Singapore gives the world a peek into our food future
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 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)
The Eco-Ark floating fish farm in Singapore, Friday, July 21, 2023. The “closed containment” aquaculture farm can produce 400 tons of Asian seabass and fourfinger threadfin a year. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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)
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.
A worker looks over a tank growing fish at the Eco-Ark floating fish farm in Singapore, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. The "closed-container" aquaculture farm designed by Leow BanTat can produce 400 tons of Asian seabass and fourfinger threadfin a year. (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.
Darren Long, left, and Gerard Chia sample lab cultivated chicken from GOOD Meat during a tasting at Huber's Butchery in Singapore, Thursday, July 13, 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)
Cells for growing cultivated shrimp meat are incubated in a culture broth in a laboratory at Shiok Meats in Singapore, Thursday, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Greenery hangs from the facade of the Oasia Hotel in Singapore, Saturday, July 15, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Visitors walk beneath the "Supertrees" during a light and sound show at Gardens By The Bay in Singapore, Monday, July 17, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Threadfin fish swim in a tank as senior manager Patrick Sehoo walks through the lower level of the Eco-Ark floating fish farm in Singapore, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Some tanks are placed below sea level, allowing filtered water to pour in in rather than being pumped, saving electricity. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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)
A yoga class takes place on the Green Oasis botanical promenade at the CapitaSpring's skyscraper in Singapore, Thursday, July 20, 2023. The public green space spirals between levels 17 – 20 surrounded by downtown high-rises and features roughly 80,000 plants. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Workers plant curly kale on a slow moving conveyer belt to grow inside a greenhouse at ComCrop, Singapore's first commercial rooftop farm, Friday, July 14, 2023. ComCrop produces about 20 tons of kale, lettuce and herbs a month using a system that relies on nutrient-rich water instead of soil, solar power, and carefully controlled temperatures, wind and light levels. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A worker pushes a cart next to plants growing at ComCrop, Singapore's first commercial rooftop farm, Friday, July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Joggers pass by a floating solar panel farm on the Bedok Reservoir lined by apartment buildings in Singapore, Sunday, July 16, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Fruit hangs at a produce stand as patrons shop in a food market in Singapore, Saturday, July 22, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Swiss chard grows under LED lights at VertiVegies, an indoor urban farm that grows vegetables on vertically stacked rack systems in Singapore, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. The indoor farm helps people learn how they can grow vegetables at home and also helps launch new food companies in Singapore. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Urban farmer Jeff Brown plants a cultivated rocket, or arugula, seedling under LED lights at VertiVegies, an indoor farm that grows vegetables on vertically stacked rack systems in Singapore, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Patrons wait in line to place their order at a hawker food stall in Singapore, Monday, July 17, 2023. (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. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Madhubalan, a technologist at Vertical Oceans, harvests shrimp at their indoor aquaculture facility for same day delivery in Singapore, Friday, July 21, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Jordan Chia, left, and Owen Wong, bag freshly harvested shrimp to be delivered to clients the same day at Vertical Oceans, an indoor aquaculture company in Singapore, Friday, July 21, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Rush hour traffic is seen from the Green Oasis botanical promenade at the CapitaSpring's skyscraper in Singapore, Thursday, July 20, 2023. The public green space spirals between levels 17 – 20 surrounded by downtown high-rises and features roughly 80,000 plants. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Patrons pack the tables outside the Lau Pa Sat hawker food center surrounded by high-rise buildings in Singapore's financial district, Thursday, July 20, 2023. (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)
Lead photo: Threadfin fish swim in a tank at the Eco-Ark floating fish farm in Singapore, Friday, July 21, 2023. (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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Text from AP News story, Singapore gives the world a peek into our food future, by David Goldman and Victoria Milko
Photos by 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.
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