Food Consumption in 2062
2022.10 weeks.
Summary
In a class with Debera Johnson, we speculated what the world would look like 40 years in the future. I chose to approach this through the context of food consumption, and I began by looking at trends in how we've acquired food, stored food, and consumed food. In the end, I proposed that we would have a tool/appliance that would be the farm, factory, and fridge for our food.
First off, there's the arc of how we've stored food.
Ice houses
Ice boxes
Smart fridge
If we look at centuries past, humans used to have ice houses that had underground storage or were near cold regions. They would transport large chunks of ice to the house where they'd store whole animals. Then as modern furniture grew, we came up with ice boxes which were essentially wooden or metal cabinets that stored our food. You would get deliveries of ice weekly, and this allowed you to buy small amounts of food, and your 'fridge' could live inside your home. In the present day, we have smart fridges that have various temperature-moderated zones and AI that knows the food you need and can order it for you. As a civilization, we've made our lives so comfortable that we don't need to move as everything can come to us.
There have been some other important trends that back my hypothesis.
Mass agriculture
Vertical farming
1. Energy optimization is constantly improving
Grocery subscriptions
Food deliveries
2. Food is more accessible than ever before
Moulded food
3D printed plants
3. Our labs, kitchens, and workshops become increasingly similar in the tools they use.
There's a possibility that we'll get our food in the form of tablets we can hydrate and grow in our homes.
We'd have a section (the factory) for printing meats
A section (the farm) where our vegetables grow in moulds
A section (the fridge) where we could store miscellaneous items.
It's modular based on the consumer's needs. A fridge for your office kitchen would be different to that of a cook, or someone who relies entirely on ordering in. Lastly, every section can be placed vertically, or horizontally to fit different spaces.
