Future Food, Food Future

1@2013, ICE, All rights reserved
Future Food, Food Future
A report
by
Deepa S Reddy

It is a widely accepted fact that our present industrialized food
systems are irretrievably broken and in urgent need of repair. Our
production processes are highly resource-intensive; they leave
enormous environmental footprints, are increasingly volatile, and
unequal to the task of feeding a growing world population. Our
consumption, too, is growing voraciously; it is often whimsical,
wasteful, and in the end unsustainable.
By the year 2050, the world’s population is projected to swell to 9
billion. 80% will be urban-dwellers. Demand from developing countries
for a wider range of foods is on the rise. Experts estimate that we will
therefore need new farmland larger than the size of Brazil to produce
enough to meet the demands of growing populations.
Food security therefore represents one of the single biggest
challenges of our future, with environmental, economic, political, and
lifestyle implications. The future of food might be that we just won’t
have enough.
The Big Problem of Food

What this report covers
ONE: How did we get here?
A quick overview of food trends from World War II to the present
TWO: Trending to the Future
Key trends and global realities
THREE: Future Foods
1. Eating Down the Chain
2. Nose-to-Tail Food
3. Engineered Edibles
4. Farm Fresh 2.0
5. Open Source Food
6. Food You Know
7. Simulated Food
FOUR: Re-telling the Story of Food

ONE: How did we get here?

Mechanization, speed, and routinization became key measures of efficiency in
“scientific” agricultural production.
Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s incorporate assembly line systems in food
manufacturing and preparation. The “industrial ideal” becomes the norm.
1940s-
“Henry Ford’s production
facilities … stood as a dramatic
example of the efficacy of
rational management
techniques, which many felt
should now be applied to
farming. As an International
Harvester promotion exhorted,
‘Every Farm a Factory.’”
—Deborah Fitzgerald, Every Farm a
Factory: The Industrial Ideal in
American Agriculture, 2003
How did we get here?

The Green Revolution makes use of high-yielding
cereal varieties, pesticides, and fertilizers to boost
production. Its strategies help turn heavily
populated, food-deficit countries into self-sufficient
producers in just a few years, averting global food
crises.
The packaged foods boom begins. The food
industry leverages new technologies to lower cost
and advertising to demonstrate the added value of
processed foods.
Rachel Carson’s 1962 expose, Silent Spring, draws
attention to the damaging effects of widespread
DDT and other synthetic pesticide use on the
environment. Carson’s work is widely credited with
spurring a nascent environmental movement into
existence.
1960s-

The “natural food” movement coalesces around small
cooperatives and establishments which source local
and seasonal ingredients. Because it deviates from
mainstream production, however, the movement
lacks professional credibility, and is associated with
“be natural” hippie, counter-culture , and niche
markets for some decades yet.
Instant and frozen foods revolutionize home cookery.
Health and disease prevention begins to appear on
the consumer radar.
Tracking consumer purchase behavior becomes
commonplace, and the computer technology
revolution begins.
Experiments with novel tastes and ethnic foods
expands.
1970s-

The fair trade movement seeks to engage
producers directly in consumer operations.
Food labelling draws attention to nutritional
content and ethical provenance.
A hierarchy of products appear.
Supermarkets introduce luxury and premium
ranges. Labels and packaging use high-
quality seductive images.
A series of international meetings address
emerging problems: rising malnutrition, land
degradation from over-cultivation,
desertification, freshwater consumption by
agriculture, and biodiversity conservation.
The WHO recognizes obesity as a global
epidemic.
1990s-
1992 Food Pyramid | Courtesy USDA

Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation and Marion Nestle’s Food Politics make clear
connections between the methods of industrial food production, agricultural
policy, food-borne illness, childhood obesity, and the decline of the family meal
2000s-
…instead of paying workers well enough to allow them to buy things like
cars, as Henry Ford proposed to do, companies like Wal-Mart and
McDonald’s pay their workers so poorly that they can afford only the
cheap, low-quality food these companies sell, creating a kind of
nonvirtuous circle driving down both wages and the quality of food. The
advent of fast food (and cheap food in general) has, in effect, subsidized
the decline of family incomes in America.
--Michael Pollan, “The food movement, rising,” 2010
Controversies over Monsanto’s heavy-handed leveraging of GMO technologies to
create industry monopolies fomented public mistrust of agri-business, and focused
intense public criticism on big ag-biotech companies claiming to address global
production through GM crop. The GM debate, however, remains deadlocked as
many continue to see GM foods as a solution to future food shortages.

