Lighting for food availability: an appetite for change

October 9, 2020

The global population is growing faster than our food supply; innovation in lighting is part of the solution

At Signify, sustainability is core to everything we do. Our business and consumer customers expect to work with companies that make a positive contribution. Operating sustainably is not at odds with our growth, but is our guiding direction and competitive advantage.

With this in mind, we have identified five strategic areas where we will grow our business while furthering our contribution to create brighter lives and a better world. These five growth areas are defined based on the major trends facing society and on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We’ve already written about Climate Action and Circularity. In this feature, we explore the topic of food availability.

Our appetites have changed, too. Consumers are demanding food that’s better in quality, fresher and healthier. And that’s not the only consideration. It’s likely that many of our foods have racked up air miles on the way to our plate, contributing to a less-than-healthy carbon footprint.

As a global society, we have an immediate challenge to meet our demand for produce while protecting our climate, water and other environmental resources.

The food industry today bears little resemblance to the picture-book farms we recall from our childhood. For better or worse, farming has changed and evolved over the decades and this new reality exposes us to the devastating risk of food scarcity.

Instead, we must continue to innovate and embrace technologies that help us to produce more and better food with fewer resources, with the smallest possible environmental impact.

It’s not just plants that benefit from optimal lighting. The growth in our fish consumption has eclipsed that of all meat from land-based animals combined. With farmed fish overtaking wild fishing as the world’s main source of seafood, it’s essential that our fish farming is clean, sustainable, and effective.

By submerging lights deep underwater, fish can be kept in optimal, summer-like conditions. This helps them to grow better without the need for excess food that can pollute the surrounding water. The fish are kept safely away from the surface where they could otherwise be exposed to damaging sea lice infestations.

The urgent issues of population growth and climate change are going to change the way food is produced, transported and optimally used. It’s only through embracing innovation that we’ll be able to keep up with the demand.

By continually working towards solutions that increase food production and reduce wastage, we will help our customers – both literally and figuratively – reap the rewards.