Image copyright bbc Image caption Insect burgers, test-tube meat and seaweed of all kinds could be the mainstay of our diet in 20 years
Volatile food prices and an ever-growing population will make us think about what we eat, futurologists say. I wonder what foods will be on our tables in 20 years?
It's hard to immediately spot the connection between NASA, the price of meat, and a brass band, but all three play a significant role in what we will eat in the future and how we will eat it.
Rising food prices, growing world population and environmental concerns are just a few of the concerns that organizations like the UN and the British government are concerned about how we will eat in the future.
What did our ancestors eat?
- The ancient Greeks ate bread dipped in wine for breakfast.
- The ancient Romans loved garum sauce, made from fish giblets by fermenting for long periods of time in the sun.
- In Tudor times, you could eat dolphin roasted on a skewer.
- During the feasts of Henry VIII, dishes of peacock, heron, seagull and brown dolphin were on the tables.
In the UK, meat prices have a significant impact on the diet of the inhabitants of Foggy Albion. Some in the food industry believe they could double in size in the next 5-7 years, making meat a luxury item.
"Many of us in the West grew up eating cheap meat," says futurist Morgan Gay.
So what will fill these "food niches" and our stomachs - and how will we eat it?
Insects
Insects, or mini-livestock, as they may someday be called, will become a staple of our diet, Gay predicts.
It's a win-win situation. Insects have far more nutritional value than regular meat and are an excellent source of protein, according to researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
They are also much cheaper to keep than cattle, use less water, and don't emit much carbon dioxide.
In addition, about 1,400 species of insects are edible for humans.
The futurist isn't talking about beetle larvae on your plate, like the ones the Australian aborigines eat. Hamburgers and sausages with insects will probably resemble their meat counterparts.
"Crickets and grasshoppers will be crushed and used as ingredients for burgers," the expert believes.
Currently, the Dutch government is spending huge amounts of money to "introduce" insects into the daily diet of the Dutch. Recently, 1 million euros was invested in research and preparation of legislation regulating insect farms.
Image copyright getty Image caption Shredded crickets and grasshoppers could make great toppings for burgers and sausages in the not too distant future.They are already included in the diet of a significant part of the world's population. Caterpillars and locusts are popular in Africa, wasps are a delicacy in Japan, and crickets are loved in Thailand.
But the insects will need a makeover to make them more palatable to squeamish Europeans and North Americans, says Gay, who is a member of the Experimental Food Society.
"They will become popular when we move away from the word 'insects' and use something like 'mini-cattle'," says the futurist.
Sounds that improve food
It has been repeatedly confirmed that the appearance and smell of food affects our perception, but how sound affects it is still a little-studied area.
A recent study by researchers at the University of Oxford found that certain tones can make food taste sweeter or bitterer.
"There's so much focus on how food looks and smells, but sound is just as important," says Russell Jones of Condiment Junkie, who took part in the study.
A study by Oxford Professor of Experimental Psychology Charles Spence on Bittersweet (which translates to "bittersweet") found that the taste of food can be adjusted by changing background sounds. What exactly happens at these moments in the brain, scientists have not yet been able to figure out.
Chef Heston Blumenthal also experimented with the combination of food and sounds. On the menu of his restaurant Fat Duck ("Fat Duck") there is a dish called "Sounds of the Sea", which is served along with an iPod that plays the sounds of the sea. According to reviews, these sounds make food seem fresher.
What sounds affect sound perception?
- Low sounds of brass instruments make food taste more bitter
- High-pitched pianos or bells, on the other hand, make food seem sweeter.
Source: Bittersweet research
“We know what frequency makes foods seem sweeter,” Jones said. “Theoretically, you can reduce the amount of sugar in food, but use music to make food seem just as sweet to a person.”
Companies actively use the connection between food and sounds, even in packaging. One chips company specifically changed the packaging material of its product to make it crunchier, and thus make its product appear fresher to the consumer.
Music playlists may soon appear on product packaging, thanks to which the buyer will be able to improve the taste of the product in his perception.
According to Jones, the effect of sound on food can even be used in household appliances. Manufacturing companies are currently working to improve the noise that refrigerators make to make the food stored in them seem fresher to consumers.