“Processed foods were once
the time-saving, awe-inducing
markers of an upwardly mobile
household. … Now, among the
upper middle classes, they're a
sure sign that someone does
not have a firm grip on what
the good life is.”
--Alexis Madrigal, “'Camp Grounded,'
'Digital Detox,' and the Age of Techno-
Anxiety” The Atlantic Magazine, July 9,
2013
LIFE Magazine, 10 Sep 1945

2000s-
Community-based co-ops and buyers clubs
increasingly circumvent mainstream production
and distribution networks, promoting green
parenting, sustainable agriculture, fairly priced
access to healthy food.
Organic food markets grow; the locavore
movement is born.
Reduced- No- Low- foods conscious of fats and
other ingredients complement the value of
nutritional supplements and DIY Doctoring.
Snacking and grazing are on the rise, along with
packaged “healthy” snacks .
Cheaper store brands gain popularity and
become fancier in the wake of global recession.
Gourmet options are available in fast food, casual
dining, and quick-fix meal offerings.

“Imagine if we had a food system that actually produced wholesome food.
Imagine if it produced that food in a way that restored the land. Imagine if we
could eat every meal knowing these few simple things: What it is we’re eating.
Where it came from. How it found its way to our table. And what it really cost.
If that was the reality, then every meal would have the potential to be a perfect
meal. We would not need to go hunting for our connection to our food and the
web of life that produces it. We would no longer need any reminding that we
eat by the grace of nature, not industry, and that what we’re eating is never
anything more or less than the body of the world.
I don’t want to have to forage every meal. Most people don’t want to learn to
garden or hunt. But we can change the way we make and get our food so that
it becomes food again—something that feeds our bodies and our souls.
Imagine it: Every meal would connect us to the joy of living and the wonder of
nature. Every meal would be like saying grace.”
-- Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006)
A new imagination

TWO: Trending to the Future

2010-
The Ethic of Sustainability
The industrial ideal is unravelling. No longer are we content just to consume, but seek to
manage sourcing and monitor quality. The experience of food extends from farm or “grow
your own” to table. From meat fingerprinting to GeoCertification, traceability is key.
Food is an experience of community, an expression of ethics, and a path to individual,
social, and environmental health.
Food-related start-ups fit in a “sustainability” investment portfolio, alongside solar energy
and electric cars, and investors are placing their bets on small tech start-ups to deliver the
next big innovation—for new experiences and more sustainable solutions.
Trending to the Future
1

Digital Experience
We thrive on digital engagements with finding, sourcing, ordering, reviewing, and
investigating our foods. Apps lead us to healthier choices, demystify labels, and keep
things transparent.
57% of Pinterest customers interact with food-related content; 21% say they have made
subsequent purchases [PriceGrabber survey].
We enjoy food online almost more than on our plates: research suggests that excessive
posting and viewing of food images on social media sites like Instagram can decrease our
enjoyment of actual foods while eating. Food is a full-fledged digital experience.
2010-
chownow.com
2

2010-
The Renewal of Convenience
Dining well on a shoestring no longer means having a ciabatta sandwich at Jack in the
Box. And stopping for food at a gas station no longer means settling for a lousy experience.
Mobile trucks and gas stations can serve up gourmet fare—quality matters, doesn’t have
to cost a bomb, and great food can come from anywhere.
Prefer to cook it yourself? Find all you need for a meal in a “one-stop” island at your grocer.
Fast food commitments to consistency and convenience meet sustainability, responsibility,
and locally sourced ingredients—in newly styled (often eco-conscious) retail spaces.
3

2010-
Work Around Convention
The ascendance of artisan, indie, and small-batch foods is accompanied by direct-to-
consumer subscription-based distribution services which bypass conventional retailers.
Local gyms and other community gathering spots become distribution centers.
E-commerce expands via online farm-to-table grocers like Greenling, Good Eggs and
Farmigo, Door to Door Organics, Fresh Direct and Mile High Organics. Food Hub redefines
supply for large buyers like schools and hospitals.
Online /Mobile ordering takes away from conventional dining-out—literally.
Larger grocers, too, like Tesco in the UK run “click and collect” stores to complement the
conventional retail approach.
4

