After reading Module 9 New Version what are your reactions to the innovations you learned about? Choose 2 to react to and be prepared to share your thoughts.

Does the innovation fit with your values?

Does it contradict your values?

Do you think it would be a good business investment?

Overview In this session we will look at seven new trends in food production and consumption and consider how food may look in the near and far future. We will analyze these innovations to understand the interaction between technologies and underlying social attitudes to food. We will examine the implications of each of these trends for social life, for health, for the economy and for global warming. 1. Meal Delivery Kits The popularity of these kits has taken off during Covid. First, you don't have to shop. All the ingredients are delivered to you pre-portioned with a simple recipe card. You can cook from scratch" in 30 minutes or less. You might enjoy cooking more with less prep work. The four main companies in Canada are: HelloFresh, Chef's Plate, GoodFood, and Cook It. The link below describes and compares Other companies are springing up that cater to specialized diets e.g gluten-free, keto, diabetic, vegetarian and vegan. Or they cater to specific groups e.g. seniors, children, singles. Advantages: more whole foods of a higher quality, portion control as the amount is set and you can't eat more, and there is a reduction in food waste which is a big plus. There may be more pleasure in cooking and eating together from this innovation. Disadvantages or Questions: These meals can be pricey, yet some people argue they save money. But it depends on which plan you choose and how you use it. There is still some work! Including washing pots, pans and dishes.. This is why high quality prepared meals delivered to your door is another market option growing in popularity (microwave in 3 minutes). One of these new companies, Freshly, runs an ad where a young couple is enjoying their delicious meal and hollering "We'll never have to cook again!" This seems rather like restaurant cating at home. But people are having social time together rather than eating individually or "on the run". 2.Beyond Meat/Impossible Burger Plant-based alternatives to meat have come onto the market recently. They are being embraced in particular by younger consumers who are more comfortable with alternatives to mcat and dairy as awareness grows of health, animal rights and environmental issues. The advantages include: peas beans are used as the base protein and leave a lighter carbon footprint than raising corn/soy to feed to animals that are then fed to humans. Also some of these peas/beans can be grown in Canada. The question: how much healthier are these products? Read the ingredients list. Recall Michael Pollan's suggestion that a "real "food should have no more than 5 ingredients and no unpronounceable terms. These products are highly processed with many complex ingredients that are artificial to produce visual appeal, smell, taste and texture. For instance, synthetic blood has been engineered so the burgers appear to bleed" like a rare beefburger would 3. Cellular Meat These "test tube" meats are still in the developmental stage and not yet ready for market. Cells are taken from the muscle, fat and connective tissue of live animals by a biopsy needle. They are then cultured (or grown) in a nutrient medium in vats that are like giant crockpots housed in labs. Those who have tasted these meats report that they are remarkably like the real thing, Perhaps surprisingly, in many cases it is the meat industry itself that is supporting this costly research. But aren't they undermining their own business? Or are they just trying to be ahead of the curve? So many flaws exist with mass-produced meat at the present time. Educated consumers are shifting to small scale organic meats, called "craft" meats. Or they are shifting to vegetarian diets. But the market for meat is unlikely to completely disappear. Statistics show that in the last 50 years as the population has doubled, the demand for meat has tripled. As developing countries have more income, they want more meat. But the implications of this rising demand can be catastrophic for our climate. If the meat industry can produce meat without raising and killing animals why wouldn't they? At the present point in time over half the animal is wasted when it is slaughtered. The cellular meat would have a lighter carbon footprint and less waste. At the present time this is experimental only and still very expensive. Amanda Little in her research for The Fate of Food, tasted cultured duck as part of her research which at the present time would have sold at $800 per ounce. She said it was delicious but unsettling to think about. But it is also unsettling to think about the images of factory farmed animals. When the price comes down, and it will, would you consider buying this cellular meat? 4. Soylent and the Food Alternatives Soylent was the first food alternative (2013) and there are now many others. The market success of these products was originally in question but sales have grown rapidly. They were not intended to be meal substitutes like Boost but a complete diet alternative that a person could live on indefinitely and remain healthy. The inventor was a young IT guy named Rob Rhinehart who worked in Silicon Valley, typically clocking in an 80 hour week. He was tied to his computer work and did not want to take time away to shop or cook. He and several of his Silicon Valley male friends put their brains together to hack a recipe" based on their take on nutritional science. The product Soylent is reported to taste like a cross between almond milk and pancake batter. It is sometimes jokingly referred to as adult baby formula. Advantages: Some science has been involved in its development and it seems to have all the nutrients essential to sustain life but in an artificial form so we should view that with some skepticism. It is cost competitive as it is cheaper than eating at McDonald's. And it is made from ingredients that have a very low carbon footprint. It is vegan and it leaves zero waste. Downside: Critics say where is the beauty, joy, pleasure and soulful connection of making and sharing a real meal with others? Rhinehart answers: do that social thing once a week if you really want to. He's all about saving time for what he thinks is more important. His is the ultimate end of the devaluing of the importance of food. But there is a sizable market for this kind of product Critics on the science side also say that these formulas ignore the phytochemicals found in fresh fruit and vegetables and that it is presumptuous of