INNOVATION
ANDRZE J WOJCICKI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/GETTY; ICONS: ALEKS OREL/ISTOCK/GETTY
ONE OF THE THORNIEST PROBLEMS that humankind faces in the coming decades is how to feed a global population that is expected to grow by 3.6 billion people by century’s end. To keep up with demand, food production will have to double by 2050, according to the United Nations. That’s going to be a tall order. The worst effects of climate change on agriculture have yet to kick in, and arable land is getting scarcer. Already more than 800 million people go hungry each day.