2010-
Healthful Functionality
“In 2013, 58% of consumers thought a lot about the healthfulness of their
foods/beverages, 47% thought a lot about food ingredients, and 40%
frequently turned their thoughts to food safety” –2013 Food and Health
Survey. International Food Information Council Foundation, Washington,
D.C.
Thinking about food in terms of constituent ingredients,
nutritional value, dietary supplements, fortifications, and allergic
or medicinal effects leads to a continual search for health-
delivering high-impact super foods (and rejection of ingredients,
like sugar).
Snack foods and beverages packing functional punch address
all modern ailments from heart disease, diabetes, and
hypertension, to performance, pregnancy, and weightloss.
10 Superfoods infographic source:
http://www.thefutureofhealthnow.com/infographic-10-superfoods/
5

But it’s not all a straight line…
The industrial ideal is in shambles but the GMO debate is
deadlocked.
Grow-It-Yourself (GIY) and Back-to-Basics digital detox movements
are stronger than ever but so is our faith in technology to deliver
innovative solutions.
Organics, fair-trade, and farm-direct foods are more common than
ever before, but convenience and speed still drive consumer
lifestyles.
We are seized of the urgency of disrupting conventional foodways
but are we doing enough to counter the impact of climate change?

“The rate of increase in crop yields is
slowing – especially in wheat – raising
doubts as to whether food production will
keep up with the demand of a growing
population. Changes in temperature and
rainfall patterns could lead to food price
rises of between 3% and 84% by 2050.”
Source: Guardian, March 31 2014
World Bank Food Infographic 2014,
Although the total number of under-
nourished has fallen by 17 percent since
1990–92, 842 million or one in eight people
in the world were estimated to be suffering
from chronic hunger in 2011–13.
Source: UN FAO, The state of food insecurity in the world 2013
WASTEYIELD & COST
HUNGER
Global realities

VOLATILITY & SOCIAL UNREST
Food prices have increased and become more volatile since 2006. UN FAO’s Price Index correlates with
“food riots” and other conflict. Death toll is shown in parentheses.
Graph: New England Complex Systems Institute
Global realities

“The purely physical effects of climate change will, no
doubt, prove catastrophic. But the social effects
including, somewhere down the line, food riots, mass
starvation, state collapse, mass migrations, and conflicts
of every sort, up to and including full-scale war, could
prove even more disruptive and deadly.”
—Michael T. Klare, “The Hunger Wars in Our Future,”
Huffington Post, August 7, 2012
Global realities
Image Source: http://dollarvigilante.com/blog/2013/11/7/america-rumors-of-food-riots-realities-of-war.html

Will food engineering deliver--again?
We once imagined the solution to increased demand from population growth in synthetic
foods. This futurist comic was published on November 14, 1965. By Athelstan Spilhaus
(illustrated by Gene Fawcett). Perhaps a little tongue-in-cheek—but prescient.
Source: http://www.nextnature.net/2013/12/bizarre-retro-futuristic-visions-of-meat/

Will “sustainability” be enough?
“Farm-to-table may sound right—it’s direct and
connected—but really the farmer ends up
servicing the table, not the other way around. It
makes good agriculture difficult to sustain.”
“Our belief that we can create a
sustainable diet for ourselves by
cherry-picking great ingredients is
wrong. Because it’s too narrow-
minded. We can’t think about
changing parts of our system. We
need to think about redesigning the
system.”
The Third Plate “combines tastes not based on
convention, but because they fit together to
support the environment that produced them.”
Penguin, 2014

WHAT WILL OUR SOLUTIONS BE THIS TIME AROUND?
WHAT WILL OUR FUTURE FOODS BE?
HOW WILL THEY TRANSFORM OUR WAYS OF
GROWING,
EATING,
LIVING,
CONNECTING,
and simply
BEING
ON THE PLANET?

