The potential contribution of nanotechnology to nutritional well being

Abstract

The history of food production, ranging from agriculture to industrial processing, is briefly surveyed. The potential contributions of nanotechnology, direct, indirect and conceptual, are assessed, both in the short and long terms. Both technological and political challenges are addressed. Keywords: agriculture, food production, malnutrition, processing * E-mail: j.ramsden@cranfield.ac.uk 1 In most places, that is to say. There are still regions of the world where soil fertility is very low. 2 No causal link is implied one way or the other here. If people started grouping their dwellings together for reasons other than the development of technology, such a society would clearly provide a good environment for such a development; on the other hand it seems to be equally plausible to imagine that the invention of a technology by an individual would tend to bring people together, not least because most technologies rely on other feeder ones for their practical realization. Furthermore, most technologies rely on a certain degree of division of labour to be effective, which is clearly only feasible in a reasonably large community. 3 This expectation has a complex origin. It is partly due to the availability of sufficient wealth to be able to afford exotic foods, and partly to the globalization of trade.