Tyson Launches Fund to Develop New Food Tech

Tyson Foods is the world's largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork.  Tyson Food's brands include Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm and Sara Lee.  Tyson Foods has just spent $150M to launch Tyson New Ventures, who's goal is to invest in new technologies to feed the world more efficiently, with something beyond the firm's core meat products.  The Venture Capital fund will invest in agricultural technology startups particularly those which create alternative forms of protein, eliminate food waste, and decrease inefficiency in the food production world.

Agricultural tech startups have begun to focus on seed genetics as well as bio-fuels.  The technology for these new startups is centered around everything from drones and robotics to sustainable protein sources.  Tyson's first investment from the fund was in a plant-based protein producer Beyond Meat.  Beyond Meat has already created a psuedo-veggie burger that tastes, looks and even "bleeds" like the real thing.  The product has begun distribution throughout the country and is even backed by Bill Gates.

Similarly, a new local food initiative also in Chicago, has recently concluded their "Team Leverage: Bringing it Home" Competition.  The competition concluded with Evanston-based tech company FarmLogix beating out four other finalists to win half a million dollars to fund their company.  The idea of the competition was to sell boxes of food creatively that can be sourced from Indiana farms at an affordable price to families who have little access to healthy food.            



  

  

How America Views "Organic" and "GMO Free"

            When I was home on Thanksgiving break I was listening to NPR and they were doing a segment on issues pertaining to food.  One of the stories was an interview with an entomologist who believes the future diet for people around the world will involve bugs as the main source of protein.  His argument is that we are not sustainably producing meat, and therefore eventually people will need to turn to other sources of protein, such as bugs.  This interview was thought provoking and fascinating  (and slightly unappetizing).  I suggest listening to the whole segment here.  However another story that caught my attention was about sugar consumption in the US.  As shown in previous blog posts, I find this issue really interesting.  I only caught the tail end of that story so I went to NPR.org a few days ago to hunt down the rest of that podcast.  Instead I saw an article titled, “AmericansDon’t Trust Scientists’ Take On Food Issue.”  Given class discussions on the debate surrounding GMO and organics I thought this could be relevant for the whole class.

            The article was reporting on a recent Pew Research study, which measured attitudes towards current food issues like genetic modification, organic food, and eating healthy in general.  The article outlined the three major findings from the survey.  The first finding was that people do not care what scientists say about GMOs.  Three quarters of those studied believe GMOs are bad for you, while, “Only 14 percent's beliefs match the reality — that "almost all" scientists agree that GM foods are safe to eat.”  This connects to the idea that GMOs might actually be a good thing for agriculture, however public perception demonizes GMOs.  Therefore I think there is a need to educate people on the realities of GMOs, especially if it is a potentially positive direction for the agriculture industry. 

            The next finding was that the respondents’ food sympathies do not necessarily align with their political sympathies.  The author explained this to mean that equal share Republicans and Democrats believe that GMOs are bad for you.  However they also found that Democrats are more likely to believe that organic food is healthier.  The survey also found that regardless of class people believe organic foods are healthier at equal rates, yet the wealthy are more likely to buy organic.  This finding reaffirms discussions we have had about the accessibility of the organic food movement, and it confirms the belief that the movement is really only available for upper-middle class consumers.

            Lastly, the survey found that support for organic food and organic practices is far more mainstream than support for non-GMO foods.  This could be explained by the fact that there is not as much public understanding about what GMO means. In addition the non-GMO movement is in its early stages as compared to the organics food movement.  I thought that this article gave some unique background on the larger American public’s opinions on the issues that we have spending time discussing in class.  We have been discussing the issues in depth with a substantial understanding of all sides of the arguments.  However the survey shows that with this deep understanding we are in the minority.  It suggests that understanding about these food movements is still limited.  However given that, they are movements that are becoming more prominent in public discourse and are expected to gain even more traction.     

