This visioning event will convene top researchers from various sectors to consider the theme of Engineering Food Systems to Enable Precision Nutrition. It will be transdisciplinary with respect to engineering disciplines, sectors, and stakeholders interested in nutrition, including researchers, industry professionals, nonprofits, and venture capital firms.
Precision nutrition is an emerging approach to answering the question: What should one eat to optimize one’s health? The answer is different for each person based on genetics, microbiome, metabolism, medical and physical conditions, dietary preferences, personal goals, food environment, and socio-economic-psychological background. The goal of precision nutrition is to ensure that functional ingredients are active and bioavailable upon consumption by the individual. Foods are critical elements in precision nutrition, yet current drivers of our food supply entail ensuring safety, shelf stability, quality, consumer demand, cost, and, in some cases, nutrient retention. This ERVA event aims to address the gap between the status quo and a future customizable food supply that will accommodate current needs while also serving personalized nutritional needs.
This in-person ERVA visioning event is focused on identifying and articulating the near and long-term strategic focus for engineering research that will place the United States in a competitive position worldwide.