When not eating his way from Manhattan to the farms of Long Island, you can find Brian Halweil working behind the scenes of sustainability initiatives across NY.
As the editor-in-chief of Edible magazines, Brian knows great food and creating efficient food ecosystems go hand in hand.
Check out his faves and learn more about innovations in food below!
What’s your diet and food philosophy?
I’m a card carrying omnivore. Preference is local, humane, person-based. Many of my meals are eaten in the name of research–at bars, restaurants, farmstands, the side of the LIE–so I try whatever is being served. But I’m also part of a household. My wife is 95% vegetarian. My children are also omnivores who favor yogurt and cereal in the morning and will explore other foods–duck, oysters, any fruit they can get their hands on–the rest of the day. Lately, we’ve been eating mostly sushi rice topped with pickled veggies, nuts, sometimes a fried egg.
What are the 3 most important innovations or ideas in the food movement right now?
Next-gen food biz accelerators. These go beyond kitchen incubators to incubate, mentor and grow budding food and drink businesses. We know our food system will only be stronger when we have many more and a greater diversity of people producing food and drink. The next-gen accelerators that I envision are part production kitchen, part media capture and promotion, and part education and policy platform. Not unlike the new Food Lab at Stony Brook Southampton.
RFID sensors throughout the food chain. From major spirit makers like Johnnie Walker to foodwaste hackers, organizations are putting sensors in bottles, shipping containers, tractors and other food infrastructure. The potential for monitoring waste, usage, quality are extensive. Smart bands on shoppers will expedite food buying. These sensors have the potential to make the food chain smart but we still need to figure out how to use them wisely.
Small farm equipment. Our farm equipment has gotten enormous–in every dimension. That means people are even further removed and that we tend towards monotony and monoculture. Small farm equipment that can be more flexible and sophisticated and place-specific are making a comeback. I’m looking at HelloTractor, the uber for tractor rental that came out of Africa, and Rowbot, whose weeding rowbots can also plant covercrops, or the sorts of small machine innovations you see on FarmHack.
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