Future foods: Traditions, trends and enabling technologies for impact

Title : Future foods: Traditions, trends and enabling technologies for impact

Abstract:

With growing urbanization, digital literacy and information technology extending to one and all globally, there is heightened awareness of food provenance and nutritional consciousness. This trend has motivated functional value-based consumption while safeguarding planetary health and looking back at traditions. Innovative technologies enable evolving trends for scaling up and increasing impact. Largely, consumer acceptance of engineered “plant based” meat, genetically modified and fortified foods emerge as a critical factor in driving these innovations. There is an emphasis on the need for a transformative approach to food production, incorporating innovative technologies and sustainable practices to ensure food and nutrition security. On one side, dietary guidelines continue to change proposing models, sources and portions for daily consumption for a healthy body and mind; on the other side, with greater scientific clarity of the biological processes, populations diversifying back and forth between the traditional, mainstream and novel food and practices; the trends are enabled by innovations in technologies for impact. Large shifts in country-specific diets may be needed to achieve food production systems climate targets and nutritional adequacy with specific eating patterns that consider both health and sustainability parameters.

Biography:

Dr. Usha Palaniswamy holds a PhD in Plant Science (University of Connecticut, USA), MBA (Webster University, USA) and MEd in educational administration (M.K. University, India). Her academic career includes positions as Faculty of Allied Health and Asian American Studies, and in academic higher administration as the dean and associate dean. She served as a Project Manager at the World Vegetable Center in Taiwan and implemented school gardens in six countries in Asia and Africa. She is a recipient of several teaching, research and volunteer service awards. She is a Technical Advisory Committee member of Prem Nath Agricultural Science Foundation (PNASF) and serves on the PhD Board of Examiners of several Universities in India. She has authored four books and published over 55 research articles and several book chapters and review articles. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants (Taylor and Francis, USA).