One cannot discuss food innovation without discussing food science. Scientific inquiry and innovation undergirds nearly every facet of food, from how and what we grow to the nutritional balance of foods we consume, and to the environmental sustainability of what we eat.
Food science is couched within the life sciences: branches of science involving the study of living organisms like microorganisms, plants, animals, and humans. Boston has long been an outpost of discovery in the life sciences, buoyed by the hundreds of top-tier colleges and universities in the region. Many of the prescription drugs bringing healing and comfort to millions of Americans had their start here, and local companies that make them – like Novartis, Biogen, and Genzyme – are making billions in revenues as a result.
But besides Big Pharma, Boston is rapidly – and, perhaps, quietly – becoming a hub for food science innovation. This includes the development of new biotechnology solutions for farmers, cutting-edge nutritional research, gene and DNA research, and several investors funding this work.
As the world population balloons and extreme climate events become more frequent, farmers around the globe seek solutions to better safeguard their crops and increase community food security. The bioengineering of seeds and plants to resist insects and weeds, delay spoilage, or increase fruit size has been occurring for decades – and, some argue, centuries. One of the most exciting frontiers in this space is CRISPR – a fairly new technology that could transform the food we eat by allowing scientists to edit out undesirable traits in the foods we eat, like bruising or early spoilage. (of local note, MIT-based researcher Feng Zheng harnessed this technology for use in mammals)
The genetic modification of the foods we grow and eat has its skeptics, for sure, including those who argue that GM foods are unsafe to eat, harmful to the environment, or result in corporate consolidation in the food system. These critiques must be weighed and addressed. But even as the important conversation around food bioethics continues, we need to grapple with a few facts about biotechnology:
· Our earliest ancestors were “engineering” crops and animals to increase the yield and quality of their food;
· 70 percent of processed foods today contain some form of genetically modified organisms; and
· The more we study genetically engineered foods, the more scientists deem them as safe for human consumption. Tim Griffin, associate professor and director of the Agriculture, Food, and Environment program at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition, recently was among a group of scientists who spent two years studying 900 publications on genetically engineered foods for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This committee determined that genetically engineered foods pose no health risk to humans who consume them.
In labs throughout Greater Boston, scientists are developing solutions to increase the safety, abundance, and shelf life of the foods we produce and consume. Of particular note is Indigo, a Charlestown-based life sciences company treating agricultural seeds with combinations of naturally occurring fungi and bacteria commonly found in plants. Farmers growing crops on more than a half million acres across the country say these treated seeds are more tolerant of extreme weather like draught, and investors have responded in kind. In 2017, Indigo’s valuation grew to $1.4 billion, making it one of the largest ag-tech startups ever.
If Indigo is fortifying seeds, Cambridge Crops is fortifying mature fruits and vegetables. The Cambridge company, in partnership with MIT and Tufts, created a natural and edible biopolymer coating that, when applied to perishable food, postpones decay by reducing contact with gases and water vapor. Rabobank and MIT announced last year that the startup was among three recipients of the 2017 Food and Agribusiness Innovation Prize for startups, for which the award was more than $50,000.
Ginkgo Bioworks, headquartered in Boston’s Seaport District, which uses yeasts to develop new flavors and fragrances, announced late last year its partnership with biotech giant Bayer on a startup that could replace synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Some crops, like beans and peanuts, are hosts for microbes that allow the plants to naturally fertilize themselves. Ginkgo and Bayer are bringing these microbes to crops that don’t naturally feature them – like corn, wheat, and rice, which account for more than half of all synthetic fertilizer use – resulting in even more crops that can fertilize themselves.
The local advances in food biotechnology even pertain to fish. Lowell-based KnipBio is actively developing a suite of powerful bioengineering tools to rapidly advance specific desirable traits that make an ideal single cell protein in fish diets, the idea being that we can lessen the environmental strain on wild fisheries.
Nutrition Science & Testing
Americans care a great deal – and increasingly so – about the nutritional value of the foods and drinks we put into our bodies. Buoyed by the health food boom, companies are taking notice, of course, offering products higher in the kinds of good ingredients consumers seek and lower in the ones we want to avoid. But so are scholars and scientists.
Frank Hu, professor of epidemiology and nutrition and chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has studied the potential benefits of precision nutrition and, specifically, the use of gene sequencing to create a nutritional roadmap for individuals. For instance, using genetic data, personalized diets could be developed for individuals suffering from Type 1 diabetes, who are obese or overweight, and even those who wonder whether they might benefit from regular coffee consumption. (as an aside, the personalized nutrition space has become so promising, food giant Campbell’s has even gotten into the fray, spinning off the startup Habit)
Speaking of investments by big food companies, Nestlé Health Science made a $42.5 million equity investment in Boston-based startup Pronutria, which was initially formed within VentureLabs, the incubator of Flagship Ventures. Pronutria combines a Systems Biology understanding of the human metabolism, with its own library of the food proteome.
Could a computer chip simulate human organs, allowing scientists to test not-yet-developed drugs and foods more safely and conclusively? That’s the central idea behind Emulate Bio’s “Health Emulation System,” which it says opens a “high-fidelity window into the inner workings of the human body.” Early last year, Emulate’s “Organ on a Chip” was tapped to partner short-term with the Food and Drug Administration to see if the technology can stand up to what’s required to evaluate new products.
Consultants & Investors
Life sciences companies working on food and nutrition have plenty of local partners in the funding and consulting world. Consulting firm Lux Research, headquartered in Boston, helps developers and emerging companies understand just what consumers are seeking in terms of wellness and nutrition and keep them abreast of the next big technology and trend coming down the pike.
Local venture capital firm Anterra Capital focuses heavily on food biotechnology, investing in chemical companies enko chem and agrimetis, as well as CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering firm Caribou Biosciences, plant breeding software LemnaTec, and protein preservation technology bluwrap. And Flagship Venturing, out of Cambridge, is a main investor in Indigo, helping the biotech startup raise $203 million in Series D funding in late 2017. Boston-based DSM Venturing – an arm of the $12 billion science-based company – has focused its portfolio of investments on startups in solar and personal nutrition.
The Future of Food Life Sciences
So much of the innovation happening in food and agriculture has a foundation in laboratories, and as long as Greater Boston remains home to the world’s top scientists discovering new frontiers in top laboratories, the Boston metropolitan area will continue to make an outsized influence on the space.