The first Quorn burger, dating back to 1981, and the world's first beef steak cultivated outside a cow are among 100 objects to go on display as part of a new exhibition at the Science Museum.
Future of Food — a free show running at the South Kensington museum between 24 July 2025-4 January 2026 — is an exploration of food milestones. Kicking off with a lump of 3,500-year-old fermented sourdough, the exhibition hones in on major moments including the Irish potato famine, and the invention of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser — while casting an eye to the near-future, in which it may well be par for the course for people to eat cell-grown salmon, and burgers made from crickets.
With plenty of displays to prompt 'yum's and 'yuck's, there is of course, some serious dialogue to be had at the heart of all this — were live, after all, in a world where there is both ample food for everyone, but continued starvation; where we're more aware than ever of what we should be putting in our bodies, yet processed food is a growing blight on global health.
Says Rupert Cole, Lead Curator of Future of Food: "This timely exhibition examines potential sustainable routes for the future of food: the exciting scientific innovations shaping a new, positive future for people, nature and the climate. I hope the exhibition will inspire visitors to engage with new ideas and technologies that could transform our food system and encourage them to consider what future we want for our food and the planet."
As we are what we eat, human stories form the kernel of Future of Food, a spotlight shone on everything from indigenous seed-swapping ceremonies in the Amazon to community cookery classes in Hackney.
Throw in interactive exhibits — including a large-scale multiplayer game — where your food production choices shape a digital world in real-time, and it's likely that Future of Food will be to plenty of people's taste. And who knows, perhaps it'll nudge them to rethink what makes up their everyday diet.
Back in 2019, the V&A ran a show which glimpsed the future of food, and which featured fridges filled with cheese made from celebrity bacteria.
Future of Food, Science Museum, 24 July 2025-4 January 2026
