Once upon a time, the avocado was just another obscure fruit, popular only amongst the most dedicated of foodies. Today, it’s gone mainstream to become a staple in the health-conscious American's diet. But how has the avocado pulled off such an enormous surge in popularity?

Just off Melbourne’s über-cool Brunswick Street, hipsters are queuing outside cult café Smith & Deli. But while the menu might be based on New York-style cuisine – pastrami sandwiches and home-cooked lasagne – here, things are a little different. Everything sold at Smith & Deli is 100% vegan.

Whether in supermarkets or at cafés, it’s impossible to ignore the modern obsession with healthy eating. But with such little free time, cooking low-cal comfort food from scratch isn’t always possible. Enter Hungryroot, a US-based delivery service that brings bowls of courgetti straight to your door.

Is the mealtime over? Why do people care about crockery? Will we replace cow's milk with nut milk? And should we ditch the clean eating diet? As part of our Expert Outlook 2017 series, we speak to three food and drink experts about the future of eating out, snacking and the truly balanced diet.