Hacking Food
SXSW Interactive Preview
By Jessi Cape, Fri., March 8, 2013
The bustling intersection where food meets technology is changing the edible landscape, and South by Southwest Interactive has several panels providing the specs of the future in the food world.
Food choices are based on a variety of factors, and access to technology significantly shapes what we eat. Kent Novak and Marshall Capps of Texas Instruments join forces with chief technology officers Paul Salvini and William Hurley to discuss how mobile technology affects grocery shopping choices during The Grocery Store: Going "Tech" Fresh to Survive. Technology is also a helpful tool in the battle of a lifetime: sustainable farmers vs. big food.
Sustainable Food Center Director Susan Leibrock and Tom Philpott (of Mother Jones and Maverick Farms) present Food Fight: Web Tech as Battleground for the Local to talk technology in the local food scenes across the nation. Who knew our mobile devices are also affecting our taste buds? Disrupting Dinner: Food Trucks, Top Chefs & Yo Mama examines the ways smartphones are shaping our entire process of eating – from selection to cooking to consumption. Here in Austin, we choose tacos, a versatile staple food bound to have a fascinating origin story. Mando Rayo, the mastermind behind TacoJournalism.com, presents TacoJournalism: Revenge of the Taco Blogger to discuss the traditions and cultural aspects of tacos and the value of interactive food blogs.
The effects of social media on food culture are staggering, mostly for better, occasionally for worse. Eddie Huang, owner and chef of famed Baohaus in New York City, knows his way around the kitchen and social media. Also author of a recent memoir, Fresh Off the Boat (Spiegel & Grau), Huang lends his interactive food culture expertise during The Social Media Chef. During Eating to Live Online: Virtual Food & Real Life, locals Addie Broyles (Austin American-Statesman), Hilah Johnson (Hilah Cooking), Mary Helen Leonard (ChefHangout.com), and Will Burdette (NoSatiation.com) examine the dark shadows of the Internet's obsession with food. Fashion and food seem worlds apart, but nothing is far when it's Internet-based. Photo media experts discuss the trends in sharing edible and wearable experiences on the Fashion & Food: Transforming Visual Narration panel.
