What we eat, the ways and places where we consume contribute considerably to defining both our personal and social identity.

The analysis of the relationship between man and his forms of nourishment, in this phase of uncertainty and social isolation, are relevant for the recovery of a dimension of conviviality, in the awareness that it plays a fundamental role in promoting a balanced approach to nourishment. In the future, the ability to build architectural and urban contexts in which new technologies will favour the relational profile of people will be indispensable and consequently the possible development of new contexts of exchange, production and food consumption. The concept of conviviality will be increasingly influenced by the growing connectivity.

In the awareness that the rhythm of our lives is destined to change in a structural way, the notion of conviviality will be able to offer a useful starting point for the structuring of supply systems adapted to the new context. The recovery of conviviality will pass through connectivity linked to a deeply humanized vision of technology, all this means that investments for technological development will have to be accompanied by relational aspects. Companies that know how to include values such as empathy within their brand essence will be the winners.

The future holds new forms of aggregation for us, in other places  than traditional ones. For example, people will eat more and more often in open spaces, even with inadequate temperatures. It will therefore be necessary for every form of culinary offer to adapt to the changed needs, in order to satisfy these new needs. New solutions will have to be developed to help people find spaces and moments to dedicate to meals with friends. These meals will not necessarily have to respect traditional rituals, which identify the table as a place of sharing, but they can take place in new spaces for consumption. The community  space will be linked to the increasingly artisanal, natural and territorial offer.

The evolution of naturalness will have two possible feasible developments, a more varied and qualitatively more and more tailored food offer, a consequence of creative and technological interventions applied in the various phases of the agri-food chain, the result of contamination between different professional figures. The concept of technology must not be in contrast with that of naturalness, the research must enhance the cultural identity and above all the emotional aspect of the food we will be increasingly hungry for.Moreover, technology will be essential in giving new life to the by-products or waste of agri-food production giving life to a new notion of “natural -circular”.

The concept of medical follows and adds to naturalness, the second possible and desirable development. The curative food proposed today both by the food industry and by a sector catering, has a limit, the unbalanced relationship between nourishment and pleasure of the senses. The challenge will be to work on innovative solutions to make the products more seductive and pleasant in a process of progressive active education in taste and health.

“Food theory is of great ethical and political importance. Food turns into blood, blood into heart and brain; in matters of thoughts and feelings. Human food is the foundation of culture and sentiment. If you want to improve the people, instead of ranting against sin, give them better nutrition. Man is what he eats “.

Ludvwig Feuerback