SCIENCES OF THE 21ST CENTURY – FOOD OF THE FUTURE
What will we eat in the future? In order to reduce the consumption of food from animal sources, food technicians are looking for new plant-based proteins. One promising alternative product could be the lupin.
A good seven billion people live on our planet. What will happen when that figure rises to ten billion or even twelve? Scientists say that we could feed twelve billion people today, but we throw about a third of our food production away, we make electricity, bio fuels and similar substances from a huge share of it and produce enormous quantities of animal protein. Food from animal sources, in particular, is a major stumbling block to successfully feeding the world's growing population, as more than half of agricultural production is used as animal feed. Animals in return provide only about 10% of our food in the form of meat, milk and cheese. In order to tackle these challenges, scientists are researching the food of the future, breeding new plants and making foodstuffs more long-lasting. They want to replace animal-based foods with plant-based milks and textured vegetable protein. Food technicians are now developing lupin milk which tastes the same as cow's milk. They are also interested in healthier food and in new ways to give food a longer shelf-life, without losing any important vitamins in the process. We present the latest developments in food technology and research into the food of the future.