THREE: Future Foods

Problem: We will face dire resource shortages.
Solution: Tap ignored, abundant resources. Change “food” completely.
Jellyfish Dish: Oceans cover 70% of our earth’s surface, but
produce only a small percentage of our food. Jellyfish are
taking over warming waters and wreaking havoc. Why not
borrow from far eastern cuisines and try them?
Insect Protein Boost: Already a recognized source of protein for
several indigenous cultures, insects are on the list of potential
new sources of human food and animal feed.
While it takes 22 pounds of feed to get about 2 lbs of beef, it only
takes 3.75 pounds of feed to produce a 2 lbs of cricket. Insect
farming emits 1% of the greenhouse gases produced in rearing
sheep or cattle, and requires far less water.
Champions overcome “ick” factors by promoting insects as
animal feed, and incorporating insect-based flours to give
regular foods a nutritional boost. Example: Bitty Foods in San
Francisco.
Source: Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security, UN FAO 2013
Image: http://www.citylab.com/weather/2014/06/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-
coming-jellyfish-apocalypse/373706/
Future Food 1: Eating Down the Chain

Spotlight: ALGAE
At the base of the food chain are photosynthetic water-dwelling plant-like organisms that
already produce over half of the earth’s oxygen. The use of algae in producing alternative
fuels, CO2 sequestering, wastewater treatment, and manufacturing bioplastics and eco-
friendly fabrics and dyes is well-known.
Algal speed of growth means that “one acre of algae can produce the same amount of
protein in a year as 21 acres of soybeans or 49 acres of corn.” (Alltech) Certain algae are
farmed to produce food ingredients like Omega-3 fatty acids and natural food colorants
and dyes. Biomass discarded after “de-oiling” becomes valuable biofertilizer.
Image source: http://contemporaryfoodlab.com/en/journal/2014/05/powering-our-future-with-algae/
#sustainable #newproteins #nowaste

Spotlight: ALGAE
Designers Michiko Nitta and Michael Burton
envision a future where your clothes supply
nourishment via the Algaculture Symbiosis Suit.
“Algaculture designs a new symbiotic
relationship between humans and algae. It
proposes a future where humans will be
enhanced with algae living inside new bodily
organs, allowing us to be semi-photosynthetic.
Almost enabling us to become plant-like by
gaining food from light. As such, we will be
symbionts (meaning that both entities entirely
depend on each other for survival), entering
into a mutually beneficial relationship with the
algae.
Why design new food on what we have now,
when we could re-design how we fuel the body
altogether?”
Source: http://www.burtonnitta.co.uk/algaculture.html
#futureclothing #transhumanism #biofuel
#biomimicry #sustainable

Spotlight: ALGAE
Urban Algae Canopy: A prototype for
building integrated farming and urban
architecture from London-based
ecoLogicStudio.
“It is now time to overcome the segregation
between technology and nature typical of
the mechanical age, to embrace a systemic
understanding of architecture” concludes
Claudia Pasquero of ecoLogicStudio.
“Once completed as part of EXPO2015 Future
food District the Urban Algae Canopy will
produce the oxygen equivalent of 4 hectares
of woodland and up to 150kg of biomass per
day, 60% of which are natural vegetal
proteins.”
Source: http://syndebio.com/urban-algae-canopy-ecologicstudio/
#futurehousing #futurecities #urbanfarming #newproteins

Problem: There is terrific waste in the food system—from spoilage to packaging discarded.
Solution: rethink how we use, package, distribute, and store our resources.
Offal not Awful: As with insects, there’s nothing new about
offal consumption in many parts of the world, but modern
farming and consumer preferences have made offal
cookery both difficult and taboo.
As a response to the high-carbon-footprint of animal
farming and the waste of butchery, chefs and authors are
finding ways to take advantage of every last scrap of the
animal.
“[In 15 years,] meat will be an occasional food, served in
small portions (a good idea that’s already been explored),
and it will include eating offal—the nourishing foods we've
cast aside for so long,” says Chef and cookbook author
Deborah Madison.
Image source: Eve Turow on http://www.eveturow.com/blog/2014/5/11/the-gut-of-nose-to-tail-dining
#nofoodwaste #eatthewaste #nosetotail #sustainable
Future Food 2: Nose-to-Tail Food

Waste Economies #nofoodwaste #eatthewaste #nosetotail
#sustainable #socialenterprise
Waste Renewal: The Social Enterprise model tackles
waste by sourcing surplus foods and turning them
into marketable food products.
To find surplus foods going waste, there’s PareUp—
an app to connect hungry eaters with excess
restaurant and grocery store food at discounted
prices.
Foodsharing: Still a fringe practice, food-sharing is an
extension of sharing economy practices yet to take off.
Apps like Leftoverswap (connecting people with leftovers
and people looking for free meals) and non-profits like
foodsharing.de facilitate networking between individual
with and without food surpluses. Cropmobster facilitates
community redistribution and London-based Eatro seeks to
connects home cooks with other meal-seekers.

