Field: Food
McDonald’s McPlant takes plant-based meat mainstream
McDonald’s McPlant, a burger with a plant-based meat patty, is now available at select locations in the U.S. for a limited time.
Fungus-based “mycoprotein” may be the next future food
Startups around the world are racing to get mycoprotein — food based on fungus — to plates.
Using AI to help save wine from wildfires
California startup Tastry is using its wine “tasting” AI to help save wines impacted by wildfire smoke.
New startup takes vertical farming underground — literally
GreenForges is building an underground farm it thinks will deliver the benefits of vertical farming without two of its major shortcomings.
Are robotic kitchens the future of food?
Restauranteurs are using robotic kitchens to cut real estate costs, opening up room in their budgets for higher quality ingredients.
Inside Europe’s largest vertical farm
At a massive vertical farm in Denmark, food tech startup Nordic Harvest is demonstrating the benefits of moving agriculture indoors.
Lab-grown milk proteins prove more environmentally friendly
It’s less environmentally costly to produce milk proteins in the lab than to source them from cows, according to a new report.
Scientists convert CO2 into synthetic starch
A process for making synthetic starch from CO2 eliminates the need for growing resource-intensive starchy plants.
This gene-edited tomato may help lower your blood pressure
A gene-edited tomato that may be able to lower your blood pressure is the first CRISPR-edited food to be sold commercially.
Scientists make sustainable coffee from lab-grown cells
Finnish researchers are making sustainable coffee in the lab to combat the negative environmental effects of coffee production.
Study suggests preserving food using tech developed for organs
By preserving food with isochoric freezing, we could improve quality and decrease energy usage in the frozen food industry, say scientists.
3D printing gives lab-grown beef Wagyu marbling
Japanese researchers have created a morsel of lab-grown beef with the distinct marbling of fat found in Wagyu steaks.
Fighting for the right to repair McDonald’s ice cream machines
A judge has issued a victory to Kytch, a startup that makes it easier for fast food franchise owners to repair McDonald’s ice cream machines.
Series|
Challengers
The plant-based startup taking on food giants
Kelp is a superfood that’s grown totally sustainable. But will people be willing to replace burgers with seaweed?
Cultured meat for pets is about to hit store shelves
Biotech startup Because, Animals is creating cultured meat for pets, using mouse cells to grow the meat found in its new cat treat.
Pandemic prompts surge in food sharing, app says
Food-sharing app Olio is combating food insecurity by making it easy for those with extra food to get it into the hands of those in need.
Adding one gene to rice and potatoes increased yields by 50%
The insertion of a gene found in animals prompted potato and rice plants to produce 50% more food and exhibit drought-resistant qualities.
Series|
Hard Reset
The underdog challenging McDonald’s and Wall Street
Everytable is scaling access to wealth through a healthy fast food revolution.
Lab-grown foie gras eliminates force-feeding
Gourmey is developing lab-grown foie gras, using stem cells to produce the delicacy without subjecting birds to the practice of gavage.
World’s first lab-grown chocolate made in Switzerland
Swiss researchers have developed a way to make lab-grown chocolate, using a single cocoa bean to create unlimited chocolate.
Series|
Hard Reset
Murder-free chicken nuggets: Real meat grown in a lab
Would you eat lab-grown chicken meat? This Singapore restaurant is the first to serve cell-cultured meat to diners.
Finless Foods prepares to launch plant-based tuna
Plant-based tuna might be inside your next sushi roll.
Cultured meat is now being mass-produced In Israel
Israeli startup Future Meat Technologies’ industrial-scale cultured meat production facility is designed to get lab-grown meat onto consumers’ plates ASAP.
Series|
Just Might Work
Can we hack sugar to be healthy?
Is there such a thing as healthy sugar? Food scientists in Israel are hacking the sugar molecule itself – eliminating the need for subpar alternatives.
Microfarm startup brings fresh produce to food desert
California startup Crop Swap LA has planted a “microfarm” in an LA resident’s front yard and is now distributing the crops throughout the local community.
Fridge for astronaut food aces first flight tests
Purdue University engineers have designed a fridge for astronaut food that could double its shelf life, potentially overcoming a barrier to longer missions.
10-minute grocery delivery service to debut in U.S.
German grocery delivery startup Gorillas, which delivers orders within 10 minutes, is bringing its ultra-fast operation to the U.S.
These shelf-stable French fries last 90 days at room temp
Startup Farther Farms has developed a pasteurization process that allowed it to create shelf-stable French fries that last 90 days at room temperature.
Startup aims to put lab-grown lobster on the menu
Wisconsin startup Cultured Decadence is developing lab-grown lobster meat in the hopes of meeting a demand currently threatened by climate change.
Cultured meat is now available for home delivery
People in Singapore are the first in the world to have the option of having meals made from cultured meat delivered directly to their homes.
Food supplement appears to “cure” malnutrition in children
A food supplement designed to cure malnutrition in children doesn’t just deliver calories — it also helps promote a healthy gut microbiome.
We don’t have to eat insects. But feeding them to animals could save the planet
Edible insects could more than make up for the world's protein deficiency while cleaning up waste and using fewer resources. But we don't have to eat them. We can use them in animal feed instead.
Digital price tags auto-discount groceries to avoid food waste
A startup called Wasteless uses dynamic pricing and electronic shelf labels to help minimize food waste at grocery stores.
Hologram pizzeria brings virtual happy hour to a new level
Virgin Media’s hologram dining experience, Two Hearts Pizzeria, let people feel like they were sharing a meal with loved ones located in another city.
Spinach skeleton becomes base for lab-grown meat
After spinach leaves were stripped of their plant cells, the skeletons were used as a scaffold for lab-grown meat.
