ECHT

Tech

Future Scenario: Food &

3D Printing
SIANNIE QUARTERO
1714570
CLASS: B05

WORD COUNT: 1595

Food processing was invented about 2 million years ago by a distant ancestor who discovered cooking,
the original form of food processing (as cited by Floros, et al., 2010). During prehistoric times, cooking
was augmented by fermenting, drying, preserving with salt, and other primitive forms of food
processing, which allowed groups and communities to form and survive (Floros, et al., 2010). This
movement led to what we now call modern food processing. However, a new form of food production
is here to prosper. This new form of food production involves creating food by utilizing a 3D printer.
A 3D printer is a sophisticated machine, which is commonly associated with metals, plastic, and other
materials that can be moulded; it creates solid objects by adding layer on top of another layer. Recently,
new potential has been found for 3D printing, especially in regards to food. In recent years there have
been vast developments in 3D food printing technology. 3D printers may be the technology that will
change our perception of food, how food is produced, and how it is consumed.

Trends in Food
According to Davis (2013) the greatest and most preventable global threats to public health is obesity.
Fetal programming will likely cause this global threat to gain momentum and become a self-
perpetuating problem. This is because of the ‘’inheritance of acquired characteristics’’ that generations
pass on to the next generation, and so forth. As of now, more than half of the population is classified as
overweight or obese (implied in terms of percentage of body fat). It’s been marked as ‘’the first time in
human evolutionary history that the number of people with excess body weight has surpassed those
who are underweight’’ (Davis, 2013). Chloé Rutzerveld already started tackling this problem by
initiating the ‘Edible Growth project’. Rutzerveld produces 3D printed ‘’living biscuits’’, which are
small h’or d’oeuvres that are healthy and nutritious. This is only the beginning of 3D printing being
used to create healthy food.
Research has been conducted to find out the nature as to why people prefer to eat out. The
results show that 28,1% ate out solely for convenience, 23,3% for physiological and 22,5% for esteem
needs. The other reasons are social needs (17,3%), health (8%) and business purposes (0,8%) (Fraikue,
2016). Moreover, people choose to eat out because they are unable to get home for meals, or have no
skills and knowledge to prepare the dishes that they enjoy. Less skill is required to print 3D food, which
is why this can be easily incorporated into a daily lifestyle. There is no doubt that 3D printed food is
something that is desirable among the people who value convenience.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) states that in the world today 6.5 billion are
affected by hunger (as cited in ‘’Food Scarcity’’). There are further statements made by the International
Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) where they claim that 33 countries have ‘’alarming’’ or
‘’extremely alarming’’ levels of famine. This situation is likely to be intensified between now and the
year 2050, where global population is expected to expand drastically; the global population is expected
to grow to an estimated 9.6 billion people by 2050. Analysts predict that food production will need to
be raised by 50 percent to maintain current levels (Singh & Raghav, 2018).

Trends in 3D Printing
Research conducted by Core-Baillais et al. (2017) show that 28% use 3D printing to accelerate product
development, 16% to offer customized products, and 13% to increase product flexibility. Moreover,
34% use it for prototyping, and 23% for proof of concept. The last two remain the leading uses quoted
by their research audience, however a more interesting aspect of this study is that the respondents show
less interest in buying a 3D printer. It can be concluded that people still prefer to use external 3D printing
services to produce and manufacture their products.
According to Leering (2017) 3D printing is still in its infancy. As of now, it has little effect on
cross-border trade. The big change will happen once high speed 3D printing makes mass production
with 3D printers economically viable. The first signs are already there. 3D printing will cause a less
trade growth because of automation. This will reduce the needed amount of labour, reducing the need
to import intermediate and final goods from low wage countries. Due to less trade, countries with trade
deficits in manufacturing will see their deficit decline even further. Countries that are excelling in
manufacturing trade will see their opportunities shrink, especially when the products they manufacture
can easily be printed using a 3D printer.
 3D printing enable companies to operate with little or no inventory, and significantly reduce
the need for factory workers (Pandian & Belavek, 2016). 3D printing is experiencing a remarkable
expansion; there have been predictions that Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) might possibly
replace the traditional manufacturing one day. 3D printing has the power to simplify the conventional
supply chain. The universal application of this technique will make the manufacturing activities slowly
moving to the places closer to the customers, and will lead to a reduced transport volume, thus reducing
the packaging distribution and overriding costs (as cited by Liu, Zhang, Bandari & Wang, 2017).

