Research Programme
To meet the food demands of a human population that is rapidly growing and has an increasing standard of living, there is a desperate need for next-generation crops and livestock that can be produced in a secure and sustainable way, and provides added nutritional value to support human health. Future Food Utrecht scientists investigate the mechanistic details of how plants and animals function in and adapt to their environment. Inspired by nature, they aim to develop sustainable innovations that can be implemented in the design of future food concepts.
The increasing demand of animal proteins urges for system changes in animal husbandry to control disease, and the improvement of reproductive performance and animal welfare. The fundamental scientific research on the immune system, pathogen dynamics, and reproductive physiology of animals in Future Food Utrecht will be the basis to identify key ingredients for these system changes.
Next-generation crops require innovations that can produce more with less input of chemicals, and under harsh conditions, such as on poor soils or under adverse environmental conditions that are predicted to occur more frequently due to global climate change. Wild plants harbor a largely untapped reservoir of adaptive mechanisms to maximize both growth and survival, as they have co-evolved with a broad range of harsh conditions. By uncovering these molecular and ecological adaptation mechanisms in wild and model plant species, scientist from Future Food Utrecht gather knowledge that can be used to design crops that can better cope with their stressful environment and produce more with less input of fertilizers and chemicals.
The overall strategy of Sustainable Innovations for future food is to investigate in detail how organisms in nature evolved sophisticated solutions to live-threatening conditions and utilize this knowledge to develop sustainable strategies and concepts that can be implemented in next-generation crops and livestock that meets the demands of our future society. Innovation inspired by nature to design next-generation sustainable food.
Major research questions within the Sustainable Innovations research of Future Food Utrecht:
- How do the immune systems of plants and animals function and how can we utilize this knowledge to prevent disease?
- What are the profitable functions of plant and animal microbiomes and how can we utilize them to improve growth and health of crops, livestock and humans?
- How do plants and animals cope in a fundamental way with environmental stress related to climate change and how can we improve their genetic make-up or manage the conditions in which they are raised to sustainably improve their production?
- How do specific molecules and proteins in our diet influence health and disease, and how can we improve the nutritional quality of our next-generation crops and livestock for the benefit of human health?