I do not have to stress how important a role food and eating play in our lives. Food is at the base in Maslow’s hierarchy of our needs, it is essential for our survival. It shows the creativity of humankind perfectly: food exists in the richest variety of ingredients, forms, shapes, tastes and colours all over the world from the Greenlandic kiviak (dozens of small birds stuffed into a seal fermented under a rock) through the Liquid Pea Sphere of molecular gastronomy to the tagliatelle with hand-cut meat ragout from the world’s best restaurant, Osteria Francescana.

The advent of novel digital health tools will radicalise an activity as old as life itself: food consumption. Indeed, innovation and technology will help us be more conscious of our food consumption. The latest technologies can help us better understand what we eat, how we should eat, and even stretch the boundaries of the food industry. Let’s take a closer look at how technology will shape the future of food.

Food = survival + eating = social event

Everyone knows that eating is also a key social event in every society and groups. Providing food and eating has been a common activity for humans since the Stone Age: men hunted mammoths in groups while women collected edible berries, and then they gathered to eat the prey together. 

This notion has not changed a bit. The stove or the fireplace has been the central part of every household for millennia. Families gather around in the kitchen, share their food and their stories around a meal. Eating brings people together, initiates discussions, bridges or even separates people based on differences in taste.

The radical technological changes, innovations and societal upheavals of the 20th and 21st centuries have also left their marks on our food and eating habits. Fast-food restaurants vs. healthy lifestyle; conscious cooking vs. random eating patterns; obesity in the developed world vs. hunger/famine in the developing countries; mass food production vs. local farming; are there any clear trends in this cacophony? What does the future of food and eating look like? Can we possibly grasp what we will eat twenty years from now, and how will we eat it?

According to my observation concerning food and eating, there are currently at least five pressing issues on the table. I believe that the future of food points into the direction where technology and innovation offer a solution for them.

1. We don’t know what we eat

Seriously, we have no idea what we buy at the supermarket or what is on our plate in the canteen. Where did that eggplant you had for lunch come from? And where was the chicken bred? What about the glass of wine you had for dinner? Although ingredients are listed on most of the products we buy, more often than not, we have absolutely no idea where our food comes from, and what substances it contains. 

This is more concerning given our increased reliance on prepackaged food over fresh ones. Especially so, given the life-threatening complications of food allergies.

The World Allergy Organization estimates that around 220-250 million people suffer from allergies. Recent analyses indicate an increased rate in food allergies, although the causes aren’t clear. In Europe, 2% of adults have food allergies, but children as well suffer from these life-threatening reactions. For example,  7% of children in the UK and 9% of children in Australia are affected by allergies, sometimes with fatal consequences. As such, a method to know the constituents of our food becomes increasingly important.

The solution might come from food scanners

One remedy to our ignorance would be having a list of exactly what ingredients and how many calories a meal contains, and what allergens and toxins might be in it. I mean not just the kind of meal we eat but the actual food on our plate and its specific amount. Several companies have already tried to address this with food scanners.

Nima, a Silicon Valley-based company, developed two such portable scanners. Its gluten sensor enables users to scan samples of their food for gluten content on the spot, a game changer for those suffering from celiac disease. The company’s second device, the peanut sensor, helps in determining the presence of peanut content in one’s food. Peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies worldwide and can lead to life threatening anaphylaxis. Having the ability to easily scan for peanut presence before food consumption can literally be life-saving for some. During our tests for those devices, we also found them to be accurate and very practical to use.

Other companies have also entered the consumer market with food scanners of their own. SCio scans food and analyses their chemical constituents thanks to its micro-spectrometer. However, lately the company seems to have shifted its focus towards the farming industry rather than improving on its consumer product. 

Another handheld food scanner comes from TellSpec, whose device can inform users about specific ingredients and macronutrients. However, while their website has been sharing regular blog posts after more than a year of silence, no major updates from the company or its device have been issued for the last couple of years.

