# Our Food Tech Vision: Food Tech 3.0

<figure><img src="https://1731594934-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MWOdiacr813vgKIOTIU%2Fuploads%2FZ0dk5XXPGNmTgdNPvjpn%2FRemixelBarri_ExhibitionLEKA_16.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=1e780be8-a6e7-4d9d-9113-a66ef827afaf" alt=""><figcaption><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/3d_printed_healthy_snacks/?hl=en">Look Ma' No Hands</a> at the <a href="https://fablabbcn.org/projects/siscode-remix-el-barrio">SISCODE Remix el Barrio</a> exhibit in LEKA Restaurant. Secil Afsar, founder of Look Ma' No Hands, creates 3D printed snacks using what's often considered food waste. She also participated in the Food Tech 3.0 Acceleration Program.</p></figcaption></figure>

## First, what even is food technology?

When we say “food technology,” we mean **products** (sensors, robots, platforms) as well as the **processes** associated with them (i.e. connection and implementation in communities of practice) **that join the realms of food and technology at any part of the value chain**. This could look like a sensor measuring humidity and light in an urban garden, an open-source fermentation kit, a platform connecting innovators, a digitally fabricated eating utensil, and more.

However, when we asked local actors and FoodSHIFT2030 members what they understood by the term “food technology,” many answered abstractly referencing big ag companies like Monsanto or ventures that cultivate meat in labs, or answered vehemently negatively, citing omnipresent data monitoring. According to [Loic](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lo%C3%AFc-le-goueff-4b3b36b4/) from [Green in Blue](https://greeninblue.es/), the term is “science fiction” and as the team behind [Domingo Club](https://domingoclub.com/) concisely summarised it: “Food tech is a complex word… a lot of people imagine something… crazy.”

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[Bayer](https://www.bayer.com/en/), one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, also develops agricultural products and solutions. When we ask people what they think food technology is, work done by companies like Bayer was *the most common response.* However, there is a pluriverse of food technology realities. Keep reading to discover more.
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## A co-created vision of food technology

**We needed to make clear what “food technology” would look like for Food Tech 3.0.**

Using Fab Lab’s approach to technology and social innovation, combined with our past experience, the framework of FoodSHIFT2030 and collaborative sessions with local actors engaged in food system issues, we established a vision for what Food Tech 3.0’s food technology should look like. This vision was heavily influenced by feedback from the local ecosystem, particularly our Advisory Board, about what was missing for them in the current panorama of food technology. It was also influenced by the knowledge that we do not want food technology to replicate the same issues currently rampant in the food system. It's essential to note that one of the main components of our vision of food technology is one that unites ancestral wisdom and practices with contemporary knowledge. Lastly, “low tech” solutions are given as much emphasis as “high tech” solutions.&#x20;

Consequently, Food Tech 3.0’s food technology follows a set of 5 pillars.&#x20;

<figure><img src="https://1731594934-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MWOdiacr813vgKIOTIU%2Fuploads%2Fwx6l4CcBKs4fO4LaMHtG%2FFoodtech-graphics-01.png?alt=media&#x26;token=cf6f4862-c074-4ed1-9d98-832a85af4524" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**We believe in food technology as products, services or systems that:**

* Are **community-based & citizen-powered**: initiatives respond to an actual need within a community and prioritise empowering their communities and creating food citizenship, taking stakeholders from passive consumers to agents of action&#x20;
  * This includes initiatives like [Domingo Club](https://domingoclub.com/), an initiative and community dedicated to the fermentation of tempeh. Domingo Club has participated in the Food Tech 3.0 Accelerator Program and were also winners of the Project Excellence Award from the Distributed Design Platform.

<div><figure><img src="https://1731594934-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MWOdiacr813vgKIOTIU%2Fuploads%2FFygudkP6UtBwWjIgW0Il%2FDSC09474%20(1).jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=ffc3c045-9148-4036-9e1a-31789feb0160" alt=""><figcaption><p>Domingo Club, meaning "Sunday Club" in English, regularly has workshops on Sundays to teach about tempeh fermentation with everyone from tempeh enthusiasts to curious new individuals. The community often shares best practices, techniques, and a delicious meal.</p></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://1731594934-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MWOdiacr813vgKIOTIU%2Fuploads%2FUXE4ZC0BMEMy8TvKlNwh%2Fdomingo%201.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=08e92656-8732-4334-8a5c-118a29ec3105" alt=""><figcaption><p>The mini fermenter, by Domingo Club, is a chamber for enthusiasts to use at home to ferment tempeh. The design is completely open source-- <a href="https://domingoclub.com/documentation">instructions can be found here</a>. (Photo from Domingo Club's website.)</p></figcaption></figure></div>

* Are **holistically regenerative**: providing positive environmental, social and economic outcomes;
  * One of the holistically regenerative initiatives that Food Tech 3.0 had the pleasure to work with was [Ma! Condimentos Vivos de Asia. ](https://www.instagram.com/macondiments/?hl=en)Ma!, which closed operations in March 2023, Ma! is a fermentation dojo that combined ancestral Asian preservation traditions and *A. oryzae fungi* (Koji ) to create new flavours paired with best quality Iberian ingredients. Ma! prioritised working with local ingredients and vendors while educating her community on ancestral flavors and techniques.

