Food Technologies of Today and Tomorrow

Our food systems are in a process of radical technological transformation, what some are calling the fourth agricultural revolution. Producing meat and dairy proteins without animals, once in the realm of science fiction, is attracting millions of dollars in investment for research and development and has even been commercialized in Singapore. You can now shop for lettuce, tomatoes, and herbs that have been grown in shipping containers without ever seeing sunlight. Fleets of tractors can seed, spray, and harvest thousands of acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat, without anyone behind the wheel. Cricket powder is readily available to buy from Amazon and is even on some store shelves in Canada. The promise of all these developments is to reduce the environmental footprint of farming, protect agriculture from a changing climate, and lower the cost of food for a growing global population. Yet, with any potentially disruptive technological innovation, there are a variety of social, environmental, and political consequences that must be explored, discussed, and publicly debated. In this lecture, we consider the potential consequences of two agri-food innovations for the global food system: alternative proteins and vertical farming. Dr. Glaros presents the results of research he has been undertaking for over seven years with government, industry partners, and not-for-profit organizations that explores these themes. We will consider the environmental sustainability of alternative proteins and vertical farming, their potential consequences for farmers, as well as the role of the public as active participants in governing agri-food innovations.