Better biodegradables #nomoreplastic #newconvenience
#sustainable #socialenterprise
“This too shall pass” is Swedish design
studio Tomorrow Machine’s line of
biodegradable packaging with the same
life-span as the foods it contains.
Manufactured from seaweed (for
smoothies), beeswax (for rice), and
caramelized sugar and wax (for oil).
Treeson’s water bottles are made from 100% toxin-
free plant-based materials, biodegradable and
easily flattened for free return via US Post. Each
bottle is recycled to produce clean energy with a
machine that converts the material into biogas. For
every bottle sold, the brand plants one tree; a
mobile app allows consumers to track where their
tree has been planted.

Back to Biomimicry
Inspired by how egg yolks retain shape in a thin
membrane and the formation of water droplets, a team
of London-based industrial design students--Rodrigo
Garcia Gonzalez, Pierre Paslier, Guillaume Couche—
developed Ooho, an edible, blob-like water container
you can make at home.
A single unit of Ooho is created using “spherification”: a
1940s technique using brown algae and calcium
chloride to create a gelatinous double membrane
made popular by the Spanish molecular gastronomy
restaurant elBulli. Ooho is a recipient of the 2014 Lexus
Design Award.
#DIY #biomimicry #nomoreplastic #socialenterprise
Wikicell packaging asks that you
think of all packaged foods as
though they are fruit. The skin is
not just edible, it’s nutritious. And
all you have to do is wash your
ice cream before you eat it.

Problem: “Volatility” is the new normal.
Solution: Science and Technology still hold big promise in coping with uncertain futures.
GMO Food: Although opposition to GMOs continue to be strong,
many believe that genetic modification technologies represent
the only viable and fast alternative to creating adaptable crops
for unpredictable climates.
Most GMOs have been developed to increase yield, resist
disease, or tolerate herbicide. In the future, says the WHO,
“genetic modification could be aimed at altering the nutrient
content of food, reducing its allergenic potential, or improving the
efficiency of food production systems ... FAO/WHO Codex
guidelines exist for risk analysis of GM food.”
Image: Purple tomatoes packed with anthocyanins have anti-
inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic effects, as well as double the
shelf life of regular tomatoes.
Source: WHO--http://www.who.int/topics/food_genetically_modified/en/
#GMO #biotech #superfood #customized #proprietaryfood
Future Food 3: Engineered Edibles

3D Printing #DIY #personalized #spacefood #digitalgastronomy
3D-printed foods powerfully capture our imaginations of a space-age, automated,
predictable, personalized form of food. In theory, 3D printing food does away with the farm
and produces an endless supply of food in just the form we please to end world hunger.
In practice, however, 3D-printed foods may be most readily suited to additive food
assemblages like pizza, as engineer Anjan Contractor’s open-source RepRap Mendel 3D
printer showed in early 2014.
Other applications include: ChefJetPro’s art candy sculptures, and the German company
Biozoon’s “smoothfood” molecular gastronomy adaptation for the elderly and infirm.
Current trends are to use 3D printers to create recognizable foods, but experts say we
need to re-imagine food altogether. Will 3D technology allow us to do so?
Image: FOODINI printing pizza. Source: http://www.cnet.com/news/3d-printed-pizza-heres-what-it-looks-like/

3D Printing at Home #DIY #personalized #futurecooking #digitalgastronomy
Taking inspiration from molecular gastronomy (which
highlights the chemical reactions of cooking to create
new sensory experiences), Amit Zohan and Marcelo
Coelho propose “digital gastronomy.” Via the kitchen
machine Cornucopia, they exhort us to visualize all the
ways we can manipulate food digitally and
participate ourselves in its fabrication.
Cooking becomes a physical and chemical process
of “shaping edible matter into practical design
formats.” The goal is to “retain the freshness of
ingredients, increase the potential for personal
creative expression and develop a new and tighter
connection between food production and our digital
lives.”
Image: http://www.cmarcelo.com/cornucopia/
Amit Zoran and Marcelo Coelho. “Cornucopia: The Concept of Digital Gastronomy.” in Leonardo: Journal of the
International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. Volume 44, Number 5, October 2011, pp. 425-431

