How to feed 10 billion people
Soon, 10 billion people will call our planet home. For everyone to have enough to eat, we need to change the way we produce food. By turning every wastewater treatment plant into a resource recovery plant, we can provide the nutrients agriculture needs to feed a growing population in a sustainable way.
09 Jun 2025In just 30 years, the world’s population is expected to increase by 2 billion people. By the turn of the century, we will peak at around 10.4 billion. By then, seven out of ten people will live in a city somewhere – a seismic shift from today, when half the world still
lives in the countryside. That means less farmland and more demand for food.
But how are 10 billion people going to eat?
Currently, the global food system causes enormous emissions, while the unsustainable production and use of agricultural nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium harm both people and planet. At the same time, we are missing out on a more sustainable source of these precious nutrients, simply because of the way we view waste.
Our wastewater has enormous potential to be a sustainable source for these nutrients. But many innovative ways to tap that source are practically impossible, financially unviable, or simply illegal - all due to outdated attitudes towards waste. We need to change that.
Transforming the food system is a complex task that requires a wide range of actors to work together. Ragn-Sells’ contribution is clear: we create circular solutions for key nutrients.
Through technologies developed by our innovation company EasyMining, we can provide farmers with high-quality nutrients without unnecessary climate emissions. We can produce clean phosphorus and capture nitrogen from sewage. We can turn fish poop from aquaculture into energy and fertiliser. And we can extract potassium from the ashes of waste incineration.
During 2024, we have taken major steps towards scaling up these technologies for commercial use. But for these solutions to reach their full potential, we all need to start seeing every wastewater treatment plant as a resource recovery plant. A factory for raw materials from urban waste, not the end of the pipe where we handle the dirty stuff to keep cities from smelling bad.
This mind shift creates enormous opportunities. Expanding megacities can become urban mines, containing a nearly endless supply of safe nutrients that have already been sourced.
We also know that we bring only one piece of the puzzle. This is why we keep working to gather stakeholders from the entire global food system in our 10 Billion Challenge Initiative.
Join us in our ambition to find more answers to how we feed 10 billion people on our planet. It is entirely possible. If we do it together.
This article was published in Ragn-Sells’ 2024 Sustainability Report, which offers insights into our sustainability efforts, progress on seven key goals, and our vision for a circular and sustainable society. Download report here
