Essay on 3D-Printed Food and Related Products

In a couple of decades, billions of land animals will be needed to provide meat, dairy, eggs, and other goods for the world’s population. The creation of a three-dimensional (3D) food printer carries massive implications for food activism, food insecurities, and swallowing disorders. According to “la patisserie numerique”, which is one of the first companies working on creating different foods using 3D food printers, 3D food printing is the process of manufacturing food products using a variety of additive manufacturing techniques. Considering the benefits and perks of this technology, 3D food printing should get more funding and more in-depth research. Many elements are supporting the fact that this new technology can revolutionize our lives. 3D food printing can be extremely beneficial and should get more attention.

Dysphagia, which refers to swallowing difficulties, affects most people with stroke, cerebral palsy, motor neuron disease, Parkinson’s disease, and many other health conditions. While there have been many programs designed to help with Dysphagia treatment, the best way to reduce the impact of any swallowing disorder is 3D food printing. This method is emerging as a computer-aided design and additive-manufacturing approach for producing food products. The advantages offered by 3D food printing include custom designing and production of visually pleasing foods.

Unfortunately, even well-made texture-modified foods can look unappetizing. This affects the person’s satisfaction with their meal and leads to diminished appetite and finally leads to eating less food. Those with dysphagia also experience feeling angry and depressed about a loss of control over the foods they eat. This is where 3D food printing can come to the rescue. Printed food could enhance the visual appeal, as well as the safety of texture-modified foods.

Some may argue that 3D food printing is an unnatural way of producing food and needs to be avoided. In today’s world, technology is one of the biggest parts of our lives. Technology makes tasks easier and helps many ideas turn into actions. When People with dysphagia are given food of the wrong texture or are not provided with appropriate mealtime assistance, they face an increased risk of choking. 3D food printing could reduce such risks for people with Dysphagia. Even though this is a brand-new method and, in some way, an artificial way of producing food, it can come handy for those with swallowing disorders.

According to a study by the Columbia school of engineering, printing food starts with having an idea of food in a certain shape for printing. The shape is then designed on computer design software and translated into a pattern for the printer. The food material is prepared, loaded into the printer, printed, and cooked afterward with lasers if necessary. They claim that this method can make food tastier and invent textures that we have never seen before. 3D food printing also allows the layering of different tastes, textures, and colors into the desired shape, without needing food additives.

Some also may disagree with this method because they believe this can hurt the food industry and its business. While food businesses are an important part of the economic flow, 3D food printing can give the food industry a new way of creating new tastes, textures, shapes, and recipes. 3D printers can now print food, ranging from ordinary meals to personalized nutrition and even growable food.

Pieces of evidence show that the world will face a food scarcity problem soon. The population is growing at an exponential rate and larger populations need more food to sustain their living. While the world’s population keeps growing, the available space on Earth remains constant. According to Dr. Jason Clay, Senior Vice President for Market Transformation at the World Wildlife Fund, “We have to produce as much food in the next 40 years as we have in the last 8,000…By 2050 we’re going to have to produce twice as much food as we do today. We need to find a way to do this more sustainably. The biggest threat to the planet is to continue producing food in a business-as-usual fashion.”  Once the food production process focuses on making the food ingredients that go into the 3D food printer, the challenge of making enough food to feed the exponentially growing population swings to the forefront.

Avi Reichental, the CEO of 3D Systems, is working on 3D-printed personalized nutritional food. In an interview with MICHAEL MOLITCH BACK IN 2019, AVI states that with 3D food printers’ individuals can customize and print each healthy meal in the comfort of their own kitchen without the need for grocery shopping or looking at nutritional labels, or monitoring each of their meals and its ingredients. Long-term investment in researching personalized food can lead to the possibility of providing each person exactly the nutrition they need, with the addition of the taste of their desire. This means each individual would be able to obtain the nutrients they need from 3D printed food.

3D food printers are eliminating the whole process of food manufacture. No food manufacturing and preparation means less labor involved which results in cheaper food costs. It also makes food becomes more portable. Individuals can now make any kind of food in the comfort of their own homes rather than depending on the food manufacturer or restaurants to make a certain type of food.

Michael Siegrist in his article about food technology points out that perceived benefit, perceived risks, and perceived naturalness are important factors for the acceptance of new food technologies. Some people may not only have difficulties in assessing risks associated with new food technologies, but the benefits of such technologies may also not be obvious. Therefore, trust is important for the acceptance of new food technologies.

In conclusion, this method reduces the design and fabrication time and cost, decreases the dependency on a skilled cook, and enhances the visual appearance, consistency, and repeatability of the foods produced. Which potentially be enjoyed by people with dysphagia. The convenience of this technology can patch up food insecurities and make our lives easier in general. 3D food printing can benefit our environment and help the possible shortage of food in the future. It saves time, uses less material, and makes it possible to produce complex tastes and textures in food.  3D food printing can be revolutionary in both food businesses and food-consuming issues.