'Future of Food' exhibit to open at UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science

BEREKELY, Calif. - The future of food is here, and it's sustainable. The University of California, Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science is opening a new exhibit titled the "Future of Food", and it's highlighting the scientists and companies at the forefront of that effort. 

The more than 4,000-square-foot exhibition focuses on the science that is helping to create new meat alternatives. It also digs into the many ways that food scientists are exploring to make our produce more resistant to things like drought or weeds, as well as ways to increase the nutrient density of the produce grown in the United States. 

Berkeley Mayor joins in on the fun

Local perspective:

Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii also headed to the Lawrence to celebrate the opening of the event. Ishii says she is a pescatarian, so she may not be trying the cell-derived meat alternatives any time soon, but there is one thing she's excited to try. 

"It would be great to try some of the innovative foods that are coming out of our local companies here. I know that they have seaweed bacon, which is something that started here in Berkeley, and that's very exciting," Ishii told KTVU. "Generally, there are foods like insects that I think are gonna be more commonplace, that other people have been eating for generations." 

Local company at the forefront of sustainable meat

Dig deeper:

Mission Barns is one of the community partners for the exhibit. The company develops cell-cultivated pork derived from a donor pig named Dawn who lives in upstate New York. One reason this alternative may be more appetizing to the average American consumer is that it is still made of actual pork, but an animal didn't have to die to make it possible. 

Mission Barn's Italian Sausage is made from cell-derived pork, and is a new sustainable alternative to farm-raised pork. 

Mission Barns says it started developing pork first because many other companies are already tackling food innovation around beef and chicken alternatives, but pork is the world's favorite meat. The future of pork production is currently unclear, due to the growth of disease outbreaks and the challenges that come along with high-density pig farming. 

"We use the sample that we've taken from Dawn, and we grow that sample into all of the products that we have today, including this meatball," said Bianca Lê. "We use real pork fat in our meatball, and fat is where the flavor is, you'll taste it."

The exhibit is welcoming visitors beginning on Saturday, March 8. For more information, please visit the Lawrence Hall of Science website.