VSU takes agricultural to a whole new level

Since its beginnings in 1882, Virginia State University (VSU) has been on the cutting edge of developing new and sustainable agriculture solutions to ensure safe, nutritious food is always available. Its College of Agriculture is always looking for “what’s next” to meet the demands of growers and consumers alike.

And while their agricultural researchers are still working on resolving some of the more challenging growing problems that farmers face in Virginia—and the world—they’re already focused on researching growing techniques and resolving food science issues that will be important for the next frontier…space. Because as more people travel to space—or maybe even start living on other planets—they’re still going to need safe and nutritious food, just like they do on Earth.

Good news for earthling hummus lovers! On Saturday, February 19, a mini greenhouse with chickpea seeds was launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to the International Space Station to make sure this nutrient-packed plant-based food, the hero ingredient in hummus, can play a role in how we’ll eat in space. Chickpeas are ideal for space cultivation consideration because they are fast growing, high in nutrition and have a short seed-to-seed cycle. The launch from February 19 can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCQ5jnjHjog

And while inter-galactic farm-to-table dining is still far off, VSU’s College of Agriculture, whose campus is just minutes from the world’s largest hummus manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County, VA wants to know what other kind of food Americans will want on the menu in space.

VSU’s College of Agriculture has horticulturists already researching how to safely and efficiently grow food in controlled environments like the greenhouse heading to the space station, as well as in the soil-less hydroponic conditions that will be needed to produce food in space. Meanwhile, VSU’s team of food scientists are currently researching ways to enhance food nutrition, shelf life, safety and more, factors just as critical in space as they are here on Earth. And to ensure the future success of growing food in new environments like space, VSU’s agriculture students are learning today the latest science and technology on how to safely expand the world’s food and fiber production for tomorrow.

Anyone interested in participating in the one-minute “Food for Thought” poll to share their thoughts about what they would want to eat in space are encouraged to visit www.ext.vsu.edu/sabra-blast-off and follow @Sabra on social media. Feedback will be analyzed and shared with VSU agricultural researchers and food scientists, as well as Sabra, who will select five respondents at random to win prizes.