Silicon Valley's Food Hacking: Old Wine in New Bottles?

A Quartz opinion piece argues that Silicon Valley's foray into food innovation is not as novel as it seems, echoing practices of the mainstream food industry. The article highlights efforts like Soylent, a meal replacement created by ex-Y Combinator engineer Rob Reinhart, and Tim Ferriss's 'The 4-Hour Chef,' as examples of tech-driven food experimentation. It traces the lineage of such 'food hacking' to Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine, which employs lab tools like autoclaves and centrifuges, and to Ferran Adrià, who closed El Bulli to establish a foundation for innovation. Bill Gates is noted for investing in food technologies to address global hunger. The piece critiques the focus on optimization and acceleration, suggesting that many projects cater to the affluent and may not address critical issues like resource depletion. It also mentions the concept of 'cleanfood,' drawing parallels to clean energy, and questions whether it will face similar resistance. The author concludes that Silicon Valley's approach is essentially an attempt to 'fake muscle into the same game' traditional food companies have played for decades, using technology and economics to find the 'sweet spot of human desire.'