Food Inc?

What if you could bake someone a pie as easily as updating your Facebook status? That is the question asked by BBC reporter Lakshmi Sandhana in her recent article "The printed future of Christmas dinner" (and by the ÇBC).

The Computational Synthesis Lab at Cornell University is making a food printer that will provide the answer. The printer uses raw food 'inks' and can theoretically let you create any meal at the touch of a button. It uses an electronic blueprint to print food out in layers.  Sandhana states that "The goal is to blow the lid off cooking as we know it and change the future of food production.People lacking even basic culinary skills could download the recipe files of master chefs or print out nutrition-packed dishes recommended by their doctors."

According to Chicago chef Homaru Cantu, this invention could very well be the future of food and farming: "Imagine being able to essentially 'grow', 'cook' or prepare foods without the negative industrial impact - everything from fertilizers to saute pans and even packaging. The production chain requirements for food would nearly be eliminated."

Let me get this straight... we should revolutionise our food system... for printers?  This is one case where technology may not have the upper hand.  Just as social networks have de-personalised our interactions, food printers would futher de-personalise food.

"3D printing will do for food what e-mail and instant messaging did for communication," says Mr Cantu.

While a few tech-geeks and restauranteurs might be curious, I doubt this will ever take off. I hope I never have to eat my printed words.