3D printing food and growing vegetables vertically may sound like something out of a sci-fi novel, but these are technologies we have at our fingertips right now, and they are the future of our food systems. This week, we share a two-part blog about the innovative future of food and how technology will play a crucial role in feeding a population of 9 billion by 2050.

Redefine Meat, an Israeli startup, is one of the leading companies tackling out of the box solutions to make our food systems more efficient. The company’s 3D food printer takes in water, fat, and plant protein sources to produce a printed meat fiber matrix. Anrich3D takes this concept one step further and takes into account your dietary and medical history before printing a nutritionally optimized meal for you. This technology holds enormous potential for sustainably feeding a growing population, especially in areas where access to nutritionally rich foods is limited.

If printed meat isn’t quite your speed, vertical farming still relies on growing produce on plants but does so vertically and in urban spaces. This technique takes up far less farmland and requires 90% less water than traditional farming. The produce can also be grown in large volumes within cities, eliminating transportation costs. Based in the Bay Area, Plenty Inc. is one of the largest companies investing in vertical farming and grows their produce for urban consumers on 20-foot tall towers. 

Stay tuned for part two of our future of food technologies blog post tomorrow!