             

Amazon Go

Amazon has recently launched a beta of its newest product Amazon Go, which has been on their pipeline for the past four years.  Amazon Go is a grocery store that allows users to grab items and exit the store without dealing with cashiers, as the items are automatically charged to the shopper's amazon account upon exiting the store.  Amazon Go seems to be centered around ready to eat meals as well as snack options, which Amazon currently offers.      

The "Just Walk Out" technology is quite complex and relies on sensor fusion, computer vision and deep learning algorithms (which are similar to the technology in self driving cars), inside the store.  The concept requires that shoppers buzz in using the Amazon Go app on their iPhone or other smart phone when they walk into the store in order for the store to recognize the device and by proxy the user.  The technology is able to sense the price of the item as well as the item taken within the store.  From the preview, the technology looks amazing as it allows users to grab and go when they're in a rush.  Furthermore, anything you pick up inside the store is added to your virtual cart, and can be removed from cart if you put it back on the shelf. 

The Amazon Go store is expected to be released in early 2017 in Seattle Washington.  Although, Amazon is clearly the biggest participant in the self-checkout market, it may not be the first to market.  Y-combinator startups Selfycart and Instacart have both announced intentions to create an Amazon Go type store.  From the Beta release, it is clear that Amazon is pivoting their brand into the retail sphere, with the release of Amazon Books earlier this year.         

I think this definitely relates to our class discussion as we talked about how the layout of supermarkets is carefully organized in the beginning of the semester.  It will be interesting if these futuristic stores may require a new layout in order to maximize profits.  Furthermore, as discussed in class, while Amazon Go sounds incredibly innovative, there may be some drawbacks to the new technology.  First and foremost, it will leave a substantial amount of cashiers unemployed as there will be no need for them in the future store.  Additionally, it may be difficult or expensive to implement and may be defective in the early stages.  However, at the very least it's a creative idea that could help both retailers and consumers alike.  With Amazon Go "you're not shoplifting, you're just shopping in the future"

sources:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/amazon-go-grocery-store/
https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/05/amazon-go/

Reformulating Sugar

As many of us know, sugar is found in almost every food we purchase in the grocery store. It has been linked to heart disease, obesity, and many other health related illnesses. In a society where sugar is so prevalent, how can consumers avoid the ingredient or at least reduce the in take significantly?

Researchers at Nestle, an international food giant, found a way to restructure sugar at the molecular level. Molecular engineering at its finest, the new sugar molecule will be a spherical structure. Now, sugar only forms crystals in a box like structure. The article compares the current model to a shoe box that is made of sugar. The inside is also filled with sugar. This new type of sugar however, will have a sugar exterior but a hollow inside so less sugar actually enters your body. This is remarkable considering the effect it can have on consumer diets.

The company claims that the addition of this new sugar will reduce the sugar content in its products by 40% by using this new type of sugar. Although the technology exists for it, the new sugar products are not set to hit the market until 2018. Companies have been attempting to find a way to reduce the amount of sugar in their products in accordance with changing American diets, without compromising taste. The new development is seen as a holy grail discovery in terms of sugar reduction.

Nestle has previously found ways to reduce fat and salt in its products, developing new processes that require less of the ingredients. The company is attempting to constantly reduce various unhealthy ingredients in its food while providing the same taste. If consumers will buy it, Nestle will make it!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/business/nestle-reformulates-sugar-so-it-can-use-less.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FFood&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=collection&_r=0

Movie for your weekend

While scrolling through Youtube, I came across a trailer for a Japanese movie called Little Forest: Summer/ Autumn (2014). I encountered it as part of a Youtube series called "Healing Movies Through Food." While watching the trailer, I became interested and started watching the movie with English subtitles. Directed by Junichi Mori, the movie follows the journey of Ichiko, who left the big city to lead a self-sufficient life in the countryside. She starts growing her own rice and vegetables, and spends significant amount of time walking around in the forest to harvest necessary ingredients. This movie definitely does not romanticize farming nor the self-sufficient life like Farmer Boy does. Instead, it shows the physical and mental toil that Ichiko experiences in having to provide food for herself.

