“There’s a restaurant in Boston with a robotic kitchen,” she said.
Spyce is a world-first and was created by four robotics-obsessed engineers who wanted healthy food at a reasonable price.
Customers order using a touchscreen then robots do the rest. Ingredients are dropped into a row of rotating woks, which cook meals in under three minutes.
“Disruption in the agri-food sector isn’t coming from agriculture, it’s coming from computer scientists,” Jones said.
It’s likely to be another three to five years before lab-grown meat is available in supermarkets in the United States.
“The thing they haven’t quite worked out is how to grow the fat and muscle that gives meat its taste.
“And these competitors aren’t necessarily offering the same value as our primary sector products,” she said.
“Plant-based, meat-free options can lack the same nutritional value as real meat.
“So, we need to ask ourselves ‘how do we balance what is right for us as humans with what is right for our planet?’ Today, there is a growing tension between nutrition and the environment.”
The world’s food system is worth US$8 trillion.
New Zealand earns $40 billion a year from food exports.
“We have a big advantage on the world stage because we can produce artisan, niche products and demand a higher price,” Jones said.
Deer milk produced by Pamu (Landcorp) is being made into ice cream and other desserts by chefs in upmarket restaurants in Auckland and Wellington.
Other examples Jones pointed out were high-protein fly products, marijuana-infused olive oil and micro-algae pasta.
Jones believes the opportunities to expand NZ’s ocean-farmed salmon industry are immense.
“I recently visited one of NZ King Salmon’s farms in the Marlborough Sounds. There were 33,000 fish in one pen. It’s amazing,” she said.
Young Farmers members were urged to understand consumers and find out what they are willing to pay a premium for.
“If you travel overseas, go into an expensive-looking supermarket and see what sort of food is on the shelves,” Jones said.
“I went to a supermarket in California last year and they had a big fridge with a sign on it that read grass-fed milk.”
The world’s population is projected to reach about 10 billion people by 2050.
“That’s a huge jump in terms of calories that we need to produce to feed all of those people,” Tech Futures Lab’s general manager Sarah Hindle said.
Devising ways to sustainably feed everyone poses a challenge for scientists and food producers. It also opens new career opportunities.
“What we see real growth in is the rise of the agricultural technologist,” Hindle said.
“They’ll have an ability to manage technological systems and have expertise in things like robotics, automation, drones and data electronics.”
Jones advised farmers planning on experimenting a little and diversifying their land use to embrace failure.
“There will be things you try and they won’t work but keep trying and learning from your mistakes,” she said.
