For the companies developing consumer products, making the needed progress can seem unattainable in an age when plastic has become a reliable and affordable go-to for packaging. It might even feel like a distraction from other priorities.
Thousands of years ago, civilizations leveraged cyclical flooding for irrigation, let the land “rest” (lay fallow) every seventh year, and used terraced farming to produce food sustainably for their people, as well as external trade and philanthropic support of the poor.
Rice is the most commonly eaten food in the world, but conventional rice production has a hefty environmental impact. Growing rice is incredibly water-intensive, and flooded fields are ideal growing conditions for methane-emitting bacteria.