2015 reThink Food Program Summary 

The 2015 reThink Food program focused on three overlapping areas of discovery: trust, transparency, and trajectory. Keeping in mind the questions and issues that are crucial to the work of today’s chefs, foodservice operators, retailers, and innovators in all sectors of the food industry, sessions examined the need to rebuild trust between the technology and food communities, the decisions that investors make when looking at innovative companies to support, the impact that personalized and digital healthcare will likely have on our food decisions, next-generation strategies that companies should use to communicate with their customers, and the role of robots in our food future—among other thought-provoking presentations and breakouts.

Nicholas Negroponte, who founded the MIT Media Lab, was WIRED’s first investor, and today is an angel investor to many companies in the tech and other sectors, shared with the audience the boldest of his ideas for the future of food. Restaurant designer Mark Stech-Novak talked about what we know and don’t know about the restaurant space. Sessions by legendary design firm IDEO, the Institute for the Future, the Food Business School, and Compass Lab featured presentations about epicenters of innovation, entrepreneurship, supply chain re-invention, and design thinking. Some of the country’s most creative chefs shared their visions for the future, which sometimes implied looking far back, along with demonstrations, tastings, and sensory evaluations.

A unique collaboration between The Culinary Institute of America and the MIT Media Lab, the three-day conference invited food industry leaders, academics and innovators in R&D, technology, consumer package goods, marketing and related fields to join us for networking opportunities, cutting-edge research that will widen perspectives, and business-friendly solutions for the challenges and imperatives that face us.

Find the 2015 reThink Food YouTube playlist here, or click on the video player below to watch all general sessions and seminars held on the Ventura stage during the 2015 conference.

Photos

Presentations

“Yale Sustainable Food Program,” Mark Bomford (Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies)

“Food Policy: Built on Transparency,” Sara Burnett (Panera Bread)

“Foods of Tomorrow,” Courtney Burns (Bar Tartine)

“Follow The Money,” Christine Day (Luvo)

“Special Thank You to Our Sponsors,” Greg Drescher (The Culinary Institute of America)

“Robotics,” Charles Fracchia (MIT Media Lab & Harvard Medical School)

“Trust: Rebuilding Dialogue and Innovation Between Food and Tech,” Mahni Ghorashi (Clear Labs)

“Trust: Building Dialogue and Innovation Between Food and Tech,” Elliott Grant (ShopWell Labs)

“Information, Cellular Design, 3D Printing, Makers and Creators,” Andrew Hessel (Autodesk)

“Eating Well Made Simple,” (Zipongo)

“Revolution in Healthcare: Impacts on the Future of the Food Industry,” Molly Maloof (3Scan, Kareo, Anonos, and Thync)

“Food, Paradox, Three General Trends,” Nicholas Negroponte (One Laptop per Child)

“Digital Health,” Ian Peikon (Google[x] Life Sciences)

“What Would it Look Like if we Started Over,” Ben Roche (Hampton Creek)

“The Food Business School,” Will Rosenzeig (The Food Business School)

“Strategic initiative: Create the System to Utilize the non ‘retail’ Grade A Fruits and Vegetables,” Christine Seitz (Imperfectly Delicious Produce)

“Restaurant Consulting and Design,” Mark Stech-Novak (Restaurant Consulting and Design)

“What’s Driving Consumer Purchase Trends,” Charles Sweat (Frequentz)

“Why Do We (mis)Trust Food Technology,” Tish Van Dyke (Edelman)

“Focus and Vision: Growing the Future Together,” Patrick Warco (Sensa.io)

“Consumers Transform the Path of the Plate,” Kelley Weikel (Technomic)

“Be Smart. Do Good. Partner Well,” Susie Weintraub (Envision)

“The Exquisite Future of Food Transparency,” Shireen Yates (6SensorLabs)