The beauty of this movie is not by its content (e.g. Ichiko farming rice, harvesting, etc.) nor the message of the movie (e.g. appreciate farmers, etc.). But, the beauty is found in the silent - and sometimes dull - atmosphere of the movie. In modern cinema, the main purpose of a movie is to tell a dramatized story. "Violent" stimuli (e.g. car crashing, screaming, fighting) in these stories often overload our senses, making us mentally tired. However, Ichiko's story gives us a mental break through a story about food. There are no dramatic moments. There are no "violent" stimuli. Instead, this movie gives audience a chance to "meditate" through our day-to-day encounter with food.

In this stressful time of finals, it is very important for us to avoid "violent" stimuli that may make us even more tired. Instead, take a two hour break during the week to watch this movie. It will not only make you appreciate every part of your food, but also provide a time for your brain to relax.

The Drinkable Book

Every year 3.4 million people die unknowingly from water related disease.  WATERisLIFE is a social advocacy group for clean water has partnered with engineers at Carnegie Melon and UVA in order to develop a solution to combat this catastrophic issue.

The Drinkable Book is a book that is printed on advanced printer paper that effectively acts like a coffee filter in order to kill water borne diseases.  The technology behind the Drinkable Book was created by Dr. Theresa Dankovich of Carnegie Melon.  Dankovich is passionate about her technology as it is the "first ever manual that provides safe water, sanitation and hygiene education and serves as a tool to kill deadly waterborne diseases by providing the reader with an opportunity to create clean, drinkable water from each page."  The paper reduces more than 99.9% in bacteria account after the water has been filtered through the paper.  The key to the technology is the silver nano-particles, which can kill bacteria associated with typhoid and cholera.      

As seen above the book works in three very simple steps allowing for ease of use across language barriers.  Additionally, the content on each page is printed in food grade ink and educates the consumers about safe water habits, which we take for granted.  The filter paper is expected to revolutionize water purification, and remarkably costs only pennies to produce.  The book is also extremely sustainable as each page could be used for thirty days of filtering.  The book can provide readers with drinkable water for up to four years!    

The WATERisLIFE plans to work on a partnership with pAge Drinking Paper on the book's research, and production, and to begin distribution of the book in 2016.

http://waterislife.com/donate

How Genetically Modified Pigs Might Ease the Organ Shortage

As discussed in class there is a great deal of debate surrounding the genetically modified movement all throughout the world.  It is clear that there are both benefits and drawbacks to genetically modified food; however, genetic modification may have implications in other areas, namely turning livestock into organ donors.

Today there are 120,000 people in the United States waiting for an organ transplant, while the number of donors is significantly lower.  Therefore, scientists are experimenting with a transplant process called Xenotransplantation, where animal organs are transplanted into humans.  In particular, pigs are the most promising donors as their vital organs are similar in size to humans.

Scientists can use the gene-editing technology called Crispr-Cas9 in order to modify gene expression to increase compatibility with humans.  A segment of RNA is modified to form an excising RNA protein called Cas9.  The Cas9 protein then searches the DNA double helix for a complementary base pair as in the translation process.  Once the Cas9 complex finds the complementary base the complex cuts the double helix in order to add the new genetic material.  This technique can be used on different chromosome loci to cause pigs and humans to be more compatible.

The technique is fairly new coming out of Harvard just last year, and speeds up the process allowing for multiple simultaneous changes at once.  Head of the study and company EGenesis Bio, Luhan Yang has already used the pioneering Crispr method to create pig embryos that inactivate pig retroviruses, a huge obstacle for Xenotransplantation in the past.  The company seeks to have genetically modified pigs to begin trials just next year.  Although not discussed in the article, it is important to think about concerns of animal cruelty as well as whether these genetically grown or modified embryos are in fact pigs.
   
Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/potent-fix-for-transplant-shortage-genetically-modified-pigs-1480604400