Interviewees: Hiroyuki Araki (Kubota Research & Development Headquarters Next Generation Technology Research Unit), Mitsuyasu Sato (Nomura Agri Planning & Advisory Research Department Director)
1: Plant-based meat made with a 3D food printer
In Europe and the United States, where there are many vegetarians and vegans, plant-based meat made from plant-based protein is gaining attention. A major American meat company even predicts that "about half of conventional livestock products could be replaced by plant-based meat in 10 years."
Soy meat and other products are sold in Japan, but they still have a long way to go in terms of perfectly recreating the flavor and satisfaction of meat. However, in the United States, companies are emerging that are using biotechnology to recreate the taste, appearance, and texture of meat using only plant ingredients.
"Beyond Meat, a pioneer in plant-based meat substitutes, uses protein extracted from peas as the main ingredient, gum arabic to create texture, coconut oil for marbling, and beets to create the red meat color, and adds yeast extract for flavor and aroma to recreate the meat-like texture. It is sold in a 'raw' state and can be cooked in a frying pan at home. In the future, it may be possible to recreate various parts of beef, pork, and chicken using plant-based ingredients," says Sato.
Furthermore, some companies have developed technology to produce plant-based meat using 3D food printers.
"Spain's Novameat has succeeded in making meat by creating Nespresso-like capsules made from a paste made from plant ingredients such as soybeans and peas, and then placing them in a 3D food printer. In the future, it's entirely possible that 3D food printers will be commonplace in homes, just like rice cookers, and that you can just add ingredients and have meat come out a few minutes later. By simply changing the types and proportions of ingredients used, it may be possible to make any type of meat to suit your taste," says Sato.
Israeli startup Redefine Meat uses a 3D food printer to print plant-based steaks. 
A tasting event was held in January 2021, with 600 people attending and the plant-based meat sold out in five hours.
2: Custom-made supplements made in a plant factory
One of the advantages of plant factories is that they allow agricultural products to be kept hygienically in an enclosed space. This means that they are also ideal for growing plants to be used as pharmaceutical ingredients. In fact, research and development of animal vaccines is currently being carried out using plant factories.
In the future, it should be easy to cultivate ingredients for supplements tailored to individual health conditions in plant factories, and genome editing technology could be used to freely increase the medicinal properties of plants.
3. Grow fresh vegetables in a high-rise apartment with a plant factory
Plant factories are steadily increasing in number in Japan. They are not run by farmers, but rather by companies from other industries who are actively entering the market. Recently, the real estate industry has also shown interest in plant factories.
"We're setting up a plant factory on the roof of the tower apartment building to grow vegetables and fruit and supply them to the residents. It's the ultimate in local production for local consumption, and the vegetables are incredibly fresh. We'll grow rare vegetables that aren't sold in supermarkets, or conversely, we'll provide better vegetables at cheaper prices than those at supermarkets. Either way, it's sure to be a major added value for the apartment building," says Sato.
Growing vegetables in apartment buildings leads to effective use of limited land in urban areas, and plant factories that utilize buildings could also contribute to eliminating vacant tenant buildings. In the UK, there is a company that operates a plant factory that utilizes the site of a former underground air-raid shelter in London.
The City of London, which owns the land, is also fully supporting the project, as it is in line with their local production and consumption policy, which aims to double Japan's food self-sufficiency rate. The underground space is cool even in summer, which helps reduce electricity bills, and the vegetables grown there are sold to supermarkets, department stores, and restaurants. It's also possible that plant factories will become smaller and become a common sight in homes as part of white goods. It would be fantastic to be able to make salads with freshly harvested vegetables and eat freshly picked fruit.
"A fully automated home plant factory is being developed by an Israeli company, and daily cultivation management is done via smartphone. There are also kits for growing leafy vegetables and strawberries. You can even pick strawberries at home," says Sato.
4: Order vegetables using vital signs
Wearable devices can record heart rate, steps taken, sleep time, etc. In the future, they will evolve even further to measure a person's detailed vital data and be able to tell at a glance what nutrients they are lacking.
"When you continue shopping on Amazon and other sites, recommended products will be displayed based on your purchase history. In the same way, by accumulating vital data, AI may be able to understand a person's health condition and suggest, 'You're a little low in vitamin A, so you should eat tomatoes.' It could even automatically order those vegetables, and that information could be sent to the nearest plant factory, which could then produce highly functional vegetables based on that person's vital data. That would be very convenient," says Sato.
