Filenews 29 May 2022 - by Margarita Vergolia
Jack breadsticks, synthetically grown steak, protein burgers... air, smoothie with algae, fresh tart with preserved fruit made by 3D printer. You may not be whetted by your appetite by reading the menu, but it may be part of our daily diet in the future.
Even before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, a significant part of the world's population — now close to 7.8 billion — was faced with the spectre of food precarity and famine.
Other armed conflicts, climate shocks, COVID-19, centralization in food markets in supplies and stocks, supply chain problems and galloping inflation have been driving global food prices ever since mid-2020.
Now they are at an all-time high, multiplied by the Russian invasion of Ukraine—the "bread basket" for much of the world—and accelerated by the energy crisis.
According to the UN, the number of people in severe food precarity has doubled in just two years: from 135 million before the pandemic to 276 million today, with half a million facing famine.
This is an increase of more than 500% since 2016. And as the world's population grows and extreme weather events intensify—apart from wars—the more the problem will get worse.
By 2050, less than 30 years from now, the earth's population is estimated to reach 9.8 billion people. Plus another two billion mouths to feed.
A significant proportion of this increase is expected to be recorded in sub-Saharan Africa, where desert conditions make agriculture a challenge. In any case, it is estimated that in order to meet the greatest nutritional needs, the production of food should be increased by 70%.
Already the current one in the meantime is responsible for the emission of 20% of greenhouse gases, more than all transport combined. This is obviously a vicious circle, experts point out.
Exploding food precarity
Due to extreme weather conditions, deforestation and human development, they predict that many foods will be wiped out of the face of the Earth or will be too expensive to import.
Avocados of increasingly "thirsty" California, for example, are in danger of extinction by 2050. Similar are the forecasts for about 60% of the existing types of coffee within the next 20 years.
"I don't know if in the future we will have a dish of crackers soaked in specialized nutrients in front of us," says Amanda Little, a journalist and author of the book "The Destiny of Food." But "this sounds like a gastronomic hell, in which no one will want to live."
In addition to the short-term solutions sought in the midst of the war in Ukraine, experts stress that the way, practices and several types of production, from agriculture to livestock farming, should be changed. In the meantime, the food industry – often without a clear regulatory framework – is putting in place or considering various innovative projects for the future.
In some cases they are following in the footsteps of what 15 years ago some people called "the future of food" with GMOs, namely genetically modified foods. In other cases, they try to find answers to nature itself...
Is it meat that you eat?
With meat production at all its stages considered one of the most polluting industries, the trend towards alternatives has begun to grow.
Plant-based meat substitutes are already in the refrigerators of the stores, reducing the need to breed and slaughter cattle and other animals, water consumption, deforestation for land use (for grazing and growing feed) and greenhouse gas emissions.
Another practice under development is that of the production of synthetic meat, also known as meat in vitro, since it is grown in the laboratory. The innovative technology has been applied since 2013, initially with the cultivation of minced beef from cow stem cells. Now it has evolved into other types of "artificial meat" - even chicken - that is seen, cooked, smells and tastes like normal. Protein crops... insects
Insect eating is common practice in countries in Africa, Thailand, China, Brazil, Mexico and elsewhere. For many, it represents the future of nutrition, either as a necessary solution to food precarity, or as a consumer choice. The consumption of insects occurs in various forms and textures: whole, parts of them or as a -pulverized or not- ingredient in food products.
Among their advertised assets are the high protein content and the fact that they are responsible for less than 1% of the livestock carbon footprint.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), more than 1,900 species of insects are already used as food worldwide. Among the most widespread are crickets, locusts and flour wormwoods. The latter is the first insect that by decision of the European Commission can be consumed in Europe.
In the context of the Novel Food Regulation, the Commission indicated that it has received several applications for the authorisation of other species of insects to be eaten.
Among them are the larvae Alphitobius diaperinus (small meal beetle), Gryllodes sigillatus (tropical cottage jack), Acheta domesticus (housed jack or cricket), Locusta migratoria (migratory grasshopper) and larvae Hermetia illucens (black fly of the litter).
Seaweeds... with or without silk ribbons
Many believe that edible algae crops could offer a solution to the modern nutritional "puzzle". They can be used to feed people and animals and be produced in abundance in salty and fresh water, in seas and lakes. For years they have been widely used in Asian cuisines.
Today, they have already found their place in western markets even as a superfood. In mainly dried form, algae are also used in the food industry, e.g. as a flavour enhancer in the preparation of... seafood from protein fungi from a start-up based in San Francisco. A substitute for food, but also a response to overfishing, as well as the accumulation of heavy metals and microplastics in fish.
Eating... Air
According to Dr. Morgane Gay, a self-proclaimed "food futurologist," the future of nutrition is... in the air! It sounds crazy, but already start-ups in California and Finland are using high-tech fermentation, turning air into food.
In fact, they produce an alternative protein in powder form, simply using carbon dioxide, hydrogen and microbes, with... "blender" special tanks.
The final product is nutritionally similar to meat, dairy or milk, with the difference that its production requires minimal resources and no use of agricultural or animal raw material. Practically it will allow the preparation of nutritious foods, in any texture, form and taste. And especially from Earth, to space...
The future on our plate
In an effort to glean all scientific innovations and scenarios, the American magazine Bon Appétit attempted to predict what may be on our plates in the coming years.
In 10 years, it estimates, the meat we will eat will be produced mainly by bioreactors in laboratories, the upcycling of food will be widespread and in many areas the water supply will necessarily be done from over-filtered recycled wastewater, as much of the planet will face freshwater shortages and an increase in its cost.
In 20 years, personalized nutrition will be the norm, with portable electronic devices monitoring our state of health and notifying us when and what we need in food and hydration.
3D printing ovens will make hot meals with preserved raw materials. Several foods will be fortified with protein (its demand is expected to increase by 40% by 2050). Large quantities of vegetables will be grown on indoor vertical farms, shielded from the external environment. Genetically engineered seeds will be used in external crops to withstand extreme heat and drought. Refreshing organic farming systems that support and improve the soil and the environment will be widely used.
For the next 100 years a lot is said and written, but no one knows. Science fiction writers articulate various theories in recent books.
Sarah Blake writes in "Clean Air" about plants that overproduce deadly pollen to save the planet's ecosystems, resulting in millions of people losing their lives, while the rest now live in domes and feed on oversized foods grown by robots.
Mathra Wells, on the other hand, envisions people living in space stations or other planets after the exhaustion of Earth's resources, with the result that all crops are now grown on aerial farms in the upper atmosphere of Venus.
This is rather an optimistic perspective compared to the plot of Tochi Onyebucci's "Goliath", according to which the rich will have migrated to space colonies, leaving the rest on the radiant Earth, where not a single bean of coffee will have been left "standing".
