Can Technology Help Fix our Food System?

Part 1: Introduction

I reckon I was 30 before I tasted a real tomato.

I’d had thousands of them before then, but always from those plastic supermarket pots. Every tomato I’d ever had had looked the same, and that was by design. Supermarkets squeeze suppliers until there’s no juice left.

So when I started paying out serious moolah to get the Real Thing from my boutique greengrocers, I couldn’t go back. I honestly did think tomatoes were all red, and came only in cherry or salad size.

My berry-based epiphany really got me to thinking. Notably, I’ve been thinking about how more people can gain access to this higher quality produce, at an approachable price.

Cambridge University has produced a new, comprehensive report into the impact of emerging technologies on the food system.

In its risk-proximity matrix, they see only two areas of technology that are both:

• Likely to reach mass adoption in the next decade

And:

• Likely to have a positive impact on food safety

They are:

• Genomics for food safety/agriculture
• Digital tools for analysis…