Although the technology is promising, development is very much in its infancy and there are still hurdles that must be overcome. For instance, for a food scanner to become popular, it must be a handheld device. With current technology, this means engineers have to sacrifice sensitivity, accuracy and some features in order to achieve a convenient size. Nima already has two separate products for two separate food contents. It would be much more convenient to have an all-in-one device, but it would be rather bulky and not user-friendly. But as the technology progresses, we’ll eventually reach this point.

2. We don’t know what we should eat

So food scanners tell me what I am eating, great! But how do we know what we should or shouldn’t eat? One day scientists state that animal milk is unhealthy, the other day that it isn’t. According to one diet, you should not eat carbohydrates, another one says you should have food from all kinds of colors on your plate. 

No wonder people are puzzled by the food question and often have a frustrated connection to eating. It is also logical that intuitive eating is getting more popular. It says that you should pay attention to your body and its needs – eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full. So simple. But if you want to add more reason and scientific explanation to your body’s needs, let me introduce you to nutrigenomics.

The solution might come from nutrigenomics

This new hybrid field combines genetics and nutrition science. Since our genetic makeup varies from individual to individual, it inadvertently affects how we react to food we consume. With the increased availability and accessibility to DNA sequencing services, we can now have a better idea of what we should eat.

“When thinking about nutrigenomics, we need to think about more than just our genes,” explained Neil Grimmer, founder & CEO of Habit, a company that personalises meal plans based on one’s genetic background. “We also need to think about how proteins and other metabolites respond to the foods we eat.” Unfortunately, just like TellSpec, Habit also seems to have gone out of business. But as we previously wrote, even if the biggest player of a trend goes down, it doesn’t mean that the technology itself is defective. For it isn’t.

Nutrigenomics tries to understand how nutrition affects our metabolic pathways, and what we can do to get the most out of nutrition in a personalised way. If I choose the other type of meat or cheese as the smartphone app suggests based on my DNA, I will enjoy the meal more and take better care of my body in the long–term. With access to such data, a scanner or app could tell us what products not to buy at the grocery store, what type of food makes us more productive, sleep better, or just feel healthy. Right now we depend on blind luck.

Start-ups like Gini, Neutrino and DNAfit are shifting our reliance on blind luck to science. After a genetic analysis, they layout a personalised diet, and even workout plans to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Others like Atlas Biomed, GUTXY or Thryve offer direct-to-consumer kits that analyses one’s microbiome and offer personalised diet plans based on individual results.

Since this field is also in its infancy, companies should be cautious as not to overhype its potential to attract clients. Rather, they should offer a comprehensive overview of what their offerings are based on and can even partner with research groups to further provide evidence-based proof of their approach. 

For example, Neutrino partnered with IBM Watson to use their nutrigenomic analysis so as to develop nutritional guidelines for pregnant women. In 2019, they also teamed up with Medtronic to help diabetics better understand how they respond to particular food.

3. We don’t know how we should eat (with what, when and how often)

After discovering what we are eating and what we should, eating habits should be examined a bit more thoroughly. Did you have a strict eating routine when you grew up? Breakfast at 7.30 am, lunch at 12 pm and dinner at 7 pm? Or did you just eat whenever and wherever you got hungry? Do you eat slowly or do you finish your rib-eye steak in seconds after the magic word ‘bon appetit!’ is said? Regarding all these questions, do you know which choice is healthier?

Digital solutions might provide answers

While technology and innovation might not be enough in themselves to sort out every mystery around our eating habits, there are a couple of great solutions on the market which might help in creating a healthy eating routine. 

Apps can help educate us about our eating habits and nutrition. For example, MyFitnessPal allows you to log and track your meals while offering a searchable food database of over 300,000,000 items. It also features a personalised diet profile customised to your desired diet goals.

Another solution involves using tech-aided utensils to improve our ingrained eating habits. Hapifork, a smart-fork, helps you control the pace at which you eat as eating too fast leads to poor digestion and poor weight control. If you eat too fast, it will vibrate, alerting you to slow down the pace. Through its companion app, you can further analyse your eating habits and track your improvements. My experience with the Hapifork was quite pleasant and it indeed helped me pay more attention to my eating pace.