the inventors to claim it is an optimally healthy diet. 5. Survival Food - Preppers and Guardian Moms There has always been a small market for this dehydrated food. In the past it has mainly been purchased by somewhat paranoid men with guns and cabins in the country preparing for the end of times by stockpiling. They are nicknamed preppers. But there have been recent technical innovations and this food is now freeze dried. The vegetables are like large light flakes of confetti. Recently sales have shot up dramatically. The market is telling a story. The new customers are suburban women that the industry calls "guardian moms as they are worried about their kids. The market is telling us about growing anxiety in the population: environmental disasters (hurricanes etc.), the possibility of food chains being disrupted, of food safety being compromised, and government supports during a crisis diminishing. Add Covid into the mix and the anxiety picture is clear. Survival food is now being used after hurricanes and other environmental crises, and as relief food in areas of the globe experiencing famine. Dehydration technologies are also widely used in the development of military food. It is light, mobile food, important in combat as Soylent is too heavy to carry. The US army is working on 3D printers that can make food on the spot in powder, paste or pellet form. This food can be customized to the nutrient needs of a particular soldier by body sensors that read what that person's deficiencies are. 6. Vertical Farms These farms are essentially controlled environments that grow our food, like a greenhouse but on a bigger more complex scale. They do not try to adapt the plants to the environment as is the case with conventional agriculture (e.g. genetic modification tries to make plants drought resistance, or pest resistant). Rather, vertical farming creates an environment that is optimal for each species being grown Indoor environments are designed so plants are getting exactly what they need (temperature, humidity, light, nutrient absorption, 02 and CO2 levels). The uptake on this idea has been strongest in countries with the poorest arable lands (eg. deserts) and the most rapid population growth (parts of the Middle East and Southeast Asia.) They need it the most. But the advantages are big even for the richer countries. Vertical farms can be safer and cheaper. They allow growing that is local and is pesticide free. Much smaller amounts of water and fertilizer are needed. It is highly intensive so a lot of food can be grown on a small building footprint. The plants are insulated from the climate volatility of the external world at a time when "extreme weather" is increasing. The pioneers in developing these technologies are deeply committed environmentalists like Dickson Des Pommiers. He says we have such a climate crisis that it would be better to return as much agricultural land as possible to trees and diverse wild plants. This could remove massive about of CO2 from our atmosphere in the short time period we have to make big changes. How does this kind of farming work? Here we will describe just one version of vertical farming which is called aeroponics. Sunshine is replaced by LED lights (a narrow band of red and blue spectrum light). Plant roots dangle below a special fabric that holds the whole plant in midair like feathery icicles. drinking in high pressure, nutrient rich mist. Cameras and sensors track growth. Roots that aren't submerged in water or soil are exposed to higher levels of oxygen and they grow faster. Downside: Isn't it expensive? One would think so. But technology is changing quickly and recent advances in LED lighting are reducing costs dramatically. But it still takes energy, whether hydro, gas or solar panels. Advantages: In the developed world vertical farming may work best for the 30% of our produce that are leafy greens which we know are so important for health. They tend to be perishable, nutrient-dense (remember those Omega 3s,) and climate- sensitive. Theoretically these vertical farms could be every few blocks in big cities and you could pick up your produce on the way home from work. Speaking of work, this method of growing can also create a new kind of farming job with a different technical skill set dedicated to growing sustainable food. Perhaps we should be glad we have this is our toolbox as we may need it. It shrinks long distance food chains, reduces rot and waste, and liberates land from toxic chemicals so it can be returned to forests. 7. Edible Insects Throughout human history insects have been used as an important source of protein, particularly in tropical countries. Often small mammals weren't available as a reliable source of food and insects were. Now the developed world is seriously considering including them in our diet. In Ontario there are already several cricket farms operating successfully. What are the advantages? Crickets or grasshoppers (the two most common "crops") are raised in barns or greenhouses that use very little space and take much fewer resources than our more typical protein sources. Insects use a thousand times less water and produce just 1% of the emissions of cows. They leave a much lighter carbon footprint and we may need them to cope with the unknown challenges of the future. With so many younger people seeking alternatives to factory- farmed meats there is room for this market to grown. Will it? The main hurdle to overcome is the "ick" factor. But people who have eaten them say grasshoppers are like chicken breast meat, a taste that is bland but varies by how you spice and prepare it. Rose Wang is an American entrepreneur who is piloting many new insect snack products with her company Chirp Chips. She reports: "The first time I was dared to eat a scorpion in China, I was terrified, and the moment I bit down, all I could think was Wow! This tastes like shrimp. "(Little, 2019, p. 251.) At the moment we are seeing crickets marketed in Ontario mainly in protein powders used as supplements for health and athletic conditioning. Will this market become more mainstream as with Rose Wang's snack foods that are now available in convenience stores in the U.S.? Again, with some bleak future forecasts about availability of our standard protein sources, we may be glad to have those insects. And we may become very interested in how good they can be made to taste. Summary This section examined a range of technological innovations that are changing both the production of food and how it is experienced by eaters. We have evaluated the underlying values and social priorities represented in each trend. We have asked the question of which future we as consumers will choose