Series| Hard Reset

Here’s why you won’t starve from overpopulation

How will we feed 8 billion people? New tech is making it possible.
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Currently, there is about a half acre of active cropland per person across the entire planet. As the global population grows, this area will shrink. But that doesn’t mean we are going to starve.

There are many sustainable ways to make the most of this finite space. In this mega-episode of “Hard Reset,” Nick explores that question by meeting with some of the people building a sustainable future for farming — not only in terms of food production but also regarding the materials that are woven into modern life.

Nick explores what it will take to scale up the lab-grown meat industry, how laser-wielding robots are making farmers’ lives easier, the surprising benefits of mushroom leather, the economics of vertical farming, and much more. Solutions like these are working toward a future where farming uses less space, reduces human labor, and wastes fewer resources.

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