Volatile food prices and a growing population mean we have to rethink what we eat, say food futurologists. So what might we be serving up in 20 years' time? ...
...Some in the food industry estimate they could double in the next five to seven years, making meat a luxury item
Insects
It's a win-win situation. Insects provide as much nutritional value as ordinary meat and are a great source of protein, according to researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. They also cost less to raise than cattle, consume less water and do not have much of a carbon footprint. Plus, there are an estimated 1,400 species that are edible to man.
Sonic-enhanced food
It's well documented how the appearance of food and its smell influence what we eat, but the effect sound has on taste is an expanding area of research. A recent study by scientists at Oxford University found certain tones could make things taste sweeter or more bitter. Low brass sounds make things taste more bitter
High-pitched tunes played on a pianos or bells make things taste sweeter
Lab-grown meat
Earlier this year, Dutch scientists successfully produced in-vitro meat, also known as cultured meat. They grew strips of muscle tissue using stem cells taken from cows, which were said to resemble calamari in appearance. They hope to create the world's first "test-tube burger" by the end of the year.
Algae
Algae might be at the bottom of the food chain but it could provide a solution to some the world's most complex problems, including food shortages.
It can feed humans and animals and can be grown in the ocean, a big bonus with land and fresh water in increasingly short supply, say researchers. Many scientists also say the biofuel derived from algae could help reduce the need for fossil fuels.
Bacteria (E.Coli has been altered by boost refinable oils in algal fuel research significantly, it can do the same for food)
Super-wheat (research released this week on new wheat strain that increased yeild by 30% - use this worldwide and it would make a big dent in food shortage problems.)
Vertical farms (long been touted, never been tried seriously -largely due to cost, increased food prices might make it viable, 10 acres of arable land per acre by stacking growth seems a good idea to me)
Moony wrote:
Vertical farms (long been touted, never been tried seriously -largely due to cost, increased food prices might make it viable, 10 acres of arable land per acre by stacking growth seems a good idea to me)
Are we talking skyscraper style? going up 10 acres is quite a way, not to mention the spacing of the fields(buildings).
Have images of the scene in the matrix where neo wakes up in the real world, but with plants instead of humans.
Like this (Changed the red tint to green)
matrix_fields.jpg (52.84 KiB) Viewed 1283 times
Kinda Does
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Skyscraper-Farming.jpg (69.44 KiB) Viewed 1283 times
Last edited by TorNicho on Fri May 17, 2013 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Arzosah wrote:Sonic farming - I'd *love* for this to be adopted large scale. Those of us who talk to our plants are already doing it....
What's sonic farming? I've done a quick Google search but can only find articles about how to get lots of rings and experience while playing Sonic the Hedgehog - which I'm assuming you're not talking about!
One of the things that I think will become more popular is synthetic meat (or in-vitro meat) . Those in the west simply won't change their desire for meat and there's no way I can see them eating insects. As agricultural land becomes more scarce I think this will become a viable option.
I think we will be turning toward a more vegetarian diet. From a land-use/availabity POV I think it will provide better sustainability. If course there are area of the uk that will only grow sheep, Cumbria, or the Welsh mountains for instance. Animals have to be fed, and that food takes land. BTW, I am not a vegetarian(as many are aware I am a Butcher by trade), but that is the way I see it.
Good thread this.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.
Robert Frost.
Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.
Alot of the food shortage issues currently are not just down to increased population, but the fact that 3rd world nations are becoming richer and their citizens are demanding more meat in their diet. So we (in the western world) might become more vegetarian, but the new 'tiger' nations would far out-weigh that effect unfortunately.