The food industry has been taking heat from consumers and critics who are demanding healthier ingredients, transparency about where their meals come from and better treatment of animals. There is also a growing awareness of the harmful effect that food production can have on the environment. Now big food companies and entrepreneurs are taking advantage of advances in robotics and data science to meet those challenges--and the trend will likely continue as technology improves, and natural ingredients become easier to cultivate. It also helps that venture capitalists are flocking to the companies cooking up these innovations. This year is on pace to set a record for this decade for venture investment in food technology, according to the PitchBook Platform data provider.