## Sustainable food & quality of life: two closely related concepts Quality of life is defined as the adjustment between the environment's resources and the population's needs. What is more important than the need for food? Eating enough not only to satisfy your hunger but also to meet your nutritional needs is a key factor in quality of life and good health for each individual. **By 2040**, which is just around the corner, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that **the world's population will reach 9.5 billion**. Feeding all these mouths will require increasing our agricultural production by 50%. To do this, humanity will need to have the necessary resources, especially agricultural land. At this point in time, the issue is far from straightforward: due to unsustainable farming practices, much of the world's soil has degraded and become less productive. At the same time, increasing urbanization has contributed to the loss of 30% of the world's arable land in just 40 years. This is why our commitment to improving quality of life includes **sustainable food solutions whose production takes into account the limited resources the earth has to offer**. ![biodiversité Champs Captant à Crépieux](/sites/g/files/dvc4206/files/styles/media/public/image/2023/05/Crepieux-Charmy-Champ-captants-biodiversite-veolia-779.jpg.webp?h=bd4e95a3&itok=SqI1kP6S) About **33% of the world's soil** is degraded. *Source: FAO* ## Working for sustainable food with new sources of protein, ecological aquaculture, and urban agriculture Faced with the demographic challenge, our food supply will have to adapt: relocation, reduction in the proportion of animal protein, respect for and conservation of the soil, etc. To support the production of a more sustainable food supply and improve quality of life, we propose solutions to cities, manufacturers and farmers. These solutions are currently focused on three main areas. ### Bioconversion: transforming food by-products and agricultural waste into protein **We are contributing to the food security of future generations**. While the current livestock system generates 15% of our greenhouse gas emissions and uses nearly 70% of our agricultural land, there is an urgent need to think of alternatives for protein demands. This is why we are actively involved in bioconversion, which involves feeding insects (in our case, black soldier fly larvae) from organic by-products (canteen scraps, food waste, unsold food, crop waste, etc.). By recycling this "waste" in this way, the larvae will grow massively and be transformed into **protein that can then be used for animal feed, all with an excellent yield**. PlanetLive [Will we be eating insects for lunch tomorrow?](/en/node/11591 "Will we be eating insects for lunch tomorrow?") [Read more](/en/node/11591 "Will we be eating insects for lunch tomorrow?") ### Toward environmentally friendly [aquaculture through wastewater treatment](/en/solutions/aquaculture-wastewater-reuse "Aquaculture and wastewater reuse") **We are working with the aquaculture industry to address environmental challenges**. While aquaculture is already a solution to overfishing caused by the high global demand for fish, it must itself demonstrate responsible and sustainable practices. As such, **we help farmers** [**to reuse wastewater**](/en/solutions/wastewater-reuse "Wastewater reuse")**, after extensive treatment, to feed fish ponds**. We work with a wide variety of fish species, which are healthier due to the removal of pollutants, chemical treatments and antibiotics. [Could aquaculture, an alternative to fishing, soon be sustainable?](https://www.veolia.com/en/newsroom/inventing-for-tomorrow/could-aquaculture-alternative-fishing-soon-be-sustainable "Could aquaculture, an alternative to fishing, soon be sustainable?") Over the past few years, innovations have attempted to minimise the impact on the environment of conventional aquaculture by highlighting more virtuous practices [Read more](https://www.veolia.com/en/newsroom/inventing-for-tomorrow/could-aquaculture-alternative-fishing-soon-be-sustainable "Could aquaculture, an alternative to fishing, soon be sustainable?") ### [Urban agriculture](/en/quality-life/biodiversity/urban-farming "Urban farming") and aquaponics for cities **We are involved in the development of urban agriculture**. Convinced that the city is part of the solution to the food challenge, we support the production of vegetables, fruit and other foods in and around urban areas. **Our solutions support permaculture, bio-intensive micro-gardening and even aquaponics**, which applies our expertise in recycling aquaculture wastewater to irrigate plants. In addition to being part of the "locavore" trend, urban agriculture offers many benefits: sequestering carbon in the soil, limiting heat islands, creating social ties and jobs, enriching biodiversity, etc. ![Aquaculture, bassin d'élevage de poissons](/sites/g/files/dvc4206/files/styles/media/public/image/2023/05/aquaponie-systeme-aquacole-veolia-779.jpg.webp?h=c90500e0&itok=rPqZCL0D) **Aquaponics uses 50 times less water** than a conventional open aquaculture system. ## Our solutions for action [ veolia\_88\_Icon/88\*88/brand/food\_beverage Bioconversion: turning 'waste' into protein ](/en/solutions/bioconversion-recovery-biowaste-animal-protein) [ veolia\_88\_Icon/88\*88/brand/water\_recovery Ecological aquaculture through wastewater treatment ](/en/solutions/aquaculture-wastewater-reuse) [ veolia\_88\_Icon/88\*88/brand/preserving\_the\_planet Urban agriculture and aquaponics for cities ](/en/quality-life/biodiversity/urban-farming) Show more - Maximize the value of organic by-products - Facilitate the management of these by-products and long-term visibility - Create a circular food chain - Improve management of water resources - Increase aquaculture farm production - Healthier and more resilient fish through expert water quality control - Produce sustainable food for cities - Short distribution channels - Enhance urban space ## The Veolia difference ![Ferme urbaine sur un toit à Bruxelles](/sites/g/files/dvc4206/files/styles/media/public/image/2022/07/Ferme_de_Bruxelles-agriculture-urbaine-veolia-320x245.jpg.webp?itok=4g8hU9DU) ### We did it! ![](/sites/g/files/dvc4206/files/styles/show_case_card/public/image/2023/05/Fredrikstad-Seafoods-Norvege-ferme-aquacole-veolia-310x238.jpg.webp?itok=es2YSTqU) Norway Facilitating salmon recirculation farming Fredrikstad Seafoods, Norway's first land-based salmon farm, uses a state-of-the-art aquaculture system that ensures stable water parameters to optimize growth and improve survival. The salmon are raised in a controlled environment, without antibiotics or pesticides, in compliance with health standards. Learn more about our solutions for: [Social inclusion and solidarity](/fr/qualite-vie/inclusion-solidarites "Social inclusion and solidarity") [Read more](/fr/qualite-vie/inclusion-solidarites "Social inclusion and solidarity")