Meat Without Footprints #synthetic #labfab #crueltyfree
#3Dprinting #postcarnivore
Concerned about what modern meat production does
to the planet and to the animals? The solution may be
easier than going vegetarian—tissue engineering.
In 2013, Prof. Mark Post of Maastricht University,
produced the world's first lab-grown burger culturing
stem cells from a cow.
New York-based Modern Meadow is developing in vitro
meat using a 3-D printer with a cartridge of bio-ink
made of live cells that can be printed into a pre-set
shape to fuse into living tissue.
At least one study confirms that the environmental
impact of cultured meat is far lower than the
conventionally produced equivalent. Production costs,
however, are prohibitively high.
Tuomisto et.al. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2011, 45 (14), pp 6117–6123 Image: David Parry / PA Wire

Problem: Conventional farming is inefficient. We’re running out of arable land. Farms are
too far away from where we live.
Solution: Rethink farming technologies. Bring farms closer to home.
Hydroponic Farms: PodPonics grows lettuces on an
11-acre facility near Atlanta without pesticides, using
recycled water, proprietary lighting, and nutrient
technology—and still produce more food per acre
than the traditional farm. By growing locally at or
near the point of consumption, they eliminate oil
dependence. Companies like BrightFarms step in to
help connect local grocers with local farmers,
bypassing distributors.
Film Farms use SkyGel--a super absorbent hydrophilic
booster which acts as a reservoir holding water up to
1,000 times its weight. Originally a technology
developed for medical applications and diapers,
film farming is being commercialized by Dubai-
based Agricel. It could transform desert landscapes
into growing regions.
#futureofwater #futurefarming #oilfree #indoorfarms
Image Source: http://agfundernews.com/podponics-hydroponic-produce-grower-closes-3-4m-series.html
Future Food 4: Farm Fresh 2.0

Smart Farms
The Internet of Things (IoT) finds its way into “precision
agriculture” by way of AgSmarts ground sensors, which
monitor soil moisture and irrigation. OnFarm integrates
disparate devices in the field into one software
product—making an IoT platform into the “operating
system for the farm.” Research shows that using only
one type of precision technology can increase yield by
16% and cut down water use by 50%.*
Japanese IT company Fujitsu is growing lettuces in a
Fukushima facility once used to manufacture phone
chips. Fujitsu’s own data analytics platform “Akisai”
measures temperature, humidity, fertilization levels, and
other data from sensors, and can tell the producers how
the plants are growing and when they should be
harvested. The lab is developing a low-potassium
lettuce for patients with chronic kidney disease.
#bigdatafarming #superfood #indoorfarms
#smart #socialenterprise
*Source: http://www.state.gov/e/stas/series/212172.htm
Image source: http://www.techrepublic.com/pictures/photos-how-big-data-is-changing-the-modern-farm/7/

Pink Farms
Dickson Despommier's Vertical Farming ideas take
shape as innovators around the world find solutions to
the problem of light and energy consumption required
for efficient indoor growing.
Green Sense Farms in Indiana and Kyoto-based Nuvege
use blue and red Phillips LEDs. Since LEDs emit less heat,
plants can be placed closer to the light source, and
more grown in the same space. Light innovations allow
old buildings, abandoned subterranean tunnels and
other dark spaces to be reclaimed for vertical farming.
Using combinations of Hydroponics (no-soil growing),
Areoponics (food growth using air and mist), and
Aquaponics (aquatic and food symbiotic growth), and
cultivating dwarf-varieties developed for NASA, farms
can radically transform urban environments.
#futureoflighting #labgrown #indoorfarms
#verticalfarms #sustainable #spacefood
Image source:
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21602194-indoor-farming-may-be-taking-root-light-fantastic

Sky Farms #futurecities #verticalfarms #urbanagriculture
#sustainable #farmtotable
“Urban Agriculture is a concept that restores our common knowledge of a cyclic system of
life and its necessities. We cannot distance ourselves from the resources we need or the
waste we produce.” – Plantagon (Sweeden)
Image Source: Fast Co July 2, 2014: http://tinyurl.com/l9u3pqxImage Source: Plantagon--plantagon.com

