What will the food of the future look like?
We are in a time of rapid population growth. Some experts predict that the earth's population will reach 9 billion by 2050. The United Nations believes that food production will have to increase by 70 per cent to feed that many people. Scientists have already developed the first solutions. You can find out what these are in this article.
The future demands innovative ideas:
The world's population has now reached 7.8 billion people and is still rising. To feed so many people, innovative ideas are needed. Considering that one in nine people now already do not have enough food to live a healthy life, the problem becomes even more urgent. The global middle class is also growing and demanding meat, eggs and dairy products, often in every meal. This is not only a huge burden on the environment, but also hardly manageable with today's technology.
Insects as a meat substitute:
Even though more and more people are switching to a purely plant-based diet, global meat consumption is steadily increasing. Many scientists believe that insects are the ideal alternative to conventional meat. Insect farming requires far less water and land than ordinary livestock farming. Moreover, for every kilogram they gain in weight, they only need 2 kilograms of feed.
For a large part of the Western population, this sounds like something they need to get used to. However, there are already 2 billion people living on earth for whom insects are already an integral part of their diet. Insects contain high-quality protein and a high proportion of healthy unsaturated fatty acids.
Another point in favour of switching to insects is that insects are ideally suited for mass farming. It is not without reason that many people reject the factory farming of pigs, cattle and chickens. For insects, however, this is not a problem, as many species also live together in large numbers in the wild in very confined spaces.
A future without meat:
Until now, the consumption of insects was not compatible with Western culture. More and more people are therefore doing without animal foods altogether. Many of the problems associated with the traditional diet are eliminated with a purely plant-based diet. One important criticism, for example, is that traditional meat production is enormously inefficient. About 40 percent of the world's arable land is currently used to produce food for farm animals. From 7 calories of grain or soy, only one calorie of meat is produced at the end of the process. If this food were fed directly to humans without a diversion through the farm animal, the problem of the world's starving population would already be solved.
Meat from the laboratory:
Another alternative is meat from the laboratory. It produces no animal suffering and has a much better climate and energy balance. Not without reason do many people see artificial meat as the food of the future. There are already many companies that have made it their business to bring so-called Clean Meat to the supermarkets. It is the ideal solution for all people who want to eat an animal-free and environmentally conscious diet, but are reluctant to give up meat in the future. According to the companies, it will be visually and tastefully indistinguishable from normal meat.
CONCLUSION:
The earth's resources are finite and will soon be exhausted if we continue as we are. Everyone can do their bit to conserve our resources and this includes, for example, only buying as much as you can safely consume. In addition, you should reduce your meat consumption and, if possible, only buy "good" meat from species-appropriate husbandry and in organic quality. It is best to support regional suppliers in order to avoid long transport routes. As a rule, meat is a little more expensive, but you should not save money on what you feed your body!
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