Emma Bell is excited to attend Food Loves Tech this weekend in New York City.

Food Loves Tech co-founder Brian Halweil.

Stay tuned to Good Food Revolution because I am on my way to cover Food Loves Tech, an “education-by-entertainment innovation expo”, the brainchild of Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn, and taking shape at Brooklyn’s Industry City from November 3-4, 2017. Attendees are invited to “see, smell, touch, hear and taste food’s not-so-distant future” and explore the ways digital technology is increasingly intertwining with our food culture and systems.

According to the event’s producers, Brian Halweil and Stephen Munshin, Food Loves Tech will address the breaking technologies that solve “#firstworldproblems,” such as the latest food apps, in addition to startups that are driving innovations to improve our food system. Over the two days of panel discussions, innovators, thought-leaders and enthusiasts will discuss topics ranging from the virtual restaurants and the future of restaurants and food waste to indoor agriculture. Plus, with all-you-can-eat-and drink experiential zones from some of the most creative and forward thinking chefs and mixologists, Food Loves Tech is a not-to-miss event if you’re in New York and interested in food and technology.

Reached for comment, Hallweil explained to me by email,

We have been impressed to see how the thinking about tech in the food chain has gone more mainstream in just over a year. The notion of Food Loves Tech seemed entirely futuristic and novel. With Amazon gobbling Whole Foods and John Deere buying the leading farm robot company, it’s clear that the food chain of the future isn’t that far away. We have several vendors–SproutiO, SeedSheets, EdenWorks–who are returning for their second year and we can see they have all experienced incredible growth, from having their products on QVC to buying contacts with grocers.

I’m particularly excited about there being loads more “tastes” at the event this year. That is, things you can eat and drink. We went out of our way to find innovative spirit, beer and food makers that use some technology or are taking a radical approach to making what we eat or drink. There are a range of companies that are making their product entirely from “wasted” ingredients that would otherwise be thrown away.

And we are excited to see kids and families at the event on Saturday as we have partnered with a number of schools to get them access and show them the educational opportunities of Food Loves Tech.

On the evening of November 3, I also plan to check out the Future of the Cocktail event, which features some of the most forward-thinking bartenders and spirits will be on hand to create “the bar of tomorrow”, from robotic brewers to branded ice, from machine driven recipes to novel beverages. 

Find out more at FoodLovesTech.com or join the conversation on social media with #FoodLovesTech, and watch this space for my report back.