These movers fight food insecurity one home at a time
The nonprofit Move for Hunger works with local moving companies to collect and donate food people would normally throw away during a move.
This startup is creating a toothpaste for your peanut allergy
Immunotherapy for allergies can help reduce allergic reactions, but it needs to be daily. Could toothpaste provide a solution?
Austin is facing food insecurity. This student is on a mission to solve that.
In partnership with Ford
A med student thinks the key to reducing food insecurity is through transportation. He launched Good Apple, a healthy food delivery service for families in need.
This ice cream is made from lab-grown vegan milk
Disappointed by available milk alternatives, the startup Perfect Day developed lab-grown vegan milk that’s molecularly identical to the kind from cows.
Cultured meat gets first greenlight for sale
In a world’s first, Singapore has approved the sale of cultured meat, a major win for the meat alternatives industry.
A French company is building the world’s biggest insect factory farm
Ÿnsect is building the world’s largest insect farming facility in Amiens, France. The mealworms grown there may end up feeding your pets and the salmon on your plate.
Robot cook could help restaurants recover from COVID-19
Miso Robotics is making Flippy ROAR available for $30,000 in the hopes the robot cook will help the restaurant industry recover from the pandemic.
Ghost kitchens are saving restaurants during the pandemic
Ghost kitchens are thriving during the pandemic, as more restaurants rely on online delivery orders for their income.
Can genetic engineering stop the fall armyworm invasion?
The fall armyworm is devastating African agriculture, eating millions of pounds of crops. Can a genetically modified version control their advance?
Truffle pomme fondue sound tasty? Visit this fine-dining drive-thru.
The Resy Drive-Thru could help the restaurant industry survive the pandemic by serving as a creative new revenue stream for fine-dining chefs.
This edible sensor can alert you of food contamination
A microneedle patch made of silk changes color if it senses food contamination or spoilage, making it easier to know when food’s gone bad.
This massive farm robot is helping secure the future of food
A massive farm robot is analyzing crops in Arizona, helping identify ones that could grow in hotter climates to help secure the future of food.
This genetically modified cow could transform beef production
Cosmo the bull calf has an extra SRY gene, which makes him more likely to sire male cows — and also makes him a strong candidate for use as a GMO food.
“Community fridges” are helping fight food insecurity
Community fridges stocked with donated food that’s free for the taking are helping neighborhoods across the U.S. overcome food insecurity.
3D-printed vegan steak is heading to restaurants in 2020
Israeli startup Redefine Meat has announced the Alt-Steak, a plant-based vegan steak that it claims mimics the texture and taste of beef.
Fertilizer feeds half the world. Can we make it without fossil fuels?
Fertilizer is needed to feed the world, but its production comes with a carbon footprint. This solar-powered strategy may reduce that.
Series|
Challengers
Healthy fast food start up takes on the McDonald’s empire
This LA-based business wants to radically alter the fast food industry by selling healthy fast food at the same low cost as competitors like McDonald’s.
Chefs fight child hunger with No Kid Hungry
A group of culinary professionals in Chicago is volunteering their talents to end child hunger in the US, and some are going all the way to Capitol Hill.
Floating farm takes sustainable agriculture to the next level
Inspired by the food shortages witnessed in New York City following Hurricane Sandy, this husband and wife team came up with the idea for a sustainable farm that floats on the sea.
The world's first floating dairy farm
In the search for more sustainable methods of global food production, one couple in the Netherlands is taking an unconventional approach: they have become the operators of the world's first and only floating dairy farm.
Series|
Future of Food
Inside the world of gourmet lab meat
A future of eating meat without ethical or environmental implications is more real than ever before. But will people eat it food grown in a lab?
Clean meat: A new protein is making its way onto the chef's table
Clean meat is becoming a more widely known, and much loved food category. But do you expect to see it on your gourmet plate any time soon? These chefs think yes.
Series|
Future of Food
It’s time to embrace the frankenfish
Would you eat fish that was genetically designed in a lab? What if it was your only option? Like it or not, GMO salmon and other futuristic foods are revolutionizing the global food system right in front of our eyes.
The first GMO salmon is coming to a store near you
After a 30-year struggle, Atlantic salmon modified with a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon has been approved by the FDA. Its producers say it solves problems related to climate change, ocean pollution, and food scarcity. Skeptics call it playing god. Both call it the Frankenfish.
This woman is on a mission to turn beer into food
Jacquie Berglund is using the profits from her beer company to buy organic produce from local farmers and distribute the produce to food banks in the area.
These pioneers are building the sustainable food systems of tomorrow
In a new Freethink original series, Michael O'Shea goes around the world to introduce us to the scientists who are working hard to ensure that we can feed our future world.
Series|
Future of Food
A look inside farms of the future
With a growing population, changing consumption behavior and a climate crisis, how will we feed our future world?...
How NASA’s space food lab will feed the farthest journey in history
These food scientists are making it possible for us to explore space in ways we haven’t yet as a species.
“Cybersecurity for plants” can stop germs from hacking our food supply
Computer hackers exploit flaws in code to access systems and take what they want; plant diseases work the same way.
New tech makes fresh produce last twice as long
The plant-based preservative could radically change the game on food waste.
Series|
Wrong
Did the food pyramid make us fat?
To address rising health problems in the 1980s, scientists and policymakers developed the US Food Pyramid to...
Series|
Wrong
We’re all gonna starve!
A revolution in food production turned predictions of a population bomb into a worldwide boom.
What to expect in a post-meat future
From advanced plant-based meat alternatives to real meat grown in a lab, the days of eating meat from once-living...
Could ugly produce change the world?
Meet the startup that wants to sell you ugly fruits and veggies