Infographic: What the Future of Food Looks Like
In a world full of futuristic kitchen gadgets, burger selfies and 3D food printers, we can only imagine what the future holds for the food industry. We wouldn’t have been able to guess that our lives would already be packed with green eating, pans that save energy and restaurants that track dining habits — plus a 3D printer that makes ice cream. That’s exciting and all, but the future of food isn’t just printing and selfie-ing.
The folks over at the Institute for the Future came up with an infographic to give us some insight into our collective food future. Upon first glance, it looks like a rainbow wheel of overwhelming fun, which is why we’re here to break it down for ya.
Each color represents a different food experience: Production, Distribution, Manufacturing, Shopping and our personal favorite: Eating.
The first ring represents Core Strategies. Take Eating, for example. The Core Strategy here is “redefining convenience.” If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Mindful food experiences are the new take-out. As a society, we are continuing (or starting!) to really think about what we put into our bodies and making health and smarter eating a priority.
In the Production section, the core strategy is “reorganizing intensification from resource-intensive agriculture to low-impact alternatives.” Nowadays, we’re starting to streamline the process of creating food (ahem, Tree of 40), keeping the environment in mind. And if you think about shopping when it comes to food, we practically have it on-demand in every way possible, from take-out to delivery to robots that deliver tacos.
The next ring represents disruptions and what indicates change. The IFTF points out that we can order our groceries from a number of different sites, we can learn how to cook without taking a traditional class, we have apps and gadgets that monitor our intake. Noticing a trend here? Yep, you guessed it: It’s technology.
The last and final ring of the rainbow is the Uncertainty factor. According to the IFTF, that includes decision-free shopping, replacing line cooks with robots and, believe it or not, bypassing the need for real food by rewiring our taste buds. Looks like a Soylent tap might be replacing ye olde VitaMix in a few years, Brit HQ.
With so many cool new innovations, where do you see the future of food going? Let us know in the comments below!
(h/t Fast Company)