Test tube meat
Earlier this year, Dutch scientists managed to create meat in the lab. Researchers have successfully grown squid-like strips of muscle tissue using stem cells taken from cows. By the end of the year, scientists hope to create the world's first test-tube burger.
Image copyright Maastricht University Image caption In the process of growth, muscle tissue resembles a squid. In the initial stages, growth occurs due to regular changes in the nutrient medium.The first scientific work to create meat in the lab was funded by NASA, says sociologist Neil Stevens. The research center at Cardiff University, where the scientist works, studied test-tube meat to make sure it could be eaten by astronauts in outer space.
10 years have passed since then, and now scientists in this field are promoting it in every way as the most effective and environmentally friendly way to introduce meat into our diet.
A recent study by the University of Oxford found that lab-grown meat would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy and water costs, as opposed to a traditional livestock system. In addition, scientists are able to reduce the fat content of cultured meat and increase the nutrient content.
Professor Mark Post, who leads a team of scientists from Maastricht University, said he wants to make artificial meat "indistinguishable" from real meat, but in reality it may look completely different. According to Neil Stevens, there is currently a heated discussion about what the appearance of this product should be.
He believes that the idea of creating "test-tube meat" is very difficult for people to grasp, because nothing like this has ever existed.
"We just don't have a corresponding variety of this type of raw material in our world, we don't know what to do with it," the expert notes. "It's fundamentally different [from everything that exists] because of its origin."
Seaweed
Algae may be at the bottom of the food chain, but they could be the solution to some of the world's toughest problems, including food shortages.
They can be eaten by people and animals, while they grow in the ocean, which is a great advantage, given the lack of land and drinking water on land, the researchers believe. Many scientists also opine that algae-based biofuels will help reduce energy dependency.
Some in the food industry are predicting that algae farming could become the world's largest agricultural industry. This product has long been one of the key products in a number of Asian countries. In some of them, in particular Japan, there are huge farms where algae are cultivated.
Algae Health Foundation
- There are 10,000 algae in the world
- There are 630 varieties in UK waters, of which only 35 are used in cooking.
- In total, 145 species of red, brown and green algae are used for food in the world.
As well as jellyfish, larvae, edible packages and other unusual foods that we will be eating in the near future.
In the film Interstellar, the main food of earthlings at the end of the 21st century was corn. All other crops were destroyed by a new pathogen, and dust storms deprived humanity of the chances for the development of animal husbandry.
In real life, things will not be so gloomy. But the coming decades do not bode well for us: global warming, drought, massive floods and environmental problems will make our food very unusual.
Insects
In the future, South Asian traditions are expected to become widespread and we will eat crickets, grasshoppers and mealworms. Already now you can buy pasta and bars made from cricket flour.
It is not known how tasty the edible packaging will be. But the inventor promised that it would be airtight and keep food fresh.
Well, are you ready for the fact that your grandchildren will treat you to something like printed cupcakes from dried crickets, and for dessert they will offer you a breath of panna cotta?
It's no secret that in the future humanity will face problems associated with global warming. We are waiting for long periods of heat and drought, followed by large-scale floods. All this does not promise particularly good conditions for animal husbandry and crop production, and the population of our planet will grow by another two billion people, and everyone will need to be fed with something. Scientists are puzzled by the creation of more sustainable vegetables and grains, the development of new technologies and the search for alternatives for nutrition. New trends in bioengineering, medicine, food processing and cooking technologies will all influence what we eat. What exactly will become popular in 50-100 years is difficult to predict. Most likely, it will be something that currently exists, but is not used on such a large scale, so it is still possible to make some forecasts. Last week, the Soylent miracle drink was discussed on the Web, which is designed to replace food, but in this material we have collected other likely and most fantastic scenarios for the development of events on our plates.
Perennial crops
Although many fruits, nuts, and forage crops are perennials, most crops that provide more than 70% of the human diet (primarily wheat, rice, corn), every year you have to plant anew, which requires a lot of resource costs. Many scientists argue that it is possible to create perennial crops that require less fertilizer, herbicides and fuel. (for cultivators) than annual cereals, making global agriculture more sustainable. According to an article published in the journal Science, these varieties can be developed in 20 years. Currently, work on the development of perennial cereals is underway in Argentina, Australia, China, India, Sweden and the United States.
