Future of Food Innovation | Anandharamakrishnan C. | TEDxIISERTVM

Quick Overview

The presentation advocates for rethinking animal agriculture due to its significant contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, proposing alternative proteins, advanced food processing techniques like nano-encapsulation of nutrients (e.g., in green tea), 3D food printing for customized nutrition (e.g., high-fiber foods), designer salt for controlled sensory release, and engineered human digestive systems for testing, all aimed at achieving food sustainability.

Key Points: Food production contributes 26% of global GHG emissions, with the cattle and fish stock sector alone accounting for 14.5% of all food GHG emissions (1/3 of the total food emission). The speaker highlights the inefficiency of animal calorie conversion: chickens convert 9 calories in to 1 calorie out (13% conversion), pigs 11:1 (9% conversion), and cows 40:1 (3% conversion). Solutions include cultivating alternative proteins (plant-based, fermentation, cultivated fish/meat) to address sustainability challenges. Research advances include using nano-encapsulation via electrospraying to deliver micronutrients like iron, folic acid, and Vitamin B12 more effectively in foods like green tea. 3D food printing allows for personalized nutrition, customized food shapes, and encapsulation of nutrients, successfully demonstrating the printing of high-fiber foods. The concept of 'Designer Salt' uses engineered particle sizes (Control: 400µm, SD: 1.28±0.53µm, ED: 500±335µm) to control dissolution rate and enhance saltiness perception, reducing required salt intake. The speaker developed Asia's first Dynamic Stomach and Small Intestine System, which replicates human digestion kinetics (e.g., food particles moving through the stomach in 0.5 seconds) for nutrient bioavailability studies, replacing animal testing.

Context: The presentation, delivered by Anandharamakrishnan at TEDxIISERTVM, focuses on innovations in food technology aimed at achieving global food sustainability, addressing issues from malnutrition and inefficient animal agriculture to environmental impact and the need for better nutrient delivery systems. The speaker details his research journey, starting from CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru, continuing at Loughborough University, UK, and ultimately leading to his current role at CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram.