Circular and Networked Bioeconomies for Net-Zero Food Production: There is Nothing Magic About Circles

Future food production will need to deliver a healthy diet to a growing world population whilst also contributing to policy objectives such as achieving Net Zero emissions and addressing biodiversity loss. This article looks at circular economy solutions to this challenge, comparing McArthur Foundation and other approaches to both the circular material economy (e.g. focusing on steel, plastics, aluminium, and cement) and the circular bioeconomy (operating in sectors that include agriculture, food production and industrial biotechnology). A case study based on salmon farming in Scotland considers the roles of innovation from a range of technology sectors in contributing to these objectives. The concept of circularity, and the closed-loop thinking that it encourages, could attract attention towards less optimal production options just because they can be accommodated within a circular model. A ‘networked bioeconomy’ model, guided by cascading principles and fast-tracked using innovative technologies, may be more powerful than one based on rigid closed-loop circularity, in enabling policy makers and producers to understand how they can best contribute both to the conservation of biodiversity and to mitigating climate change.