In the future, a return to forgotten crops is very likely, which have proven to be more resilient to extreme weather conditions, as well as being more nutritious and beneficial
Quinoa
Quinoa (rice quinoa) was once one of the most important types of food of the Incas, who called it the "golden grain". Rice culture is rich in proteins, proteins and amino acids, but does not contain gluten. The product is used in the preparation of soups, pies, pastas in many Western countries. Due to its balance, quinoa, according to experts, may well claim the title of the product of the future.
Spelled
When millions of dollars are spent on high-tech hybrids of crops, such a forgotten type of wheat as spelt ( Triticum spelta), which requires less fertilizer and less pesticides, is becoming especially relevant. At present, commercial quantities are grown in Turkey, Dagestan, Tatarstan.
Millet
These grains were cultivated in Asia as early as 6.5 thousand years ago. And today, many farmers in India and Nepal are switching from growing crops like corn and rice back to traditional millet varieties. Among other cereals, millet is distinguished by increased resistance, suitable for growing on dry soil, and tolerates heat well.
Agriculture is dependent on climate change, but is also itself affected by climate change. There are several ways to mitigate these effects. In addition to the rather obvious ones - the rejection of hydrocarbon fuels and the cessation of deforestation for sowing crops, scientists suggest paying attention to reasonable consumption
Food patches
While taking medication with the help of "transdermal patches" has long been part of our everyday life, American scientists, together with the military, are working on body plates that contain nutrients necessary for humans. Such patches can be used by soldiers stationed in combat zones. The patch itself has a microchip that calculates the soldier's nutritional needs and then releases the appropriate nutrients. Of course, they cannot completely replace real food, but they may well be useful in cases where soldiers temporarily do not have access to it. Dr. C Patrick Dunn, who is working on the project, promises that the technology will be available by 2025 and likely to be useful to civilians, such as miners or astronauts.
City farms
By 2050, the world's population will be about 9.1 billion people. Feeding them will require even more agricultural land, which is already scarce on the planet. About 70% of people are predicted to live in cities, so why not grow food there? Urban farms already exist today in the yards and rooftops of residential and office buildings. A good example is the Japanese staffing company Pasona Group, which built an office building that, in addition to working space, contains 4,000 square meters of vegetation, where rice, fruits and vegetables grow. The crops are grown under special lamps, using automatic sprinklers, hydroponics and climate control systems. All products go to the table in the cafe for employees.
inhaled food
Harvard University professor David Edwards (creator of edible packaging) invented a device called Le Whif that sprays inhaled dark chocolate. The product became a bestseller in the European market, and consumers unanimously claimed that they had moderated their appetites for sweets. The fashionable novelty reached North America, where Canadian chef Norman Aitken improved the apparatus and created Le Whaf on its basis. His device is a vase with a built-in ultrasonic generator. Food (most often soup) is placed inside and, under the influence of ultrasound, turns into a kind of fog. At this point, the client, using a tube, should inhale it. Tasting food in such an unusual form, you can distinguish the taste of both individual ingredients and the whole dish, and for 10 minutes of inhalation, you can get only about 200 calories.
Food printed
on a 3D printer
Back in May 2013, NASA announced the development of 3D food printing technology. Its main idea is that astronauts during long expeditions could print out ready-made appetizing meals, instead of eating them from tubes. The initial goal of a joint project between the space agency and an ambitious engineering bureau from Texas was to make pizza using a 3D printer, and they succeeded. The process of preparing a classic Italian dish at the local Texas conference SXSW Eco.
Scientists at Cornell University (state of New York) do not lag behind colleagues and develop Solid Freeform Fabrication technology, which will allow using hydrocolloids (instead of "ink") print almost anything: chocolate, fried fish, carrots, mushrooms, apple, boiled chicken, banana, boiled pasta, fresh cheese, tomatoes, boiled egg yolk and much, much more. At the same time, printed food, according to promises, will be much healthier and more useful.
Jellyfish
Food and drink
from recycled
waste products
It's no secret that astronauts on the ISS use water to drink, obtained from one's own urine and fumes. An on-board purification system that turns human waste into drinking water has been developed by NASA experts. But the European Space Agency (ESA) ready to go even further. Its employees are developing an improved system that they say could someday be used by people living on space stations or even on other planets. ESA program under the poetic name Melissa (stands for Alternate Microecological Life Support System) designed to recycle every gram of human waste. The system converts them into oxygen, food and water. It is expected that a fully working device will appear by 2014.
