Colin J. Chartres, 'Water, investment and food security', 2014 | Water resources are already very scarce. With further demand from population growth, dietary changes, biofuel production, urbanisation and climate change, it will be extremely difficult to find enough supply to enable an increase in global food production by 70 per cent. There are, however, potential solutions that involve increasing water productivity, improved water storage, more irrigation and re-using waste water. But current investment levels in overseas development aid and spending at country level are unlikely to be sufficient to ensure food security in the relatively short- term, let alone by 2050, when the global population is forecast to be nine billion. This article describes some of the issues that have to be faced to deliver food security and overcome water scarcity, and how these improvements can be achieved through a combination of science, policy and investment

Electrolyzed water (EW) is a new technology that emerged in the last years with potential application in foods, mainly in microbiological aspects, with variation in application modes, dipping the food in solution, where variation of time can be changed and be apply in the form of spray. Because EW characteristics, its action in microorganisms are still been studied for mechanism elucidation and possible damages, as well its influence in the intrinsic characteristics of food, like color and oxidation. This unconventional or ‘green’ technology has the purpose to prove microbiological quality of food and decrease the use of natural resources like water with minimal generation of chemical/toxic residues. More studies are necessary in relation to this technology and its possible applications in food industry, as well characteristics and mechanisms.

As economies develop and societies change, emerging sets of challenges are placed on water resources and its governance. Population growth and economic development tend to drive the demand for more water, and push river basins into situations of scarcity. Agriculture, globally the largest user of water, is a major driver of water scarcity, and also the sector that has to bear the consequences of scarcity. Yet governance arrangements the world over have difficulty coming to grips with the management of agricultural water within the larger water resource context. The four major agricultural water governance challenges are: to manage transitions from abundance to scarcity; to deal with the large informal sectors of the agricultural water economy; to adapt to the changing objectives of society; and within each of these challenges, to craft contextspecific solutions. This paper presents examples of these challenges and uses them to derive a conceptual framework to help us understand present agricultural water-use contexts, and to develop context specific solutions. The framework is based on two important and shifting contextual dimensions: the degree of scarcity within a basin, and the degree of formality in water use. Looking at agricultural water governance within this framework shows that some standard prescriptions for water problems may not always be appropriate and that â??second bestâ?? solutions can in fact be the best way forward. The challenge for governance is to facilitate the development of these solutions | David Molden et al., 'Governing to Grow Enough Food without Enough Water?Second Best Solutions Show the Way', International Journal of Water Resources Development, vol. 26(2), pp.249-263, Informa UK Limited, 2010

Security of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus has become a global concern, threatened by the rapid urbanization, unsustainable consumption of resources, population growth and climate change that exert pressure on resources to meet the socioeconomic demands. Water-Energy-Food Nexus is central for sustainable development and promoting efficient management of resources. Nevertheless, an efficient and sustainable Water-Energy-Food Nexus design requires the participation of multiple stakeholders in the decision-making process. This work presents a multi-objective optimization model for the design of a Water-Energy-Food system that involves the sustainable production of water, energy and food in areas that share economic activities through the industrial, agriculture and livestock sectors. Additionally, a multi-stakeholder assessment is presented to generate a set of solutions, where different priorities are given to the stakeholders. This approach allows quantifying the level of satisfaction of each of the stakeholders. Integration of resources is addressed according to economic and environmental objectives, such as the minimization of the cost of the system, water abstraction and greenhouse gas emissions. As case study, a region located in Mexico was selected based on its industrial activity and the challenges it currently faces in meeting resource demands due to low water availability. Results show that water reuse is crucial to improve the Water-Energy-Food Nexus sustainability. Also, it was found that the most affected sector for water scarcity is the agricultural sector. This model can be the basis for planning the Water-Energy-Food Nexus at regional level involving different stakeholders and for determining sustainable interactions between resources.