Welcome to Global Signals, your monthly update of new and interesting 'signals' in the world of AgriFoodTech.
As futurists like to remind us, ‘the future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed’ - Global Signals aims to bring you examples of different futures already here in the present. By doing so, we hope you will hone your own signal identification practice and start thinking about the future of your market(s) in new and interesting ways.
Our friends at ChristchurchNZ are looking to uncover innovative solutions to solve some of the biggest challenges across New Zealand’s food, fibre and agritech sector. Find out more here.
Happy reading!
Kia pai te rā Melissa (Futurist) and Shane (Callaghan Innovation) February 2022
Lightning in a bottle
In tests at Holly Green Farm in the UK, ‘artificial lightning’ is being used to remove pollutants from manure.
Plasma is fired at cow dung, removing methane and breaking down ammonia. The result is fresher smelling manure, nitrogen made available for fertiliser, and far fewer pollutants entering the air.
The process uses large amounts of electricity sourced on-site through solar power.
Could solar panels distributed on the roofs of our cowsheds solve energy issues and reduce contamination of our waterways? Would these combined operations increase farm income resilience and decarbonisation of both farms and energy production?
TurtleTree’s cell-based milk is made with a variety of mammary cells. These are multiplied then placed in a lactation media which they ferment into milk.
TurtleTree creates components found in human breast milk including lactoferrin, human oligosaccharides, and alpha-lactalbumin.
TurtleTree’s upcoming B2B collaborations will span infant formulas, sports performance products, and nutraceuticals.
Will disruption of the infant formula market come from bioidentical human milk? Would people choose to feed infants cow’s milk if human milk formula were available? Will the dairy-based ingredients market take a hit once ‘manufactured milk’ is available in a form designed for human consumption? How much of the bovine milk market needs to be disrupted before farming cow’s milk becomes financially unviable except for artisan products?
Spanish-based Nueva Pescanova plans to begin selling farmed octopus by 2023. They suggest their farm will reduce the number of wild-caught octopuses and operate ethically, however some scientists have criticised these claims.
Debates arose as octopuses are considered sentient beings under UK Animal Legislation. However, EU law only recognises vertebrates under its farm animal welfare regulations raising questions about farming conditions and pain relief during slaughter.
Does this signal highlight a growing push back against the farming and slaughter of sentient beings? Octopuses definitely feel pain, but what about other invertebrates? Should they also be covered by Animal Welfare legislation? Are we seeing a shift in the discussion of the ethics of food?
Neverwaste is creating an alternative to wooden building materials. Their panel boards are made by modifying cardboard and packaging that would otherwise go to landfills or incineration.
Will trees be worth more in the ground versus being felled if the desire for carbon offsetting grows? Will this drive up markets for wood waste, which could be formed into ‘timber’ products?
A new device allows people to try flavours from all over the world through a lickable screen. ‘Taste the TV’ contains ten canisters that can recreate a myriad of tastes on hygienic film.
Another boost for hand sanitiser once the pandemic calms down?
Ice cream manufacturer Coolhaus was recently acquired by The Urgent Company. Using Perfect Day’s animal-free dairy protein, Coolhaus will transition to becoming fully animal-free.
Are we seeing the beginning of the end for dairy ingredients made inside cows? If ingredients can be made cheaper and animal-free in the lab, will there be a market for cow-made whey etc?
The highly-praised and coveted strawberries by Oishii were grown in vertical farms and under tight environmental control. They could hold the key to improving US farming practices. And, they’re insanely delicious!
A Premium for Everything. Flavour is everything. What else can we make premium by improving the taste?
Pollinator Park explores a future without pollinators. That is, save for one bastion of hope. The experience is available through web browsers and VR.
The news for pollinators is consistently grim, notwithstanding how expensive honey is. How can we make changes that protect these essential lifeforms? Can storytelling make a difference where science has failed?
This 3D-printed plant-based meat mimics the real thing to an astonishing degree. “...the resemblance to meat, in the grain, the way it pulls apart, the mouthfeel, is uncanny.” Redefine Meat is producing a variety of meats and having significant discussions around flexitarianism.
Ok so making mince out of plants is so July 2016 (when I first tried the Impossible Burger). Making something that really resembles the fibres, texture and fat of a slab of beef or lamb is of a much higher order.
Have you eaten unagi? Where does it come from? This is a story about food provenance, smuggling, transparency and what is delicious and what is ick.
People from Aotearoa or of English heritage (jellied eel and chips anyone?) might be surprised by some US attitudes to cultural foods. All around a great listen.
With so much interest in getting off-planet, given we seem to be killing this one, there is a growing interest in farming in space. How might we use AgriTech to terraform alternative planets?
We seem to be focussing on Mars (looking at you Elon Musk), but maybe Venus is a better candidate?
We’d love to hear your feedback so we can continue to share relevant monthly reads with you.
Don’t forget to share with us any signals or interesting innovations you’ve come across so we can spread the word. We enjoy seeing NZ companies be creative, innovative and push the boundaries, it makes for insightful reading.
