Feb 21, 2017
Mary Lee Chin, Dietitian and Nutrition Consultant
Feeding our Future: Role for Science, Technology and Innovation

When looking ahead to the foods of tomorrow, many people are excited about the idea of futuristic food technologies; such as growing a hamburger on a petri  dish, 3-D printed food, gene editing your meal's DNA, and drone data-driven developments; while others, not so excited but apprehensive.  In a world plagued by food insecurity and limited natural resources however, impactful and innovative technology is vital in attaining a dependable and affordable food supply. Dietitian and Nutrition Consultant, Mary Lee Chin, will share the important issues between nutrition, agriculture and environmental sustainability, and showcase the innovative food production technologies being developed to address these topics in order to feed our future.

Mary Lee Chin, 62, is Denver’s go-to dietitian. If you need an answer to a food question, she’s there. With her streak of white hair, she stands out on her local TV gigs, explaining what we eat. Her first TV appearance was a dramatic drop-in with Blinky the Clown, but it’s gotten better. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, she grew up in modest circumstances: The family ran the local laundry in Rockland, Mass. She went to college at Purdue University in Indiana, studied nutrition and dietetics, then got a master’s from Case Western Reserve in Cleveland. She moved to Denver to work at what was then Colorado General Hospital. Now she’s a nutrition/health consultant, married with two grown boys and three grandchildren. She orders a lemon drop, her “official summer drink.” And, she points out, it provides 15 percent of her vitamin C intake for the day.