Editing Food engineering (section)

== Challenges ==

=== Sustainability ===
Food engineering has negative impacts on the environment such as the emission of large quantities of waste and the pollution of water and air, which must be addressed by food engineers in the future development of food production and processing operations. Scientists and engineers are experimenting in different ways to create improved processes that reduce pollution, but these must continue to be improved in order to achieve a sustainable food supply chain. Food engineers must reevaluate current practices and technologies to focus on increasing productivity and efficiency while reducing the consumption of water and energy, and decreasing the amount of waste produced.<ref name=":33" />

=== Population growth ===
Even though food supply expands yearly, there has also been an increase in the number of hungry people. The world population is expected to reach 9-10 billion people by 2050 and the problem of malnutrition remains a priority.<ref name=":33" /> To achieve food security, food engineers are required to address land and [[water scarcity]] to provide enough growth and food for undernourished people.<ref name=":33" /> In addition, food production depends on land and water supply, which are under stress as the population size increases. There is a growing pressure on land resources driven by expanding populations, leading to expansions of croplands; this usually involves the destruction of forests and exploitation of arable land.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Why Population Matters to Food Security {{!}} Toolkits|url=https://toolkits.knowledgesuccess.org/toolkits/family-planning-advocacy/why-population-matters-food-security#:~:text=Almost%20one%20in%20seven%20people,healthy%20and%20lead%20active%20lives.&text=Increasing%20numbers%20of%20people%20often,of%20arable%20land%20and%20water.|access-date=2020-11-02|website=toolkits.knowledgesuccess.org}}</ref> Food engineers face the challenge of finding sustainable ways to produce to adapt to the growing population.

=== Human health ===
Food engineers must adapt food technologies and operations to the recent consumer trend toward the consumption of healthy and nutritious food. To supply foods with these qualities, and for the benefit of human health, food engineers must work collaboratively with professionals in other domains such as medicine, biochemistry, chemistry, and consumerism.<ref name=":33" /> New technologies and practices must be developed to increase the production of foods that have a positive impact on human health.