Ole Witt Introduces Us to European Future-like Spaces Researching the Production of Food

The food system transformation is just as important as the energy transition and the transportation transition. The fossil fuel engine is being replaced by electric motors, coal power plants will be upgraded to regenerative energies - and the food industry is also going to change permanently. One approach that will play an important role in this field is tech food. 

Start-ups and companies around the world are researching how to use innovative technology to reduce the resources required for food production, establish new crops as sources of protein, or reduce food waste through digital networking. Many tech food approaches seem like visions from a science fiction story - and yet they are already part of our present-day: Autonomous vertical greenhouse systems are created in warehouses, shielded from the sun, to grow crops unaffected by the seasons. Protein-rich microalgae are being cultivated in kilometer-long glass tubes, producing hundreds of times more biomass than conventional grain fields, in the outskirts of Berlin, an insect larva that could revolutionize existing food cycles is being bred. The idea of using technological innovation to change the food industry is a whole movement. Food Sync gives an insight into this tech scene and underlines that not only Silicon Valley, but also European companies can do technological pioneering work.

Words and Pictures by Ole Witt

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Ole Witt develops documentary long-term projects and works as a freelance photographer in Berlin. He studied photojournalism and documentary photography at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover. Since 2019, in addition to his work as a photographer, he works as a freelance photo editor for various projects. Follow him on PhMuseum and Instagram. 

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This feature is part of Story of the Week, a selection of relevant projects from our community handpicked by the PhMuseum curators.