Discover the Future of Food

Future Food Institute

We, the Future Food Institute (FFI), are an organisation that aims to promote a more sustainable future of food for all. We invite you aboard our intrepid journey of discovery and storytelling through a collection of books called Food Shapers. Without further ado, with Food Shapers as our vessel and discovery as our destination, all aboard for the adventure of a lifetime.

Food Innovation Global Mission

Our story begins in Italy. After three months of design thinking workshops and community engagement projects, 16 researchers from all over the world are preparing to set sail for their 60-day Global Mission. These students of The Food Innovation Masters Program come from all corners of the globe and carry a diversity of backgrounds. Among the group can be found food scientists to designers, from chefs to lawyers. They have however found themselves linked by the single common goal of changing the world for the better. Their expedition will find them walking the streets of Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Valencia, Berlin, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Mumbai and Bangkok, where they will find themselves talking to more than 160 food heroes that are shaping our shared future.

Research Topics

Working in teams, the students will explore four major issues for the future – the Future of Proteins, the Future of Food Service, Agro-Innovation in Smart Cities and Scalable Sustainability and Circular Systems. By studying these issues first-hand, the students will have the opportunity to delve deeper into accurately understanding sustainability and innovation in the food sector and will, in turn, breath life and wisdom into Food Shapers.

Meet the Food Shapers

Each of the four books that make up Food Shapers explores one team’s experience of interviewing food heroes, uncovering insights and exploring ideas for positive change in our food system. As you flip through the pages of Food Shapers, you’ll discover a world that celebrates culture, connects communities and promote wellbeing. You’ll find yourself thrust into a world of stories from some of the amazing people that are fighting global problems such as climate change, hunger and food waste.

While you read Food Shapers you’ll find yourself learning alongside our research teams, with lessons that move beyond the surface to become a deeper investigation of how food involves us in a system of social and environmental relationships. For food above all connects us.

To the Future and Beyond

But our journey has just begun. Take a look at an overview of our research with our summary maps or see through the eyes of our researchers with our video shorts. With ever growing resources and research to offer, we aim to offer you a glimpse into the lives of those shaping our food system. Stay in touch and watch this space!