• by Melynda Fuller , September 3, 2019

The October issue of EatingWell is devoted to a topic on the minds of many: the future of food. 

“We have been looking at the sorts of stories about how our food is produced and what goes into it and the sort of the people doing really innovative things since day one,” Jessie Price, EIC of EatingWell, told Publishers Daily. “It just seems to me like now more than ever, change is coming quicker and more impactfully, and there’s just so much to talk about.”

The issue’s cover, featuring a tomato plant grasped by several robotic arms, is a conceptual departure for the brand. 

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day sponsors the story “The Kitchen of the Future” with a gatefold flap that opens up for a full editorial spread, with an ad for Mrs. Meyer's new basil scent on the inside.

A QR code displayed on the cover layout drives readers to EatingWell’s Instagram account, where they can watch a video animation that builds on the cover photography. 

Other QR codes displayed throughout the issue offer readers additional content. Price notes that while engagement across the codes is still relatively small, she and her editorial team are working to learn what readers want from the codes while training users how to use them.

Inside the issue, readers will find stories about breakthroughs in nutrition, including a feature about the wheatgrass plant Kernza, GMOs and CRISPR technology. 

“There’s an overarching theme across a lot of what we covered in the issue that is really focused on the ways in which climate change is forcing change on our food system,” said Price.

The theme will be explored in fuller detail at the EatingWell Future of Food Summit set to take place in New York on Sept. 18. 

Partnering with the nonprofit International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC), EatingWell will welcome leading academics, nutrition experts, trend forecasters, farmers and food industry professionals to a B2B event to discuss how food systems need to evolve in the coming years.

Price said, “We had this issue already in the works and it’s a topic that’s near and dear to [IFIC’s] heart.”

“What I love about IFIC is that they’re aligned with eating well in our approach to nutrition, science and fact-based advice,” said Price. “We’re a natural fit.”