Taste of Tomorrow – What will the world be eating in 2050?

Have you ever considered the possibility of waking up tomorrow to find that some foods and drinks you take for granted are simply not there anymore? While it’s unlikely this would happen overnight with no warning, it is a very real possibility that some familiar foods may end up on the ‘at risk’ list.

The Mills Fabrica’s inaugural Agrifood exhibition, titled ‘ Taste of Tomorrow – What will the World be Eating in 2050? ’ opens on 10th February and runs till 31st July. It will showcase novel foods that could soon be filling our pantries and fridges, and solutions that enhance agricultural productivity and resource-efficiency. Taste of Tomorrow aims to support and accelerate innovations that will contribute to a more sustainable and resilient food system by 2050.

Feeding the world is a massive undertaking, and The Mills Fabrica’s optimistic exhibition demonstrates how innovation will create positive systemic change to prioritise our planet’s ecology and simultaneously foster a healthier society.

“While curating the exhibition, we asked ourselves, ‘How can we produce food in a way that prioritises the integrity of the Planetary Boundaries, whilst meeting the growing demand for nutritious food?’ Innovation is the vehicle in which we believe will rise to meet the demands of a growing population on finite resources,” says Amy Tsang, Head of Europe, The Mills Fabrica.

Innovations being spotlighted sit within two primary themes; Innovation in Agriculture: Cultivating Sustainability – centred around regenerative farming, including technologies to reduce methane associated with livestock, Ag Biotech and other nature-based solutions. Innovations include:

• CH4 Global – animal feed supplement using seaweed that reduces enteric methane
  emissions from cattle
• Avalo – leveraging AI to identify genetic basis of complex crop traits and supercharge
  crop breeding for resilience, nutrition, and productivity
• CroBio – tackling drought and soil degradation through a microbial bio stimulant that
  improves soil health and resilience.
• Kyomei – transforms agricultural waste into plant grown specialty food ingredients.
  Instead of harvesting a crop for only the vegetable and discarding the rest, they make it
  work harder to produce proteins that are better for people and the planet.

And, Next-Generation Food: Redefining What We Eat – novel ingredients & valorisation of agricultural byproducts:

• The Supplant Company – upcycling agricultural side streams into flours and sugar
• Nukoko – cocoa-free chocolate from fava beans
• Microharvest – sustainable protein ingredients from natural microorganisms that are
  nutritious and cruelty-free
• Morrow – coffee without coffee beans crafted from sustainable, locally grown and
  upcycled ingredients
• Better Dairy – develops dairy alternative products that are 100% animal-free
• MadeSweetly – harnesses the DNA of sweet proteins found naturally in berries to
  produce sustainable alternatives to sugar
• Green Spot Technologies – takes plant side streams and turns them into nutritious and
  affordable fermented and upcycled flours through the action of good microorganisms
• NovoNutrients – captures and feeds carbon dioxide to special microbes to create
  Novotein™, a versatile alternative to both plant and animal proteins for people, pets and
  fish

Running alongside the exhibition will be a series of panel talks, supper clubs and after-hours events to bring various topics raised in the exhibition to life, with opportunities to taste new ingredients with end consumer products. The exhibition is free and open to all, Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 6.00pm, while designated events hosted outside of regular opening hours will be ticketed. Visitors can also enjoy the new coffee shop between 8.00am and 4.00pm from Monday to Thursday, and 8.00am until 3.00pm on Fridays.