Ideas and Innovation in Food at SXSW

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Written By Olivia Gerhart

Experts, leaders and spectators gathered inside the SXSW March 10-11 to discuss the food industry. The event, called the Future of Food, comprised of panels on topics like The Rise of Women in Food, Access to Good Food for Building Nutritional Stability in Communities, and Cultivating New Agricultural Systems for a Changed Climate. During these panels, concepts like tiered grocery stores (where people buy food based on their income), insect-based dog food, and sustainable kelp farming were discussed. Outside the center, colorful tents were set up in the courtyard where nonprofit organizations and local restaurants offered samples and spoke about how they contributed to the conference. 

Austin-based Farmshare passed out carrots and explained how the non-profit brings organic foods to underserved communities in Austin. Modgarden taught attendees the basics of do-it-yourself “tiny farms.” A few other examples included a fermented salad created by The Cultured Carrot and vibrant, feathery mushrooms displayed by Smallhold. While having different missions, all of these organizations have food sustainability as their foundation.

Bumpy Road Farm sells their non-GMO grits, polenta, and cornmeal alongside homemade samples March 10, 2023.

“It’s cool being surrounded by people who work with food, who are concerned with food justice and food equity,” Adrian Gonzalez, a staff member at Keep Austin Fed said. “Hopefully, we can encourage others to not throw away their food and actually be a part of taking action.”

The panel discussions went on all day with a variety of speakers taking the stage. Jennifer Stojkovic, author of the book, The Future of Food is Female, and the media platform, Vegan Women Summit, discussed her career in food technology. When asked about what requires changing in the food industry, Stojkovic talked about women needing to be seen as more than influencers, particularly in the plant-based food world. “We really need to move to women as executives, women as manufacturers, women as operators,” Stojkovic said.

The Sustainability Fairy helps a bystander dispose of her trash in compost, recycle, and waste bins March 10, 2023.

Briana Warner offered insight into her career as CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms. Her mission is to improve the health of the oceans and mitigate the effects of climate change through sustainable kelp production.

 “Let's restore ocean abundance and start farming in a way that we can control,” Warner said. “We can start feeding the population with something that’s not cows, but is a protein that is grown with no inputs.”

Corinne Loperfido explains Flag Leaf Greens, a microgreen farm, at the Future of Food March 10, 2023.

The take from the SXSW Future of Food event is: the food industry is a vast system and there is no one direction it will take. Anna Claire Eddington was present at the event as a spectator for the second year in a row. Eddington is the founder and brewer at Open Eye Beverage Co., an Austin-based tea company. She was particularly interested in the first panel of the day, The Rise of Women in Food. 

“Seeing how many women are on stage talking about the evolution of our food system and the impact that they could have is important,” Eddington said. “For me, it’s invigorating that people are working on things that I really care about.”

Photos by Roo Moody
Olivia Gerhart
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