"By the way, have you ever heard of Dr. Ray Kurzweil? In case you have not heard of him, here is some information about him to get you started. Why? Because of his track record on predictions through the years, and because he made some profound predictions concerning the future of human nutrition in his iconic book, The Singularity Is Near. Let me get you started by telling you that he looks a lot at the fields of genetics, nanotechnology and robotics ('G, N and R') as well as human medicine. He has 19 honorary doctorates from various universities (so far). He is in the U.S. National Inventors Hall of Fame. He has received medals for his work from 3 U.S. presidents (so far), and he owns and directs his own technology company. He helped found Singularity University on the NASA campus in northern California, and he has an almost cult-like following of futurists. A very interesting man with some very interesting things to say. Here is his prediction.
' ------ nanotechnology-based manufacturing devices in the 2020s will be capable of creating almost any physical product from inexpensive raw materials and information. ------ We have the ability to redesign the world in our minds and to put these ideas into action. ---- The Singularity will unfold through these three overlapping revolutions: genetics, nanotechnology and robotics. ---- Many approaches are being developed for micro- and nanoscale machines to go into the body and bloodstream. Ultimately we will be able to determine the precise nutrients (including all the hundreds of phytochemicals) necessary for the optimal health of each individual. These will be freely and inexpensively available, so we won't need to bother with extracting nutrients from food at all. Nutrients will be introduced directly into the bloodstream by special metabolic nanobots, while sensors in our bloodstream and body, using wireless communication, will provide dynamic information on the nutrients needed at each point in time. This technology should be reasonably mature by the late 2020s.'
This is not a new prediction. In fact, it is now 6 years old. However, in my opinion it is a very interesting and important prediction with major implications if it comes true. Dr. Kurzweil made this prediction in his book, The Singularity is Near (2005), and he describes the 'Singularity' as the point in time (the year, 2045, to be exact) when the computing power of the world's computers will be one billion times more powerful than all human brains combined. He arrived at his conclusions by studying the exponential growth of technology, and he says that we are now in the 'knee of the curve' of exponential growth, and that actual changes and the rate of change will be increasingly more profound and more rapid from now on.
It will be interesting to learn how close we will come to his prediction as we go along into the future. I, for one, believe that it has to happen because of humanitarian needs, NC diseases and medical costs, politics, the global economy, people opposed to GM foods, the inability to stop food-borne illness, rapid scientific advancements and many other factors that are in play on a daily basis. What do you think?"
tags:
nutrigenomics human nutrition food safety food wars hunger malnutrition poverty genetics nanotechnology robotics kurzweil monsanto dupont pioneer corn genetically modified usda fda eggs beef poultry pork turkey fish shellfish fruits vegetables food borne illness wheat rice oats barley sorghum soybeans alfalfa protein vitamins minerals amino acids fats unidentified growth factors fatty acids genetic engineering climate change food security agribusiness fresh produce desertification
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