Going further, we can use the aforementioned genetic tests to help us better understand how our individual bodies work when it comes to food and make more informed decisions.

4. We don’t know whether food creation should be limited to one industry

Lately, there is a trend for challenging the boundaries of food creation and combining cooking with various disciplines. One of the most well-known fields is molecular gastronomy, which blurs the boundaries between chemistry, physics and food production. In a restaurant experimenting with molecular gastronomy, such weird meals could fall on your plate, as transparent ravioli, solid cocktail or Aperol gel.

Another direction is the combination of food creation with engineering. Eventually people may start printing out food at home. Those who want to turn to technological solutions instead of spending time preparing and cooking meals will have a chance to use 3D printers at home.

The Foodini project from Natural Machines received great attention when the first articles were published about printing out food at home. CMO & Co–founder of Natural Machines, Lynette Kucsma told me the plan is to print food using fresh ingredients instead of creating artificial food. The company has expanded its activities by partnering with healthcare institutions and authorities to print appealing foods for cancer patients or those on restricted diets. 

Other examples include that of Biozoon, which prints out gourmet-looking food for seniors who need to eat purified meals. For those with a sweet tooth, FoodJet’s 3D food printer 3D prints industrial scale chocolate.

5. Half of the world is obese, the other half is fighting hunger

It is one of the most absurd phenomena, but it characterises well the schizophrenic eating habits of our world.

Globally, about 39 % of adults are overweight and worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. On the other hand, the WHO provided some disheartening statistics about famine worldwide. About 820 million people don’t have adequate nutrition. That’s around one in nine people globally. In Eastern Africa, nearly a third of the population is undernourished. Poor nutrition causes nearly half the deaths in children under five years old. The list goes on and will aggravate with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ensuring food security and receiving relief from other countries could drive these numbers lower than they were in the 1990s when over a billion people were undernourished. But there are still ways to go. Given that traditional approaches haven’t mitigated the problem satisfactorily, we might ask what technology can offer.

The future is cultured, not slaughtered

With the global meat consumption having nearly doubled in the past 50 years and showing no signs of slowing down, alternatives must be found. Luckily, demand for meatless alternatives are also on the rise and development in this field can help address the issue of food shortages. Companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat produce plant-based burgers which imitate meat texture. These have even been adopted and popularised by fast food companies such as Burger King.

Others aren’t foregoing of meat altogether but are taking a different approach regarding how it is procured with lab-grown meat. It refers to meat that is cultured in a lab from only a small sample of animal tissue. From a few starter cells one can derive tens of tons of meat. The Cultured Meat project from Maastricht University and the company Modern Meadow are working on making this a reality for the masses.

For a more radical option, all-in-one powders and shakes aim to replace traditional food. These meal replacement powders contain all the nutrition necessary for an average adult and must be mixed with water and then consumed. Two popular companies providing these replacement meals are Soylent and Huel. While being controversial options, nutritional experts note that they do meet one’s most important nutritional needs. Moreover, these alternatives could offer more balanced and nutritious diets to those suffering from malnutrition.

At the other end of the spectrum, technology can also help curb the overeating epidemic. Smart utensils, calorie counters and dietary diaries are some of the tools already available on the consumer market. They can help one become more conscious of what and how they eat and help them reach their dietary goals.

Imagine the kitchen of the future!

Picture the following scenario. The mom uses a smart knife to cut carrots, the little boy uses a food sensor to get to know whether the bread in front of him contains gluten. The family possesses a 3D-food-printer able to print out the dad’s favourite four-cheese pizza, they have a smart scale, a smart fridge and all kinds of useful kitchen gadgets. 

What do you notice? Yes, the family is together, they are preparing a meal together, with the help of new technologies. These allow them to enjoy a meal while being more informed about its contents and personalise it to their individual needs. No more surprise stomach aches or other unwanted gastrointestinal side effects.

I believe technology will not necessarily replace the social component of eating but rather, it can extend this component. Novel technologies also hold the potential to solve global problems from obesity to hunger. These are the opportunities that disruptive technologies provide us today. Let’s use them wisely.