Insects
Morgan Gay, a futurist who specializes in the future of food, believes that traditional chicken, pork and beef will be replaced by insects, from which they will soon make quite tolerable sausages, sausages and hamburgers. He is echoed by UN representatives who delivered a report in which the use of insects in food is called a real way to combat hunger in the world. At least two billion people in Asia and Africa regularly eat about 2,000 different types of insects.
Insects are rich in proteins and minerals, multiply rapidly and contain less fat than conventional meat; keeping this "cattle" is much easier, and it does not damage the environment in the same way as cattle. It is also noted that fly larvae have a particularly high potential. Industrial designer Katarina Unger had this idea before, and last summer with a futuristic tabletop farm that allows you to grow edible fly larvae at home. With her invention, she invites people to switch to their own source of protein, which will always be at hand.
Currently, UN officials are tasked with changing Western culture's attitude towards these creepy creatures. The best minds of mankind are working on how to turn these disgusting creatures into mouth-watering dishes. So a team at a Danish nutrition lab is looking for ways to convince uninformed Europeans of the benefits and deliciousness of grasshoppers, ants and caterpillars, while chefs are developing compelling recipes.
Taste modified by sound
A recent study by Oxford University has shown that sound can influence the taste of food. For example, high sounds add sweetness to food, while low sounds made by brass make the taste more bitter. Experiment participant Russell Jones said that this discovery has great, far-reaching prospects. Potentially, a dessert can be made healthier by reducing sugar without sacrificing taste.
An experimental London restaurant, House of Wolf, serves a Sonic cake pop that comes with instructions with two phone numbers: calling one should give the consumer a sweeter taste, and the other a bittersweet one. In the first case, the client listens to a melody in high tones, in the second - slow, gloomy in low timbres.
Incredible Facts
Man has always tried to expand his knowledge in various fields, and cooking is no exception. Modern technologies are already have had a significant impact on this area., but you are probably wondering what kind of food awaits us in the future?
Can you imagine that someday we will not eat in the usual way, but will get all the nutrients through the skin by putting a patch on it?
Or, for example, we will simply inhale food vapor? And what can you say about the fact that soon people will learn to process even .. their own waste into food?
Find out more about these and other exciting things that await our food in the future.
Nutrition of the future
unconscious bird
In 2012 Andre Ford, student of the Faculty of Architecture Royal College of Art from the UK, decided to pay attention to the problems that are currently experiencing broiler industry, and proposed as a solution to create Center for "unconscious" agriculture.
His goal was to meet the need of the growing world population for chicken meat and at the same time treat birds more humanely. And although this goal is quite noble, the methods of achieving it may seem completely utopian.
Ford proposed to remove from birds cerebral cortex, thus these living beings will not experience any stress. In order to raise as many birds as possible, they will also have their legs removed.
To let the birds grow their brain stem will remain intact, and muscle stimulation will be carried out using electric shock.
Those unconscious chickens will be packed in special containers like the Matrix and will be fed through a series of tubes. The system will be completely waste-free: for example, even the blood of birds will be used to feed plants.
While many view these plans with skepticism, Ford says that "the reality, by and large, may seem a lot more shocking."
Food in the form of a patch
While we have learned to take various medicines with the help of transdermal patch, American scientists were able to bring this method to a whole new level and use the patch as .. food.
Such food patch contains essential nutrients and can be used by the military during military campaigns. The patch itself has a microchip that is able to calculate each person's nutritional needs, allowing it to deliver exactly as many substances as needed.
Although the patch cannot be a substitute for the food we are used to, the researchers hope that it will allow the military to feel better and cope with tasks if they, for example, for some time forced to go without food.
According to some estimates, this technology will be available already by 2025. Miracle patches can be used not only by the military, but also by those who work in difficult conditions, for example, miners or astronauts.
space nutrition
Waste turned into food
In 2009 European Space Agency announced that it is working on an improvement to a system that will one day be able to support human activity in space or even on other planets.
