10 Next Nature dinner table conversation starters

Summer is here and the sun is out, and yes, this is awesome. After a long day in the sizzling summer sun, you get a group of people together to share some delicious food, catch-up, and, of course, have dinner table conversations.

Dinnertime can be the perfect time to talk with your family, friends or colleagues. However, after a long day, you may find yourself having not much to say at the dinner table. Then, the pre-dinner party fear starts to kick in, and you wonder what you were ever thinking organizing such a disaster. Except, it won't be a disaster.

Leading up to the opening of our Future Food expo at NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam, a journey alongside the food of the future that will surely serve plenty food for thought, these dinner table conversation starters can already help you ensure that, whatever the connections, the conversations flow as smoothly as a glass of NANO Wine.

1 Did you know that meat-eating made us who we are today: evolved, intelligent humans, able to use a verbal language.

2 Intelligent beings as we are, eating meat has harmful consequences for the planet, thus we seek for alternatives: In-vitro meat. It's already here, but the government does not allow us to taste it.

3 Another alternative to eating meat: Insects! Believe it or not, insect ramen is a big hit in Japan.

4 Staying with insects, cockroach milk is here. The next superfood? Oat milk is sooo 2018.

5 Bionic spinach could be used as biological bomb detectors (talk about superfoods).

6 Rather design your own vegetable? You can! This kitchen application allows you to design your own vegetables.

7 That banana you buy in the supermarket is a product of nature, right? Not really. It's a product of design.

8 Into futuristic kitchenware? Meet the robot fridge that forces you to smile for your food (say cheese, literally).

9 Edible packaging: How seaweed could replace plastic in disposable packaging.

10 Ever wished to eat anything you want without worrying about calories or allergies? It could be possible thanks to augmented reality.

PS: Not sure what to serve at your dinner party? There's an app for that. Chef Watson is an artificial intelligence from IBM that knows over 10,000 recipes from all over the world and is capable of combining any ingredient while following your personal food preferences.

Cover image taken at Mediamatic during our dinner with Chef Watson.