Future Scenario
A 3D printer will not be something that will be present in every household. In the current sharing
economy that recognizes the value of utilization while the consumers pay for using product’s functions,
and not for its ownership (Ranjbari, Allonso, & Galeggo, 2018), ownership of a 3D printer is not going
to be the main focus. Production companies will continue to exist, however 3D printing will be open to
the public to use whenever they desire. Instead of a restaurant we will have food printing stations that
are full of 3D printers where customers can print their desired food. They will pay a fee each month,
which will allow them to use such food printing stations.
According to Thewihsen, et al. (2016) personalization of manufactured products tailored to
consumer needs is a large push in the modern economy. 3D printers will allow food to be customized
to each individual’s preference and health requirements. Millions of people have conditions which are
treated by, sensitive to or caused by foods (Singh & Raghav, 2018). These problems could include
digestion problems, lactose intolerance, a condition that limit one’s ability to swallow food, etc. This
limits the range of foods they can consume. As a result, these conditions demand adjustments of diet as
part of their treatment; 3D food printing will cause a drastic positive effect on human health. Automation
allows consumer data to be integrated, which can in turn create diets that one doesn’t even have to think
about. Nutrients and fat percentage restrictions on 3D printed food will be regulated, preventing people
from gaining any unnecessary weight.
As well as the benefit of customizing foods and their nutritional value, 3D food printing will
be used as a solution in countries of extreme famine. Stations or outlets can be set up to provide food
for those in need, which will be funded by charity organizations. 3D food printing technology will
broaden the source of available food due to the non-traditional food materials used in the process, such
as insects, high fibre plant based materials, and plant and animal based by-products (as cited by Liu,
Zhang, Bandari & Wang, 2017). According to Singh & Raghav (2018) the environment will also benefit
from this, due to the fact that the ingredients that are used to create flavoursome food, such as proteins,
can be extracted from algae, beet leaves, or insects. However, bear in mind that not all cultures will
agree to this way of producing food. For example, Southeast Asian meals require the freshest possible
ingredients, and lots of time (and skill) to process and prepare them (Esterik, 2008). Food is used to
bond with family members; 3D printed food will not have the same effect as a meal prepared by hand.
Evaluation
With the economy shifting to a sharing economy, 3D food printing becoming a service that anyone can
use is definitely realistic. Considering a restaurant that provides 3D printed food already exists, such as
Food Ink, it seems entirely plausible that 3D food printing might turn into a sharing model, where people
use the service of the 3D printer instead of owning one, the same way that buying a DVD player turned
into a Netflix subscription.
It’s only a question whether this is a desirable future for society or the complete opposite. It is
most likely that countries, such as in Southeast Asia, will not be quick to implement a 3D food printing
business, as it goes against their values. Just like that there are many cultures that value the process of
making food as it is tradition, which means they might not be open to 3D printed food, regardless of its
ease.
It is inevitable that 3D printed food will become relatively common, as it might be needed to
feed the increasing population. Resources are slowly running out, so alternatives need to be considered.
3D printing will take away jobs, just like how any new technology does, however it will also create jobs
that are yet to be discovered. Whether 3D food printing will be a mainstream phenomenon is yet to be
determined. 3D printed food is growing; it has rightfully earned its spot in the food sector, however it
must be argued that restaurants will continue to thrive as they will remain part of a cultural experience
that a 3D printer cannot replace.
References

Core-Baillais, M., Bensoussan, H., Richardot, A. & Kusnadi, H. (2017) The State of 3D Printing.
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Davis, C. (2013). From Passive Overeating to ‘’Food Addiction’’: A Spectrum of Compulsion and
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f
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