Tech to Table: 25 Innovators Reimagining Food

by Richard Munson

Imagine eating a burger grown in a laboratory, a strawberry picked by a robot, or a pastry created with a 3-D printer. You would never taste the difference, but these technologies might just save your health and the planet’s. Today, landmark advances in computing, engineering, and medicine are driving solutions to the biggest problems created by industrialized food.

Tech to Table introduces readers to twenty-five of the most creative entrepreneurs advancing these solutions. They come from various places and professions, identities and backgrounds. But they share an outsider’s perspective and an idealistic, sometimes aggressive, ambition to rethink the food system.

Reinvention is desperately needed. Under Big Ag, pollution, climate change, animal cruelty, hunger, and obesity have festered, and despite decades of effort, organic farming accounts for less than one percent of US croplands. Entrepreneurs represent a new path, one where disruptive technology helps people and the environment. These innovations include supplements to lower the methane in cattle belches, drones that monitor irrigation levels in crops, urban warehouses that grow produce year-round, and more.

The pace and breadth of change is astonishing, as investors pump billions of dollars into ag-innovation. Startups are attracting capital and building markets, with the potential to upend conventional agribusiness’s stranglehold on the food system. Not every invention will prosper long-term, but each marks a fundamental change in our approach to feeding a growing population—sustainably.

A revolution in how we grow and eat food is brewing. Munson’s deftly crafted profiles offer a fascinating preview of the coming future of food.
 
 

Genres: Food, Science, Nonfiction

296 pages, Hardcover

Published September 23, 2021

About the author

Bloomsbury in June 2025 will release "Power Corrupts: Cleaning Up America's Biggest Industry," which explains the recent rise of racketeering and bribery by utilities seeking billion-dollar bailouts for dirty and uneconomic power plants.
W.W. Norton in November 2024 published "Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist."
Norton previously released "Tesla: Inventor of the Modern," a biography of the under-appreciate genius who brought us the electric motor, radio, robots, and remote control.
Other Richard Munson books include; "Tech to Table: 25 Innovators Reimagining Food;" "From Edison to Enron," a history of the electricity industry; "The Cardinals of Capitol Hill," a behind-the-scenes look at congressional appropriators; and "Cousteau: The Captain and His World," a biography of the undersea explorer.

In addition to writing, Munson has been a senior director for the Environmental Defense Fund, senior vice president of Recycled Energy Development, executive director of the Northeast-Midwest Institute, director of Solar Lobby and Center for Renewable Resources, co-coordinator of Sun Day, coordinator of Environmental Action Foundation, and director of the University of Michigan's Pilot Program.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world is on fire, literally! That's what THEY say anyway. And a large part of our environmental issues stem from big agriculture. It's become increasingly clear that big ag needs to change. Be it the problems of monocultures, growing ridiculous amounts of alfalfa with so much water, too much corn for livestock that pee and fart too much, leaching chemicals, and the list goes on. Doom scroll the news and you sometimes forget that people are actually trying to solve these big issues. That's why this book was such a fun read. Munson introduced me to a bunch of entrepreneurs thinking big, doing big, and some are probably going to fail terribly. It's got everything from blockchain food tracking, soil health mapping, yummy bugs produced for chickens, gene editing, and more. One of my favorites, perhaps because I grew up in the Back of the Yards here in Chicago, is the chapter on Back of the Yards Algae Sciences, wherein you read about the power of Algae: "Pound for pound, they contain twice the protein of meat, more beta-carotene than carrots, more iron than spinach, and substantial amounts of omega-3 fatty acids." I might not want to eat a bowl full of algae just yet but yes please do give it to the fish farms to stop removing the small fish from the oceans for feed, and feed the algae to the local vertical farms to get a better quality and yield for the produce. Very cool to see entrepreneurship and science in action with real potential for change.

[Sam Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Richard Munson's biography of Nikola Tesla, so I decided to give his new book a try. Rather than profiling a single person, "Tech to Table" reveals 25 different food and farm innovators -- it is very well done. A bit similar to Tesla, the entrepreneurs are driven, idealistic, obsessed, and downright interesting. Together, the portraits reveal the tremendous changes occurring within agriculture and food, where stunning new technologies -- sensors, computing capacity, and robots -- are disrupting the stodgy farm sector. Highly recommended for readers interested in food, nutrition and the environment.

