The future of food is in taste, with futurist Mike Lee

What if the future of food isn't about convincing people to care more about sustainability, but rather focusing on what can improve taste?

In this episode, Tenacious’ Dr. Maddie Mitchell speaks with food futurist and innovation strategist Mike Lee about the forces shaping the future of food, agriculture, and consumer behavior.

Mike has spent his career helping some of the world's largest food companies think differently about innovation. He's also the author of Mise: On the Future of Food, a speculative magazine from the future that explores what food systems could look like over the coming decades.

Together, Maddie and Mike unpack why consumers consistently say they care about sustainability but continue to buy based on taste, convenience, and price. They explore the growing interest in soil health and why one of the biggest opportunities for agtech may be proving the connection between healthy soils, flavor, and nutrient density.

They discuss:

• Why taste still beats sustainability at the checkout
• The emerging connection between soil health, flavor, and nutrition.
• What agtech startups can learn from systems thinking
• The links between personalized nutrition and crop diversity
• Who’s driving more change: big food companies or startups

Useful Links:

• Will consumers and companies ever pay for nutrition and soil health?
• A New Blueprint for Big Food - by Mike Lee
• Eating to Extinction
• GLP-1s are reshaping the food system — are midstream companies ready?
• Companies mentioned: Chobani, Alpha Food Labs, Bionutrient Food Association, Edacious

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