This announcement comes after NASA developed a similar system on board international space station. The system is capable of processing human waste into drinking water.
The system of Europeans is much more perfect, and with its help, human excreta can be turned into oxygen, food and water. The first such system was launched in 1995. Scientists said that a new generation of the system will see the light by 2014.
Music that enhances the taste
Recent Research Oxford University showed that sound really affects how we taste food. For example, high sounds give more sweetness to foods, and low sounds add bitterness to food.
This discovery can be widely applied in practice. Food can be made healthier by reducing the sugar content, and if you eat it while hearing high notes, it will seem that it has more sugar than it actually does.
By the way, some restaurants have already "included in their menu" a special repertoire. For example, in a London restaurant "Fat Duck" customers are provided with an iPod that plays soothing ocean sounds when they devour seafood dishes. They are convinced that with such musical accompaniment, their dinner seems more salty.
Food that can be inhaled
In 2012 Harvard professor David Edwards invented a device called Le Whif, which highlights a special dark chocolate smell. This device began to sell well in Europe, in terms of frequency, it interested those who are forced to go on a diet. They claimed that the device helped them reduce their appetite.
Success was waiting Le Whif and in North America: Canadian chef Norman Aiken improved the invention and offered his own version - Le Whaf. His device is a vase with an ultrasonic system inside.
Food, usually soup, is placed in a vase and shaken with ultrasound until it turns into steam. The user at this moment picks up the tube and inhales vapors. The one who tested this device on himself said that at the same time "you taste food without having anything in your mouth".
Seeds in space
Since the 1980s, Chinese scientists have been sending seeds into space and claiming to have amazing results. These seeds that have been in outer space sprout faster and produce more abundant crops than those that remain on Earth. In this way, the researchers hope to grow more resistant plant varieties that are eaten everywhere.
edible jellyfish
"If you can't fight them, eat them". These are the words that appeared in the 2013 report. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. After the studies, it was noted that in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, it is noticeable the number of fish decreased and the number of jellyfish increased. Scientists have proposed several methods to solve this problem.
Among the methods, in addition to the use of chemicals and special networks, it was proposed eat jellyfish for food, as well as make medicines out of them. Some species of jellyfish have long been an ingredient in Chinese dishes, and research on the medical properties of these living creatures has, according to the authors of the report, a high biological and industrial potential.
Edible packaging
In 2012 Brazilian restaurant called Bob's attracted a lot of attention when he offered his clients burger wrapped in edible paper packaging. Customers didn't have to unwrap the bun, they ate it along with the paper!
A year later professor David Edwards offered the American public a new invention - Wikicells- a special package that you can eat. This packaging is made from natural ingredients and does not dissolve, which prevents bacteria from entering. It can be used to wrap food or keep any drinks in it. Moreover, the packaging can be eaten with the product.
Edwards hopes his invention will reduce the amount of plastic used in conventional packaging, thereby reducing the amount of waste on the planet.
Special food
edible insects
A UN report in May found that eating insects is a vital way to fight world hunger. According to UN officials, at least 2 billion people in Asia and Africa regularly eat about 1,900 different types of insects.
Among edible insects, the first place in popularity is occupied by beetles followed by caterpillars and bees. The larvae are also successful. The most difficult thing remains - to teach Europeans to eat these creatures.
There are many benefits to eating insects. They are rich in protein and minerals, multiply quickly, and do not harm the environment in the same way as livestock. Moreover, the insect farming industry may be profitable business and provide jobs for many people, especially in poor countries.
Three course chewing gum
Researcher Dave Hart(pictured) from Food Research Institute(USA) turned a childhood dream into reality. Since 2010 Hart and his colleagues use nanotechnology to recreate chewing gum that tastes a full three-course meal.
Hart has already managed to develop a method to get certain tastes, hold them together and not let them mix. He explained that a consumer chewing such gum, will feel each taste separately.
At the beginning of chewing, the consumer will feel the taste of an appetizer, then the taste will change, he will feel that he is eating a main course, and at the very end - a dessert. In fact, Hart borrowed old idea at sucking candies which include multiple flavors. The different tasting ingredients of the candy are stacked in layers, and as you suck, the candy reveals a new taste.