[Robert Kraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like it that Munson isn't preachy, not telling us what we should eat. Instead, he's like a roving and insightful reporter profiling the innovators providing us with more food options. The characters are well-drawn -- often hard-driving (and entertaining) entrepreneurs bringing new technologies into a rather conventional agricultural space. Munson is even handed, noting conventional farming's scale and efficiency, but he notes its challenges, which open opportunities for these innovators. An engaging and hopeful book.

[Walter Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who would have thought agriculture could be so interesting? Richard Munson profiles 25 engaging entrepreneurs changing how we grow crops and what we eat. You might have heard of one or two, such as those offering plant-based meats without slaughtering animals. But you'll meet roboticists weeding fields without pesticides, a chef substituting tomatoes in order to save tuna, a scientist farming insects to feed fish farms, a chemist messing with pest sex to protect crops without poisoning the land, and the list goes on. I found "Tech to Table" fascinating.

[Wallace Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a foodie and thought I'd hate a book that profiles 3-D printing, cultured meats, warehouse-grown produce, but this is a great book. Richard Munson is fair minded, insightful and informative. His sketches of entrepreneurs are entertaining, and they give this foodie a joyful sense that our food options are expanding.

[Elizabeth Waltman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't recall another recent book that offers such new insights and information. Munson reveals so much new happening on farms and with food. The book's profiles of 25 innovators are crisp and clear. It provides balance but offers hope. I really learned a lot.

[Emily Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Munson's profiles of entrepreneurs are crisp and insightful, far better than any of the case studies I read during business school. His observations are balanced but clear-eyed on the role of innovation within our economy.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. It's a look at 25 different innovations within the food production industry. The content doesn't flow quite as smoothly as I would have liked - there are jerky passages and transitions are a bit rough at times. That being said, this would be a beneficial reference book for a kiddo doing a science project or a person interested in learning more about the background behind food production. As I'm one of those who couldn't care if what we're eating is Pete the Potato that you grew in an old 2 liter bottle, Clucky your pet chicken, a nice hunk of bambi that you shot, or something from the grocery store mass produced and shipped around the country, I'd file this under mildly interesting, wouldn't purchase it myself, might check it out of the library if I needed something for a project. My sister, the vegan, would probably have been a better target audience for this one.

[Beca Rodney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deep and interesting look at agriculture -- how our food is grown and what we eat. But well beyond that, Tech to Table introduces us to innovators creating new ways to grow crops and even new foods. Really fascinating. I particularly appreciated the profiles of those making 3-D printers that devise creative and nutritious meals, as well as the innovators growing crops in urban warehouses (in order to provide fresher food and to waste less). A wonderful read.

[Barbara Nashville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greatly enjoyed Richard Munson's portraits of agricultural entrepreneurs. The book is an eye-opening revelation of the tremendous changes happening with farms and food. Rather than a screed against industrial agriculture or a guilty plea to change our diets, this is a celebration of innovations that can be good for the planet and our health. Highly recommend.

[Elizabeth Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Agriculture seems to be at the core of malnutrition, climate change, and soil erosion. At last there's a book that offers hope by profiling two dozen entrepreneurs bringing innovation to farms and food. Entertaining and inspiring profiles.

[Harvey Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greatly enjoyed this book. Clever way of introducing what could be a dry subject (agriculture) but the profiles of innovators and entrepreneurs work well. Each are well drawn and together they give a clear sense of changes happening on farms to increase sustainability and nutrition. Recommend.

[Greg Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating profiles of entrepreneurs changing how we farm and what we eat. Very well written.

[Roger Hedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read. Insightful case studies of entrepreneurs. Fresh look at farms and food. Entertaining and hopeful.

[Patrick Pilz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delivers on the promise of the title.

[Patricia Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written. Hopeful. Enjoyed being introduced to innovators.

[Amy Broome · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received as a Goodreads giveaway. I was very excited to have won this book, and it was a fascinating read. This book is sub-divided into categories - alternate proteins, food waste reduction, pesticide use, plant nourishment, and carbon reduction - with a set of complementary innovations equally represented. Personally, the first two sections immediately captured my interest, and that's perhaps because I can immediately make personal changes to support what I eat/what I buy/who I endorse vs. the later topics, which --while really cool-- are a bit more out of my hands. For that reason, the latter examples were a bit of a slower read for me. This book addresses more than the standard two sentences on food you typically get when talking sustainability (Cows bad. Plants good.) and for that I was grateful! There's a vast industry out there using technology in strange and captivating ways. As much as we say a book should be timeless, I am hoping the author has a chance to develop second and third editions as food technology keeps evolving. Munson's writing style is fully researched and explained clearly, so even the layperson can understand it.

[Wendy Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readable and inspiring.