Thursday Food News — Edition #4
Welcome to our third Thursday Food News!
Every Thursday we share articles about what’s new in the food industry, from the new shiny delivery startups to what we could eat 50 years from now.
Meet the FoodBytes! Boulder Winners: Mad Agriculture, The Honest Stand & FarmRaiser
Last week, Mad Agriculture, The Honest Stand and FarmRaiser took home the top prizes at FoodBytes! Boulder, a pitch competition meets networking event that brings food, agribusiness and tech startups together with investors, executives and industry leaders.
Could food startup Soylent go the way of Chipotle?
Food-tech startup Soylent has been under fire since it recalled two meal-replacement products in October after customers got sick. The brand, targeted at busy young professionals who don’t want to spend time and money eating conventional meals, is investigating and reformulating its Powder 1.6 and Soylent Bar after people complained of nausea and stomachaches, reportedly landing at least two in the hospital.
The mishap echoed that of another brand popular with millennials: Chipotle Mexican Grill, which lost 25 percent of its sales thanks to last year’s E. coli outbreak at the burrito chain. But could Soylent, backed with more than $20 million from prominent investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Lerer Hippeau Ventures, take the same hit?
This Dense, City-Like Campus Will Be Powered By The Food It Grows
Urban farming is usually an afterthought: a vacant lot becomes a garden or an existing roof holds a new greenhouse. A new project in Denmark suggests a different approach. What if a dense neighborhood was designed to coexist with full-scale agriculture — and farm waste helped power the buildings?
The Food Pyramid Of The Future
Born out of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in ’92, this simple illustration was supposed to convey the elements of a healthy American diet. It was taught in schools, displayed on food labels, and proliferated through every major media outlet. Unfortunately, the food pyramid was flawed from the start.
Global Chain Restaurants Are the Future of Food
Every Western city’s food scene seems slowly to be turning into a carbon copy of every other: The same global fast-food chains selling hamburgers and fried chicken with only modest concessions to local tastes.
The meal delivery business seems like a cakewalk. Here’s why it’s not.
Sprig packed up and left town. Radish hit the pause button. Even wunderkind Uber recently recalibrated its food delivery service, UberEats.
Is this the beginning of the end of meal delivery in Chicago? Nope. While others may yet falter, those in the industry say demand is still growing for meals dropped off at your doorstep or desk. For every Sprig and Radish, there’s a DoorDash or a Caviar expanding service areas and restaurant offerings.
A Vegan and a Meat-Eater Walk Into a Restaurant and Order a Burger…. (No, Seriously)
Meat is constantly in the middle of thorny controversies these days: cows belches contributing to global warming, “probably carcinogenic to humans”, an intensive production system that treats animals inhumanly.
To many, the case is big enough to make it the perfect enemy. But even for those who want to tread carefully on the debate, it’s hard to deny one very simple thing: the world consumes too much meat.
The way to convince people to eat less of it is to offer valid alternatives. In some cases, pointing at other protein sources (such as legumes and dairy) will do. For many people however, meat (and red meat in particular) is more than a source of protein, it’s an intense food experience.
5 Ways Food Startups Are Changing the Industry for Good
No matter where you travel, food is a commonality amongst us all. We’re at a critical moment, however, where the needs surrounding food across the globe are drastically different from one country to the next.
Some regions face food shortages and continue to struggle with the problem of access to food, while others deal with an immense surplus. In fact, nearly a third of all globally produced food is wasted.
This Startup Sells You Meal Plans Based On Your Nutrition Type
After Neil Grimmer sold his organic baby food startup to Campbell’s Soup, he took a long, hard look in the mirror. The fast food, stress, and late nights involved with running a business had taken their toll.
Grimmer’s new startup, called Habit, aims to help others achieve their goals, whether it’s to lose weight or sleep more soundly.
