What is the 2050 meeting eaten with?
A book about delicious and healthy food-2050
Dmitry Tselikov, Compulenta
The American magazine New Scientist published a curious note written on behalf of a person looking forward to a Christmas meal at the end of 2050. How will our food industry change in forty years? What of the delicious and healthy will our descendants get?
Well, let's imagine the following scenario. The world's population is growing at a rapid pace, the demand for biofuels is increasing by leaps and bounds, agriculture does not have time, there are interruptions with drinking water. Humanity is on the verge of a worldwide hunger riot. And then bioengineers come to the rescue.
In just a few years, varieties of agricultural crops are being bred, the yield of which is 50% higher than the current one. In addition, they are absolutely immune to pests and diseases. Grains and fruits are rich in minerals and vitamins. True, biodiversity will suffer, and multinational corporations will gain even more power, but the main thing is that we will all be relatively well fed and practically healthy.
By 2020, a roast of huge poultry twice the size of modern poultry will be on our tables. However, in the future, animal husbandry and poultry farming will still not be able to meet demand, and taxes on greenhouse gas emissions will turn lamb and beef into a dish for aristocrats. Kangaroo farms will ease the tension a little, but not for long, because in the 2020s the world's population will exceed 8 billion. Food prices will rise three times. Vegetarians will be considered the most practical people. The share of food waste in rich countries will decrease from 30% to 10%.
A new solution will arrive by 2030. After all, there are still insects! McDonald's will start selling locust burgers and cutlets made from caterpillar meat-mopane. What's wrong with that? Insects very effectively process plant material into edible proteins for humans! At the same time, energy costs are only 1:4, whereas cattle have 1:54. No, of course, you can prefer a good old hamburger for $100 instead of a beetle burger for $10!..
Well, the situation has finally started to stabilize. By 2040, there won't be a single overweight person left on the planet. Sugar will completely disappear from the diet thanks to the exceptionally sweet extracts of a variety of genetically modified plants. Synthetic microorganisms will be of great help to humanity: bacteria will glow bright blue in places where the product is spoiled, and the healthiest food will contain microbes capable of producing useful ingredients directly in our body. By looking at the color of your stool, you will immediately determine which nutrients you lack.
Of course, we'll have to forget about fish, but jellyfish... mmm... Fortunately, somewhere in the mid-2040s we will have a megalosos and a supercar the size of a whale. In addition, the cultivation of meat in laboratory conditions in industrial quantities will begin. Meat products will again get reasonable prices, and cooking will become easier than ever: just buy a package of powdered insect protein and leave it overnight in a meat blower. In the morning you will have a denatured protein mass. All that remains is to send it to a 3D printer to add a crispy crust!
Prepared based on the materials of NewScientist (Smoked jellyfish: The roast of Christmas future).