Spotlight: The Plant #indoorfarms #urbanrenewal #urbanagriculture
#farmtotable #sustainable
Chicago’s “The Plant” repurposes an abandoned meatpacking factory into a self-
sufficient no-waste urban food-growing ecosystem. Waste from the city is close—a
valuable fuel—as is labor and demand. Distance from farm to table shrinks.
Image : http://www.plantchicago.com/about/our-model/

Problem: Access to information is blocked by complex procedure and private interest.
Solution: Community-reinforcing, privacy respecting open source commitments.
Open Source GMO:
“GMO agriculture relies on the relatively new science of
bioinformatics, which means that DNA sequences look
a lot more like software code than a vegetable garden.
And if Monsanto is the Microsoft of food supply…
perhaps the time has come for the agricultural equi-
valent of Linux, the open-source operating system that
made computer programming a communal effort...
Like open-source software, open-source food genetics
would advance biological research … universities
would soon become hothouses of innovation.
Intellectual production without intellectual property
would thrive, as scientists gained access to DNA code in
all its infinite variety, along with the freedom to create
derivative work and redistribute findings.”
--Frederick Kaufman, “Let’s Make Genetically Modified Food Open-
Source,” Slate (July 2013)
#noGMO #biotech #hackGMO
Future Food 5: Open Source Food

Linux for Lettuce
Three big-ag companies--Monsanto, DuPont, and
Syngenta--control half the world’s seed sales, many
of which carry patent protections. Organic seed
banks (eg. Navdanya in India) have long sought to
collect and share seeds to circumvent corporate and
proprietary control.
In April 2014, the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI), a
coalition of farmers, scientists and sustainable food
advocates, launched the Open Source Seed Pledge-
relinquishing legal licensing, and making uncompro-
mising commitment to sharing and free exchange.
Anyone opening a packet of OSSI’s seeds commits to
keeping them, and any future plant derivatives bred
using them, in the public domain.
#diybio #opensource #IP #seedcommons #biodiversity
Image: Bryce Richter, http://www.wisconline.com/featurenew1/seed_pledge_images.html

The End of Food? #diybio #opensource #superfood #lifehack
#QS #selfexperiment #sustainable
#bulletproof
At one edge of the Quantified Self (QS)
movement, self-experiments like those that
produced Soylent and Bulletproof® coffee
promise to performance enhancement,
energy and weightloss with nutrient-dense
beverages. Soylent claims to be a complete
food-replacement for the future.
Basic recipes for both products are online, in
the open-source spirit.
diy.soylent.me offers tools for personalization
and further self-experimentation, while
Bulletproof®’s Dave Asprey accessorizes with
ingredients, sleep induction mats, heart-rate
variability sensors, and “Focus Brain Trainer”
sensor headbands in in his “Upgraded Self”
online shop.

Problem: Digital lifestyles disconnect us from nature and the sources of our food.
Solution: Use the one to reach the other.
Reunite with your inner farmer and grow your
own hydroponic food. “Niwa is an automated,
hydroponic system that controls climate
variables and light cycles, automatically giving
your plants the perfect environment to grow,
and watering and feeding your plants when
they need it.
Because Niwa has the knowledge of a huge
number of plants stored in her system, no green
thumb or horticultural knowledge is needed.
… via the smartphone app you can manage
and monitor the experience from anywhere,
anytime with a touch of your screen”
#smart #indoorfarms #verticalfarms #growyourown
http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/is-the-future-of-food-
growing-in-your-smartphone#axzz36UkZThmb
Future Food 6: Food You Know

Monitor and Trace #surveillance #transparency #traceability #monitoring
Drones may be the route to ensuring transpa-
rency in a factory farming industry hidden
behind “ag-gag” laws. Their use in monitoring
Australian farms is being debated. A drone
documentation project by independent
journalist Will Potter, has been funded on
Kickstarter.
On the flip side, Syngenta Foundation’s
FarmForce app launched in Kenya (June 2014)
enables dispersed smallholder farmers to
manage production in real time and
demonstrate food safety compliance. The app
helps small farmers to be competitive in
producing for processors, agribusiness, and
retailers across developing countries.
Image source: http://civileats.com/2014/06/17/can-drones-expose-factory-farms-this-journalist-hopes-so/

Point and Know #smart #digitalgastronomy #transparency #socialenterprise
Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/tellspec-food-scanner/
Tellspec is a hand-held IR (infra-red)
spectrometer scanner. With a custom algorithm
and a companion app on your smartphone, the
device determines the allergens, chemicals,
nutrients, calories, and ingredients in your food.
Spectrum data collected from food is sent to an
‘analysis engine’ in the cloud via your phone
(through Bluetooth), and all the aforementioned
nutritional info is then sent back to your phone.
The device can be particularly helpful to those
with food allergies or intolerances. It also helps
ensure food transparency.

