16 Ways To Hack The Future Of Meat

“Quite simply, tech is the future. It has the potential to make everything easier and take the complexities out of the meat supply chain.” –Ryan Farr, Butcher, Chef and Owner of 4505 Meats

As the central element of most American plates, meat is one of the areas most prime for improvement in our food system. But while demand for sustainably raised meat is booming, the industry is having trouble scaling. Which is why Food+Tech Connect and GRACE Communications Foundation hosted “Hacking Meat,” an online conversation (series of articles) in which leading food and technology innovators responded to the question: “How can information and technology be used to hack (or reimagine) the future of meat?” 

At its core, the series explores how data, technology and new media can be used to reimagine a more sustainable, profitable and healthy future for meat. Among the meaty submissions, Joanne Wilson of Gotham Gal highlights some of the startups bringing transparency to the food industry, Andrew Gunther of Animal Welfare Approved writes a call to action for expanding the network of conscious consumers and Mark Post of Maastricht University gives us a glimpse at the lab-grown beef of our future. Check out the complete list of meaty responses below.

THE HACKING MEAT RESPONSES:

• Katrina Heron, Executive Director of The Edible Schoolyard Project, talks about her vision for equiping consumers with the information they need to make healthier, more sustainable food choices in Give Consumers Accessible & Reliable Information.
• Joanne Wilson, Angel Investor and Author of Gotham Gal, highlights standout food companies that are working to create a more sustainable, healthy and transparent food system in Tracking the Meat We Eat.
• Kent Schoberle, Lead Butcher and Class Instructor at 4505 Meats, discusses how technology can help increase access to local processing facilities and distribution channels for small-scale producers in Bringing Transparency to Processing.
• Jonathan Yale, Co-founder of HooftyMatch, talks about his vision for a sustainable meat digital marketplace and the pivotal role consumer education will play in its success in We Need a Digital Marketplace.
• Marilyn Noble, Communications Director of American Grassfed Association, discusses her vision for local “meat hubs” that connect producers to processors, distributors, institutional buyers, chefs, and consumers in We Need Regional “Meat Hubs”.
• Craig Rogers, Owner and Shepherd of Border Springs Farm, shares his thoughts bolstering farmers through “pride tracking” and educatting consumers on lesser known meat cuts of meat in Bolstering Proud Farmers and Educated Consumers.
• Andrew Gunther, Program Director of Animal Welfare Approved, talks about why we need to look at ways of scaling-up sustainable production by utilizing existing distribution infrastructure while leveraging technology and social media to reach the vast body of mainstream consumers in Stop Preaching to the Converted.
• Naithan Jones, CEO of Aglocal, describes his vision to improve meat transportation and processing and increase market access to sustainable meat in We Need to Fix the Broken Supply Chain.
• Haven Bourque, Principal of HavenBMedia, challenges hackers to produce a concrete solution to bring eaters closer to their farmers, help enthusiastic eaters learn more about diverse sources of meat, and tackle the distribution challenges that farmers face nationwide in Know Your Goat, Know Your Farmer.
• Raul Martin, Sales Manager at FERMIN USA,  delivers a meaty and magical look at Iberico pigs and the acorns that fuel them in The Bionic Porquero.
• Jonathan Kaplan, Senior Policy Specialist at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), explains how expanding public interest in sustainable meat from a narrow market to the mainstream is our greatest hope for changing the industry in Saving the Middle Class.
• Camas Davis, Owner and Instructor at Portland Meat Collective, asks how we might rethink and go beyond current online communities and forums to make them more accessible to the community of meat-minded folks in Power to the Meat Collective.
• Cesar Vega, Editor and Author of The Kitchen as Laboratory, calls for a well-controlled, multi-disciplinary experiment that involves experts from all areas of the food world to expand our collective knowledge of the terroir and taste profile of grassfed meat in Strengthening the Case for Terroir.
• Food+TechConnect Interviews Ryan Farr, Butcher, Chef and Owner of 4505 Meats, on the exciting role technology can play in whole-animal production and consumption: The Butcher and the Tech Beast.
• Brad Cecchi, Executive Sous Chef at Grange Restaurant, talks about why we should look to past generations of meat eaters to empower a whole-animal, offal-loving cooking revolution in Bring on the Home Cooking Renaissance.
• Mark Post, Professor of Physiology at Maastricht University, discusses why lab-grown beef  may be a viable and sustainable alternative to meet the growing demand for meat production in decades to come in “Cultured Beef”.

THE BIGGER PICTURE:

While this conversation began online, we also hosted Hack//Meat Silicon Valley, a hackathon where industry “steakholders” worked with entrepreneurs, technologists and creatives to rapidly prototype software and hardware solutions to sustainable meat industry challenges. Read more about the event and the winning hacks here.

This post originally appeared on Forbes.