How Will We Dine? Prospective Shifts in International Haute Cuisine and Innovation beyond Kitchen and Plate

Characteristics of built food environments associated with alternative protein food choices: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

This systematic review contributes to the understanding of the characteristics of built food environments that may be associated with choices of alternative protein foods (APF). Using the built food environment typology proposed by Downs et al., we investigated various environmental structures (e.g., supermarkets, other retailers, farmers' markets, restaurants, schools, and online vendors) and the characteristics that may facilitate or hinder consumers' choices. For example, facilitators and barriers may refer to the physical characteristics of environmental structures, food presentation practices, the organizational strategies or policies operating in the setting, or the actions that retailers or consumers engage in while selling, serving, choosing, trying, or purchasing APF in these environmental structures.

METHODS

A systematic review (PROSPERO database preregistration; no. CRD42023388700) was conducted by searching 13 databases for peer-reviewed journals focusing on the fields of economics and business, agriculture, medical sciences, and social sciences. Data searches, coding, and quality evaluations were conducted by at least 2 researchers. A total of 31 papers (36 original studies) were included. The risk of bias was evaluated with the Joanna Briggs Institute quality evaluation tool, with 24 publications presenting low risk of bias.

RESULTS

The findings indicate that perceived and actual availability facilitate consumers' APF choices across a built food environment. Several barriers/facilitators were associated with APF choices in specific types of built food environments: the way food is presented in produce sections (supermarkets), consumer habits in terms of green and specialty shopping (grocery stores), and mismatches among retailer actions in regard to making APF available in one type of food environment structure (e-commerce) and consumers' preferences for APF being available in other food environment structures (supermarkets, grocery stores). The effect of a barrier/facilitator may depend on the APF type; for example, social norms regarding masculinity were a barrier affecting plant-based APF choices in restaurants, but these norms were not a barrier affecting the choice of insect-based APF in restaurants.

CONCLUSIONS

Addressing barriers/facilitators identified in this review will help in developing environment-matching interventions that aim to make alternative proteins mainstream.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO database registration: #CRD42023388700.

Forecasting Food Innovations with a Delphi Study

Food innovations can create novel nutritious food, improve agricultural sustainability, and increase the agri-food industry's market profits. Our study proposes a consensus definition of food innovations and forecasts food innovations that will be available to consumers in the next five years by using a Delphi study. Thirteen experts aged 35 to 85 from the US and the UK researching or working in agriculture and nutrition, public health, the agri-food industry, or food policy participated in three rounds of this Delphi study. The experts were chosen using the snowball sampling method. This study followed the implementation and data analysis guidelines popularized by the Rand Corporation. The consensus definition for food innovations (with 76.9% agreement) was that 'food innovations aid in the development, production, or transportation of new food products, processes, or technology to promote human health, food security, or environmental sustainability'. The specific food innovations, which had over 69% agreement, are ranked as (1) plant-based meat alternatives, (2) personalized nutrition, (3) natural foods, (4) new genetically modified organisms, (5) regenerative agriculture, (6) urban agriculture, (7) packing innovations, (8) alternative flours, (9) improving shelf life, (10) supply chain technologies, (11) improved soil health, and (12) technology for traceability. The food innovation definition and identified specific food innovations could further connect the agricultural value chain to develop novel nutritious foods and improve agricultural sustainability. Agri-food industry specialists, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers can advance food innovation development and research pinpointing the specific food innovations along the agricultural value chain.

Plant-Based Innovations for the Transition to Sustainability: A Bibliometric and in-Depth Content Analysis

Plants maintain the ecological equilibrium of the earth and stabilize the ecosystem. Today, traditional commodities and new value-added markets can be served simultaneously. There is significant biosource and bioprocess innovation for biobased industrial products. Furthermore, plant-based innovation is associated with the transition to sustainability. This study performed a bibliometric and in-depth content analysis to review plant-based innovations in the research field between 1995 and 2022. A set of 313 articles was identified from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Different analytical scientometric tools (topic mapping and overlay visualization networks) were used to analyze 124 articles; the most influential countries, institutions, authors, journals and articles were identified. Through in-depth studies, based on the grounded theory approach, five leading research areas related to plant-based innovation were determined: (1) agricultural/environmental innovation, (2) plant-based food or feed innovation, (3) innovation within the medical/pharmaceutical research area, (4) technology-related innovation and (5) economic/business aspects of plant-based innovations. Future research directions include exploring less examined and new topics, such as the sustainability implications of incorporating various plant-based foods and Industry 4.0 in plant-based innovation, and linking and developing findings from different research areas.

Urban Air Mobility: Projections for Air Taxis

The growing global demand for efficient and sustainable urban mobility in metropolitan areas has created innovative approaches to new modes of transportation and vehicles. Using the Delphi method, this study explored the prospective development of urban air mobility (UAM), specifically the emergence of air taxis or vertical take-off and landing (VTOLs). The two-staged study examined 25 projections regarding technological and infrastructural aspects to propose a future scenario for UAM and air taxis for the next 5–10 years. The questioned experts confirmed most of the proposed statements from both areas but were undetermined regarding certain technological aspects. Considering the crucial impacts of regulation and certification as well as consumer perception and acceptance for UAM and air taxis, further research on these topics and their correlation is suggested.

Digitizing Grocery Retailing: The Role of Emerging Technologies in the Value Chain

Multiple emerging technologies both threaten grocers and offer them attractive opportunities to enhance their value propositions, improve processes, reduce costs, and therefore generate competitive advantages. Among the variety of technological innovations and considering the scarcity of resources, it is unclear which technologies to focus on and where to implement them in the value chain. To develop the most probable technology forecast that addresses the application of emerging technologies in the grocery value chain within the current decade, we conduct a two-stage Delphi study. Our results suggest a high relevance of almost all technologies. The panel is only skeptical about three specific projections. As a consequence, grocers are advised to build up knowledge regarding the application of these technologies in the most promising areas of their value chain.