How a 3D-Printed Cracker Could Transform the Food Industry

Video credit: Dezeen

One day, 10 years from now, you might find yourself hankering for a snack. No, you don’t plunk a few quarters into a vending machine in return for a salty bag of potato chips. Instead, you reach for a 3D-printed cracker, which over the last few days, has sprouted nutritious-and-delicious mushrooms and greens.

It’s not some sci-fi fantasy. These snacks are the creation of Dutch food designer Chloé Rutzerveld, who designed the novel treat for a project she calls “Edible Growth,” which explores 3D-printing with living organisms.

Here’s how they’re made: A 3D-printer builds cracker-like structures made with seeds, spores, and yeast. In three to four days, when the seeds and spores have fully sprouted, it’s snack time.

"Edible Growth is exploring how 3D-printing could transform the food industry," Rutzerveld explains in the above video, shot by digital design magazine Dezeen. ”A lot of people think industrialized production methods are unnatural or unhealthy… I want to show that it doesn’t have to be the case.”

That said, these futuristic snacks are precisely that. “It will take at least another eight to 10 years before this can be on the market,” Rutzerveld admits.

More 3D-printing stories to chew on:

We’re seeing it everywhere: 3D-printed food

3D-printed pizzas are a reality, people

Would you ever eat 3D-printed food? Tell us below!