5 Biggest Issues in the World and The Companies Working on Solving Them

4. Food Insecurity

Food insecurity is a critical emerging problem that is expected to rapidly worsen over the course of three decades. 

As the world population grows with the momentum it has right now, to the projected figure of 10 billion in 2050, it is expected to increase food demand by 59% to 98% by 2050, so the global crop production needs to double to make up for it but it’s only growing at roughly half that rate (non-compounding). 

On top of that, the UN estimates suggest that 40% of all agricultural land is already degraded, with 90% of topsoil at risk by 2050. Food insecurity is a disaster in the making that is already showing its effects. According to WHO, 80 million people in East Africa are already food-insecure. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has acted as a force-multiplier in this regard, by cutting off roughly a quarter of the world’s wheat supply.

However, many startup companies have emerged that address this coming disaster. Companies like Grubbly Farms, All Things Bugs and Might Cricket are promoting insects as dietary staples, with insects being touted as the food of the future, as they’re abundant, environmentally friendly and highly economical. 

Then there’s companies like Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA), researching and developing novel crop production technologies to assist farmers increase crop yield and reduce output variability from season to season regardless of weather.