AP PHOTOS: Singapore gives the world a peek into our food future
Threadfin fish swim in a tank at the Eco-Ark floating fish farm in Singapore, Friday, July 21, 2023. Ships pump sea water through a system that cleans the farm, traps waste, and eliminates the need for antibiotics or vaccines for the fish. Energy is provided by solar panels. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Like much of the rest of the world, Singapore is racing to feed a growing population with limited natural resources. But with almost no land for agriculture this small, wealthy, fast-paced and densely-packed nation is doing so by embracing and encouraging new food technologies that may someday help feed us all.
In 2019 Singapore launched a program called 30 by 30, designed to spur the country to produce 30% of its food by 2030, while still using less than 1% of its land for agriculture. The program has encouraged innovation that may offer a peek into the world’s food future as land and resources become more scarce around the world.
Visitors walk along an elevated path at next to “Supertrees” during a light and sound show at Gardens By The Bay in Singapore, Monday, July 17, 2023. The giant structures are meant to mimic real life trees by providing shade from the sun while also capturing the sun’s energy using solar panels at the top. They range in size from the tallest, at around 50 meters (164 feet), down to 25 meters (82 feet) tall. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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EDITORS’ NOTE — This story is part of The Protein Problem, an AP series that examines the question: Can we feed this growing world without starving the planet? To see the full project, visit https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/the-protein-problem/index.html
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There are rooftop farms that produce greens such as kale, lettuce and herbs using a system that relies on nutrient-rich water instead of soil, powered by solar panels. Shrimp are grown in warehouses. The company’s largest egg farm uses automated machines to feed the chickens and sort, scan and check each egg.
Researchers are working to develop varieties of plants that can flourish in extreme, unnatural environments — and ways to grow lobster in a lab, from cells.
But for all the country’s government-supported entrepreneurs and sparkling new technology, the country is also learning that this kind of transformation is not so easy.
Shrimp swim in a tank at Vertical Oceans, an indoor aquaculture company that’s been growing, harvesting and selling its shrimp across the island in Singapore, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Large stackable tanks inside a warehouse raise translucent-blue shrimp. The company has developed a filtration system that relies on algae to clean the water, tapping into the plant’s nitrogen and carbon-removing power, allowing the water to be reused for months at a time. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Consumers can be reluctant to change, and producers have found it hard to turn a profit because costs are high.
It is far from clear Singapore will reach its 30% goal by 2030. But along the way it may help teach the world — through successes and failures — how to reduce the amount of land needed to produce our favorite dishes.
A foreign tanker ship sails through Serangoon Harbor between Malaysia and Singapore as workers from the Eco-Ark floating fish farm return to shore in Singapore, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Singapore, a small city-state of 6 million with nearly no natural resources, must import clean energy to meet its renewable energy goals. Singapore aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Eggs move through a network of conveyer belts at Seng Choon, Singapore’s largest egg farm, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Seng Choon can now help the nation satisfy its craving for eggs from home. The farm produces 600,000 eggs every day from 850,000 chickens, with only about 100 staff members. Automated machines feed the chickens, sort, scan and check each egg. Robots help lift and sort crates of eggs that will be delivered to stores the same day they were laid. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Nobuhisa Kawaguchi takes a picture of lab cultivated chicken from GOOD Meat during a tasting at Huber’s Butchery in Singapore, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Singapore was the first nation to authorize the sale of meat cultured from cells in a bioreactor. A chef there offers a tasting menu every week. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A couple spreads a blanket for a picnic on the grassy roof of the Marina Barrage pumping station, against the backdrop of the Singapore skyline, Saturday, July 22, 2023. The barrage and the adjacent dam separates seawater to create a freshwater reservoir downtown, the city-state’s largest and most urbanized catchment area. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Visitors walk through the Jewel as a Skytrain shuttles passengers between terminals at Changi Airport, Sunday, July 16, 2023, in Singapore. The Jewel complex boasts the world’s tallest indoor waterfall surrounded by a five story indoor garden with thousands of trees, plants, ferns and shrubs. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.