Today's society faces major demographic and environmental challenges. Two of them have to do with feeding a growing population and with the generation of huge amounts of waste along the agri-food chain, from pruning or crop residues to food waste in households.

The report issued by the United Nations department Economic and Social Affairs in 2024 estimates that the world's population will continue to grow over the next 50 to 60 years to reach a peak of 10.3 billion people in the mid-2080s, up from 8.2 billion in 2024. And this population growth increases the global demand for food.

Food safety: only a question of quantity?
Food safety is not only a topic of food quantity, but also of nutritional quality and safety. It is not enough to satisfy the stomach; it is also necessary to ingest adequate doses of vitamins, proteins, sugars, fats and minerals that are essential for the proper development and functioning of the body, while avoiding harmful substances that can contaminate food. In other words, the food of the future involves two core topic that English speakers refer to as 'food security' and 'food safety', both of which may be even more compromised in the context of climate change. And all of this depends, in the final written request, on the food at the base of the food pyramid, i.e. that which comes from plants. This is why plant health is so important.

Pesticide application in agriculture: danger!
Diseased plants are less productive and what they produce is of poorer quality. And not only that: in an attempt to avoid crop losses as a result of bacterial or fungal infections, insect pests or weeds that compete for environmental resources, crops have traditionally been treated with multiple chemical products that, in addition to contaminating the soil and groundwater, depleting pollinating insects or damaging the ozone layer, can leave traces on the vegetables and fruits we eat. Some readers may think: 'Good thing I always wash my vegetables and fruit before eating them'. And yes, this is necessary, but it is not enough. By washing, we remove debris adhered to the surface, but not the residues of chemicals that plants have absorbed and accumulated inside their organs when systemic pesticides have been applied.

Pesticides in the European Commission's crosshairs
For all these reasons, the European Union is becoming increasingly restrictive with regard to the approval and application of pesticides in agriculture. As part of the 'Farm to Fork' strategy, one of the central pillars of the Green Pact, the European Commission has set itself the goal of reducing the use of chemical and hazardous pesticides by 50% by 2030. This means that alternatives to the employment these chemicals must be sought.

On the other hand, more than 59 million tons of food waste are generated annually in the EU, about 132 kg per inhabitant, with an estimated market value of 132 billion euros. Of this waste, fruit and vegetable waste accounts for approximately 16%. Interestingly, vegetable waste generated in the field, in certain industries, in catering services or in households could be considered as small treasures considering that they contain bioactive compounds with potential antimicrobial, insect repellent or inhibitory effects for weed development .

What if we try to make one problem become part of the solution to another?
This is the approach of the REVESAGRI project , which is being developed at the University of Navarra, funded by the European Union-NextGenerationEU and executed within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Government of Spain and diary 2030 of the Government of Navarra). The goal is to test whether different plant residues are effective as antimicrobial agents. The project also aims to raise public awareness through their participation in the selective collection of waste. There are precedents that support the antibacterial and antifungal capacity of plant residues against infectious agents that cause diseases in a wide range of plants. Preliminary results are encouraging, although further research is still needed and, if necessary, current organic waste collection protocols should be rethought to make them more selective, controlled and standardized. And all this is not only a technical challenge, but also one of raising public awareness, which is why environmentalEducation is of paramount importance.