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13-month aged miso using black peas and rice is made in a locally made fermentation crock by ceramist [Anas Rifi-Zinati](https://www.instagram.com/anoserzb/?hl=en). (Photo from Ma! Condimentos Vivos de Asia [Instagram account](https://www.instagram.com/macondiments/?hl=en).)
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* **Employs open design practices**: either (or all) the product, business model, or governance is open access and/or open source, enabling replication & hacking
  * The [Smart Citizen Kit](https://fablabbcn.org/projects/smart-citizen) from Fab Lab Barcelona is a completely open source environmental monitoring tool and platform. Throughout its lifetime, the Kit has had many uses, including being leveraged in [GROW Observatory](https://fablabbcn.org/projects/grow-observatory) to empower urban agriculture communities to monitor soil and planting conditions.

<figure><img src="https://1731594934-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MWOdiacr813vgKIOTIU%2Fuploads%2FBTWPtBUjbnGatstgkqsQ%2F52256098250_f2ce647c57_o.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=36489548-acee-4f3e-8d6f-a70f1c715128" alt=""><figcaption><p>The Smart Citizen Sensor can measure dimensions like light, air quality, sound, and moisture. Community members can adapt the device and easily add new sensors. The Kit's downloadable files and platform <a href="https://smartcitizen.me/">can be found here</a>. </p></figcaption></figure>

* **Further equity**: Supporting intersectional equity and accessibility at the nexus of gender, cultural, racial, and economic lines
  * [From Farms to Incubators](https://www.farmstoincubators.com/) focuses on connecting, elevating, and inspiring women in the agrifoodtech sector. The community provides resources, events, education and mentorship for women working in the field, enabling them to expand and access career opportunities. They also offer a "[Women in Agrifoodtech Directory](https://www.farmstoincubators.com/resources)," a searchable directory that lists women in the US and internationally.

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The *From Farms to Incubators Documentary* tells the stories of minority women entrepreneurs in agtech in the Salinas Valley, California, USA and beyond. Here, participants in the documentary answer questions post-viewing. (Photo From Farms to Incubators [Instagram account](https://www.instagram.com/farmstoincubators/).)&#x20;
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* **Operate in an ecosystem**: systemic innovations and systemic partnerships, and especially the opportunity to partner with other types of tech initiatives (i.e. city/rural, high tech/low tech, for profit/non-profit, etc. partnerships)&#x20;
  * [AbonoKM0 ](https://abonokm0.com/)collects food waste from neighborhoods, schools, and companies and, through vermicomposting, turns it back into rich compost for the communities. Their work is decentralized, local, participatory, educative, and biotechnological. AbonoKM0 is one of Food Tech 3.0's Advisory Board members, helping ground our work in the local context. You can learn more about AbonoKM0 and how they approach collaboration in the section,[facilitating-collaboration-a-conversation-with-abonokm0](https://books.fablabbcn.org/foodtech3.0/acceleration-program-sessions/community/facilitating-collaboration-a-conversation-with-abonokm0 "mention").

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AbonoKM0 creates locally sourced compost that replenishes the nutrients in soil, making for happy soil, happy plants, and happy people. (Photo from AbonoKM0 [Instagram account](https://www.instagram.com/abonokm0/).)
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<mark style="background-color:green;">To discover more examples of food technology, you can explore the</mark> [meet-the-food-tech-3.0-innovators](https://books.fablabbcn.org/foodtech3.0/acceleration-program-sessions/meet-the-food-tech-3.0-innovators "mention") <mark style="background-color:green;">section, where you'll find the Innovator Portraits of the 10 initiatives that participated in the Food Tech 3.0 Acceleration Program, or the</mark> [scaling](https://books.fablabbcn.org/foodtech3.0/scaling "mention") <mark style="background-color:green;">section to see what the Food Tech 3.0 FELs are working on. You might also visit the</mark> [scaling-out-not-up](https://books.fablabbcn.org/foodtech3.0/scaling/scaling-out-not-up "mention") <mark style="background-color:green;">or</mark>[food-system-interventions-opportunities-and-challenges](https://books.fablabbcn.org/foodtech3.0/whats-next/food-system-interventions-opportunities-and-challenges "mention") <mark style="background-color:green;">sections to see intervention points for food technology.</mark>\\
