Gen Alpha and artificial intelligence (AI) will be major shapers of the food and beverage industry's future, according to Datassential. The market research company named both as important trends in 2023 in its annual FoodBytes trend report, which combines the opinions of industry experts with consumer insights to predict the upcoming year's biggest macro and micro trends. While the oldest members of Gen Alpha are about to reach their teenage years and make their own spending decisions, Datassential sees these young consumers already are influencing purchasing patterns in their homes and others through family and social media. The diverse generation, set to number almost two billion globally by 2025, has wasted no time gaining the attention of some restaurant operators, with 35% telling Datassential that the group is already important to their business. Companies will need to engage the tech-savvy group through various channels to make them into customers, and fortunately most brands have figured out how to take part in the social media craze surrounding food photography on sites like Instagram. Now, however, they also will need to adapt to the explosion in popularity of short-form videos, especially on TikTok, one of Datassential's micro trends.

The answer to this challenge, according to Thomas Jung, head of IT Research and Development at Syngenta, is regenerative agriculture. Just as important as clean water and clean air, soil is the critical foundation of agriculture. The crux of regenerative agriculture is to grow more food with less environmental impact by enhancing the health of soil. "So not much has changed, but we need to feed more and more people," he continues "How do we address this challenge of feeding the world in a sustainable fashion without exploiting our soils more?" Regenerative agriculture efforts look to find solutions to help plants stay healthy, find solutions to make crops more resistant to climate change-induced droughts and heatwaves, and use less water in farming. Therefore, what's necessary is, "moving beyond the traditional agriculture and the way we've been doing this for probably 100 years or more. I mean, this is a leap," says Jung. "This is an agricultural revolution that is ongoing, and artificial intelligence will play the decisive role in it."

Undercurrent is an upcoming immersive art event featuring audiovisual installations from around 40 musicians, headlined by Bon Iver, Grimes and The 1975, designed to inspire climate activism. Before the physical exhibition arrives in Brooklyn on September 9th, a digital sister event is today launching online that showcases 3D interactive music videos from some of the support acts. The Undercurrent digital platform includes original, unreleased music from Nosaj Thing, Mount Kimbie, Actress, Aluna, and Jayda G. Again, the focus is on spurring change around environmental issues through immersive art. Each musician's work ends with a call to action, whether it be donating to or volunteering for a non-profit. The virtual event could also be a way for budding visitors to get a feel for the main exhibition.

Innovative food-related gadgets and practices don't always have to rely on things like sensors, apps, and machine learning to have a positive impact. In fact, in some parts of the world, these "low-tech" (that is, technologically simple) solutions are often all that's needed to prevent waste, improve farming practices, and even boost the local economy. That is to say that low tech, while maybe not as alluring as, say, using sensors to save the bees, plays a bigger role in advancing food than one might initially think. Their simplicity is effective, and often just as interesting, or at least thought provoking, as a high-tech alternative. Consider fermentation, specifically as a way to curb food waste.