FEW: Transformative Food Technologies to Enhance Sustainability at the Food, Energy, and Water (FEW) Nexus

University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln NE

Investigators

Abstract

1619918 Subbiah, Jeyamkondan Taking the food science and technology perspective, this workshop will lay groundwork for research collaborations focused on the Food-Energy-Water nexus. The workshop is scheduled for February 22-24, 2016 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Food, energy and water (FEW) systems are highly interconnected, and there is an urgent need to enhance understanding of how these systems are coupled. The food and bioprocessing industries offer an important opportunity to reduce water and energy use in this complex, coupled system, as solutions can target a relatively small number of establishments having a large impact. The overall goal of this workshop is to drive innovation by bringing together a diverse group of researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders from academia, industry, and government agencies to identify gaps and research needs in the area of transformative food technologies, which will enable all of these stakeholders to develop methods to improve food safety, reduce the amount of water and energy consumed, reduce the waste produced by the food processing industry, and enhance the sustainability of the FEW system. To bring this goal to fruition, the objectives of the workshop are to: (1) Describe the state-of-the-science in food sanitation, waste reduction technologies, and transformative technologies using process design and modeling; (2) Identify the technological, socioeconomic, and behavioral barriers that must be transcended in the food and bioprocessing industry; and (3) Provide a process and venue for scientists, engineers, and stakeholders to creatively and collaboratively generate research ideas for transformative technologies to enhance sustainability in the industry and associated FEW systems.