Problem: Supply cannot keep pace with population growth and demand.
Solution: Simulated foods and experiences.
“GhostFood explores eating in a future of and
biodiversity loss brought on by climate
change. The GhostFood mobile food trailer
serves scent-food pairings that are consumed
by the public using a wearable device that
adapts human physiology to enable taste
experiences of unavailable foods. Inspired by
insect physiology (insects use their antennae
to smell and thus navigate their world) and
long-standing human traditions of
technological extension of the senses, the
device inserts direct olfactory stimulation into
the eating experience. Scents of foods
threatened by climate change are paired
with foods made from climate change-resilient
foodstuffs, to provide the taste illusions of
foods that may soon no longer be available.”
By Artists Miriam Simun an Mirium Songster. Souce: http://www.miriamsimun.com/ghostfood/
#biodiversity #biomimicry #sensoryexperience
Future Food 7: Simulated Food

Future Food 7: Simulated Food
Beyond Vegan
Faux meats and substitutes like “Tofurkey” are
nothing new, but companies are getting
better at aligning soy and other proteins to
mimic meaty textures and tastes.
Beyond Meat’s "chicken" strips and taco "beef"
crumble hit the US market in 2013, claiming to
produce faux chicken enough to save 1.5
million actual birds per year.
Beyond Eggs is Hampton Creek’s egg
substitute. Cheaper than real eggs, it’s
claimed to have longer shelf-life and lower
cholesterol.
Image sources: http://www.metronomegazette.com/2013/09/the-future-of-food.html & http://www.hamptoncreek.com/
#postcarnivore #veganmeat #synthetic
#crueltyfree #labfab #sustainable

FOUR: Re-telling the Story of Food

Will any of it work?
The efficacy of any intervention depends on cost, the permeation of technologies and the
uptake of new food ideas. Here are some common, obvious objections:
• 3D printing is constrained to industrial uses. 3 of 4 Americans say they wouldn’t eat it
anyway—at least some because it’s processed food.
• Similarly for IR (infra-red) spectrometers. Experts say that Tellspec just cannot do what it
promises well enough at its present cost.
• Will the high costs of lighting vertical gardens or building them into our cities remain
prohibitive? Will even those be able to grow enough to feed us?
• Faux meats and egg-substitutes may continue to cater to niche markets of activist
eaters.
• Open Source seeds will become ready raw material for new proprietary foods, the
Open Source Seed Pledge notwithstanding.
When will we be really ready to rethink “food”?

Retelling the Story of Food
The movements that have brought us to our present level of awareness and activism are
still in force and likely to continue to shape our future: local, organics, grow your own,
community co-ops, animal rights /anti-cruelty, no GMO. “Sustainability” still tops the
agenda in imagining our future foods.
But conventional sustainability approaches have reached a saturation point, and the
“third plate” approach to rotational eating is not yet rooted.
In the meantime, Silicon Valley has stepped in to take on the challenge of shaping our
food futures. The result:
1. #hackfood: The pragmatics and economic drive of social entrepreneurism supplant
the idealism of organics. Data analytics, smart technologies, cloud computing, and the
hacker mindset are in.
2. #reconnectivity: Fixing the food chain means redesigning it from scratch—and re-
writing the conventional story of food. Whether reconnecting consumers with their
ingredients or ranchers with local buyers in next-gen online meat markets, sensors, smart
technologies and a host of new apps are re-connecting people and bypassing old
institutions in new and unexpected ways.

Story re-telling
DIYBio
LifeHacksHealth
Wellness
Mobility,
Convenience
Re-connectivity
Digital
Gastronomy
Sustainability
Trust,
Traceability
PersonalizationAccess
Simulation
Fabrication
Social Enterprise
How will you re-tell the story of food?

Future Food, Food Future

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