Happy new year and welcome to the first Global Signals of 2023.
This newsletter is your regular update of new and interesting signals in the world of AgriFoodTech. We’re looking to provoke new conversations – so if you’re keen on joining the discussion, follow the Agritech Activator LinkedIn page.
One for the diary - Melissa is hosting a webinar at 9am Tuesday 14 February to share the ten signals that are top of mind for. It is free to join and we think it would be well worth your time - register here.
Kia pai te rā, Melissa (Futurist) and Shane (Callaghan Innovation)
The future of meat is data-driven
Aussie start-up MEQ Probe is looking to drive a new, data-driven future for the multi-billion dollar global meat industry.
Their ground-breaking tech measures the intramuscular fat of beef and lamb carcasses – what makes wagyu so delicious and sought-after. It’s far more accurate than the current system of grading, which relies on the human eye, and more efficient than existing technologies that are done after the animal is butchered.
There’s a real opportunity here for New Zealand lamb farmers to market their products using verifiable marbling scores. Could this technology help us to develop lamb grading as a way for consumers to know they are getting great eating quality, and for farmers to earn premiums?
Farmers in Arizona are testing out the common desert-adapted shrub guayale as a crop, which is most well-known as producing a natural rubber alternative. Guayale requires half as much water as other common crops in the area, like cotton, and doesn’t require insecticides or tilling.
As we’ve seen this summer, farmers in all regions of New Zealand are experiencing more and more extreme weather. We can’t grow everything inside – so what can we cultivate in environments prone to floods or droughts?
As more and more farmers seek out new crops to adapt to climate change, what plants could be right in front of us? What new industries could arise in New Zealand as a result of more environmentally suitable forage or crops?
US start-up Inari has raised an eye-popping $124 million to further its mission of “unlocking the full potential of seed” with AI-powered gene editing technology.
Inari is the first company I’ve seen to nail their commercial advantage to the gene editing of seeds, specifically. They are looking to create crops that are more productive and require less water and nitrogen.
If companies like Inari prove their technology to the point where gene-editing seeds become mainstream, could we see the regulatory environment in New Zealand - where GMOs are banned - begin to change? Will we see consumers begin to demand that we do things differently, to achieve our climate goals?
Surrounded on all sides by desert, growers in the United Arab Emirates are utilising vertical farming to produce a new, high-value crop for export: saffron, also known as ‘red gold’.
What’s interesting here is the choice of crop. Vertical farms usually produce high-turnover produce like lettuce, which is worth far less than the $5000 per kilo saffron can go for.
Traditional saffron growing is expensive, mostly due to the land-intensive and labour-intensive nature of its production. Could vertical farming make a dent in that sky-high market price? What vertical luxury produce could New Zealand growers look to kickstart here?
Lower Hutt’s own Hot Lime Labs is using world-leading technology to produce more sustainable CO2 for horticulture from waste wood. The food industry relies on CO2 for chilled freight, packaging and in the slaughter of animals.
Could greater transparency around the use and source of CO2 in food production lead to greater demand for alternatives like Hot Lime Labs or new alternatives being created?
Kawasaki unveiled the world’s first robot goat, ‘Bex’ at Tokyo’s International Robot Expansion early this month. Bex can navigate rough terrain thanks to extra ‘leg’ components that move up and down as required.
Puzzled as to why we need a robot goat in the world? Bex can carry 100 kg and could help people who need assistance walking over rough terrain.
“Our yet-unwritten future could last for millions more – or it could end tomorrow. Staggering numbers of people will lead lives of flourishing or misery or never live at all, depending on what we do today.”
This book is both searingly realistic and deeply optimistic, but overall is an uplifting book on moral philosophy.
I am sick of reading about how things are getting more dystopian when there is a lot of evidence to the contrary. I am also over being told that my meagre attempts at living a more ‘ethical’ life are a waste of time.
In his book, McKaskill gives us the choice - we can feel depressed about climate change, pandemics, and rampant AI, or we can remember that the lives we live today are well beyond the riches of ruling classes in the past and that the trajectory continues towards greater happiness and longer lives.
McKaskill is a huge fan of spending money where it matters and donating to effective charities which make people’s lives better. He believes “you should (not just ‘can’) shape the future” He recommends we start by protecting the planet from extinction and raising the living standards of others.
Yes, we may wipe a lot of us out with pandemics or bioweapons – but until this time we should do something to make the future better.
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.
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