Hybrids of algae and humans
Seaweed can be a great alternative to fight world hunger. Not so long ago there was an idea to use these plants for an unusual purpose. This idea is to integrate algae into human skin.
Like real plants, algae-human hybrids will absorb sunlight, turning it into nutrients. This idea came Chuck Fisher, who observed the symbiotic relationship between coral polyps and algae.
Fisher admits that this is more than an unusual idea, but he hopes that someday his dream defeat hunger through photosynthesis will become a reality.
For a modern person in a big city, there is practically no chance of starving to death: we produce and sell much more food than we can eat (and we eat more than we need). It is possible that in a couple of decades, when some resources become tight, the climate will change, and there will be three times as many humans on the planet, the issue of new technologies in the field of gastronomy will be decided differently. What will we see on the table then? The answer is in our text.
Test tube steaks
According to WHO forecasts, annual meat production will increase to 376 million tons by 2030 (in 1997-1999 - 218 million tons), which will inevitably lead to a change in the standard food system - meat will become more expensive due to the fact that less and less land will be suitable for raising livestock for slaughter. In addition, 30% of the useful area of the Earth is given over to pastures, although in their place there could be cereals and other food plants.
Meat grown in laboratories using stem cells can become an alternative, but so far it is a gold technology - for example, Mark Post from the University of Maastricht presented the first artificial burger, which costs about 250 thousand euros. Stem cells were obtained by biopsy in a medium containing fetal calf serum.
Other laboratories are also working on the creation of artificial meat - for example, in June, Hampton Creek announced that it would begin selling meat from a test tube as early as 2018.
Insect protein
Insects are a kind of alternative to meat: crickets, grasshoppers, larvae and other jumping and creeping creatures contain a lot of protein, which is necessary in our daily life. Entomophagy (eating insects) is common only in some countries (mainly in Asia), but this is a matter of time. For example, the Dutch scientist Arnold van Heijs is already promoting the eating of insects and urges humanity to gradually get used to the new realities.
Insects are cold-blooded, they do not spend energy on maintaining body temperature, which means that when mass-breeding, they will not destroy the atmosphere in the way that cows do. From 2.1 kg of crickets, 1 kg of edible material is obtained. To date, the most edible insects are: grasshoppers, caterpillars, belostomatids (water bugs), ants and silkworms. Overall, about 1400 species of insects are edible for humans.
Only 145 species of algae out of 10 thousand known in the world we use for food - exactly the same injustice as with insects, and the potential for the gastronomy of the future. The cultivation of algae on special farms is one of the steps towards this.
Biologist Chuck Fischer proposes a smarter way to use algae in the future - he ponders the need to implant single-cell photosynthetic algae under the skin that will help us grow food under our own skin, even in winter with the help of sunlight.
Powders and plasters
It is likely that the gastronomic culture will eventually become a thing of the past, and new technologies will come in its place. So, for example, British scientists promise to create patches for the military by 2025, which will provide soldiers with nutrients - the device will allow you to stay longer without ordinary food.
As for powdered food, you won’t surprise anyone with it. For example, the Ambronite shake is made from the same ingredients as regular food, and the Soylent mix consists mainly of soy protein, but it fully provides the necessary substances and allows you not to feel hungry after a glass of a shake for 5-6 hours.
Lunch from the printer
3D food printing began to develop almost immediately after the emergence of the technology itself (NASA talked about this back in 2013). Now the printer turns out not only - scientists at Cornell University consistently print out the entire refrigerator: chocolate, pasta, tomatoes, white bread, dough, ice cream, coffee, etc.
GMO technologies will allow the products of the future to adapt to rapidly changing environmental realities. Climate, lack of fresh water, diseases and crop failures will not be terrible for such products. Genetic modification can improve not only the resistance of crops to diseases, but also their medicinal properties.
For example, scientists at the John Innes Center in the UK have created genetically engineered dark purple tomatoes rich in the antioxidant anthocyanins. Experiments on mice have shown that eating a new variety of tomato prevents the development of cancer, increasing the lifespan of rodents.
Obviously, over the years, our gastronomic ideas will adapt to realities and change significantly. Scientists are already working on this, and we just have to understand and accept what is happening. And once again think about where global warming and general environmental irresponsibility lead.
Maria Russkova
Photo istockphoto.com
