This Major New Exhibition Will Explore The Future Of Food

Will lab-grown meat take off? Will blockchain transform our shopping habits? And how are community food projects making an impact? The Science Museum’s major new exhibition will delve into all these questions and more, exploring the past, present and future of our food systems. 

The Future Of Food: What To Expect From The Science Museum’s New Exhibition

Set to launch this July, Future of Food will look into how science can help us find more sustainable ways of growing and producing food. But it will also examine how we got here. An array of historic objects will be on display, including a 3,500-year old loaf of bread, a potato leaf from the Irish famine, and Fritz Haber’s sample of liquid ammonia – one of the most significant scientific inventions of the 20th century, which is now crucial in many parts of the food industry.

We’ll also have the chance to learn the stories behind everyday foods, from corn to McNuggets, and learn how science changed the food and farming landscape – including the invention of synthetic fertilsers. 

Looking to the future, the exhibition will explore what the next decades and centuries hold for our food system. It will look at the exciting biotechnologies that promise to revolutionise how food is produced, from climate-adapted alternatives to crops to cell-grown meat and fish – with the first beef steak grown outside a cow on display, alongside crops like bird flu-resistant chicken. 

First beef steak grown outside a cow (c) Science Museum Group

Elsewhere, Future of Food will look at the initiatives working to conserve the generic diversity of foods, from controlling pests with plants in Africa to seed-swapping ceremonies in the Amazon. It will also prompt conversations surrounding the impact of the food we eat, looking at topics like seasonality, supply chains and food traceability, as well as highlighting inspiring initiatives from all over the world, like organic food subsidy schemes in Cardiff and community kitchens in Peru. 

Visitors can have their say too, taking part in a large interactive game where they can create their own future for food. Their choices will then be projected onto a giant land and seascape, showcasing how factors affect the climate and food production in general.

Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, said: ‘Our Future of Food exhibition is not just about what we eat, but also about how we produce, consume and connect with food. Our food systems need to change if we are to better nourish people and the planet, and the Science Museum is uniquely placed to engage audiences with this complex topic and showcase potential scientific innovations and solutions to the challenges we face.’

The Future of Food opens 24 July 2025, sciencemuseum.org.uk