The Future Of Food

Food is the fuel for our body. If there’s anything we connect to on a regular basis, it’s the food we eat.

- Ong Xiang Hong

Three times a day, we eat regular meals. Sometimes, we bond with our friends and family during these times. Our celebrations and rituals almost invariably involve some food to commemorate the event.

But our food is changing. What we eat now may not be what our grandchildren eat. Our tastes may not change, but the way we produce food may have to. Food production is modernising and adapting to changes in our environment. Increasing urbanisation, the rise of AI and automated farming, as well as a lack of manpower are contributing to this trend.

Our current agricultural system is incredibly productive, but it also has serious downsides—wasted food, poor working conditions, pollution, and animal welfare concerns are spurring public and private efforts to act. The future of food focuses on a more sustainable, equitable, and of course, tasty plate in the years to come.

FOOD INNOVATION IS NOTHING NEW

When tinned food was invented in the 19th century, it was hailed as a revolution. Food spoilage, once the curse of sailors on the high seas, enabled longer voyages between more distant ports. Urban populations in Victorian Britain demanded ever-increasing quantities of cheap, varied, quality food that they could keep at home without having to go shopping daily. In response, companies such as Nestlé and Heinz provided quality canned food for sale to working class city-dwellers.

Similarly, refrigeration allowed households to preserve food well beyond their natural expiry date. This led to today’s industrialisation of agriculture, since comparatively fewer farms could grow enough food for a growing urban population.