Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley’s Mission to Change What We Eat

Journalist Zimberoff debuts with a breezy and informative survey of the food-tech industry, noting both the promise and perils of the innovations that are changing the way people eat. The motivations for companies such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, which manufacture plant-based burgers, are subject to a complicated balancing act, she notes: they may have idealistic goals (reversing climate change and ending animal suffering), but “money and investors are still behind it all,” which may work against their aims to make the world a better place. The ideal situation, she writes, is a food system that is good for people, the planet, and business. Algae, for example, is touted as potentially checking all three boxes, but the science is still out on the health benefits, and harvesting methods can be energy-intensive. Predictions from 21 experts (chefs, writers, chemists) on what dietary habits will look like in 20 years round things out; some say less meat, some say more. Zimberoff excels at making complex issues accessible, and she leavens her survey with dashes of dry humor, as when discussing the prospect of mealworms as a staple protein source: “Well, not everything deserves to become the next soybean.” Anyone curious about the future of food should give this a look. (June)