a much larger scale on the surfaces where this new paint is used. Therefore, this innovative paint, which continues to be developed in terms of its characteristics, emerges as an effective alternative in the fight against the climate crisis and global warming.
It is unacceptable for technology to remain constant. Because this no progressing status will not respond to the conflicts of human life and will not meet their demands. As technology is constantly renewed, it gains meaning and integrity. Especially if different disciplines create a technology group, it continually works to close the gaps and improve the existing ones. Undoubtedly, the impact of technology on preserving and sustaining natural resources is becoming more and more attention-grabbing. Therefore, innovations that structure the sustainable environment and life are of great importance for companies that face the future.
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