7 food startups that could change the way you eat

Americans consume more meat than they used to. They drink less milk, but eat much more cheese. Grain products, like cereals and baked goods, have skyrocketed in popularity. And while the average American eats about 2% more fruits today than in the early '70s, they also consume 2% fewer vegetables.

That's according to a recent Pew Research report, which looked at how the average American diet has changed from 1970 to today.

The typical American meal will probably continue to change. And a growing number of food-tech startups are trying to be a part of whatever comes next.

They're coming up with new ways to produce meat, dairy, and veggies — from growing vegetables in warehouses under LEDs to engineering meat in labs. Most are focused on the consumption of less meat and more plants, and away from traditional modes of agriculture.

Here are some of the companies leading the transformation of the food industry:

Memphis Meats — Lab-grown chicken, duck, and meatballs

Founded in 2015 and based in San Francisco, Memphis Meats has created chicken, duck, and meatballs from animal cells in a lab.

The company, which has raised $3.05 million, produces the meat by

Apeel Sciences — Fruit and vegetables that last longer

A Santa Barbara-based startup calledApeel Sciencessays it has invented edible coatings that can extend a fruit or vegetable's shelf life by as much as five times. That means, if you spray it on a ripe strawberry that's starting to wither it will last about a week longer than normal.

Made of leftover plant skins and stems, the coatings act as barriers that slow down the decay process. You can apply it to produce anytime during its lifespan. Apeel could even make a bunch of bananas grown at the same time each ripen on different days.

Six farms in Southern California, Kenya, and Nigeria are using Apeel's products, CEO James Rogers previously told Business Insider.

The US Food and Drug Administration generally recognized as safe

AeroFarms: Greens grown indoors

The vertical farming startup AeroFarms works inside a warehouse in Newark, New Jersey.

The company, which has raised $95.8 million since its 2004 launch, grows greens on trays stacked 30 feet from the floor to the ceiling. Instead of natural sunlight and soil, the crops rely on LEDs and nutrient-dense water.

Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods: Meatless beef and chicken

Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are two food startups that make burgers — made mostly from coconut oil and pea, wheat, or potato protein — from plants. The ultimate goal is to have the meat taste like the real thing.

announced its first large-scale production factory

Hampton Creek: Egg-less mayo

Best known for its egg-less mayo, Hampton Creek produces a variety of vegan products, like In June, the San Francisco-based company also announced that its scientists are working on meat grown in a lab (like Memphis Meats).

Hampton Creek, has dealt with plenty of controversy. Luy its vegan mayo to appear like there was more interest from shoppers, Bloombergreported in 2016. Hampton Creek claimed that the buyout program was for quality control purposes.

Finless Foods and New Wave Foods — Slaughter-free seafood

These two startups aim to produce slaughter-free yet realistic versions of seafood, like bluefin tuna and shrimp.

While Brooklyn-based Finless Foods is looking to make cultured tuna from fish cells, San Francisco's New Wave is taking a plant-based approach. The latter startup has made steamed "shrimp" from algae oil and pea protein, and has raised $250,000 in funding.

Finless, which has raised an undisclosed amount and launched in early 2017, has not announced when its first product will become available to the public. New Wave currently sells to some colleges and restaurants, and has said it will launch its shrimp in "select US markets," including California and Nevada, by the end of 2018.