The global population in 2021 is close to 8 billion, 7.8 billion to be exact. And this number is steadily rising. The Earth will be home to over 9.7 billion people by 2050, according to the United Nations. With the growing population, the environmental concerns, and the call for healthier foods, where are we going to obtain our foods in the future? Researches suggest that our current food systems are not sustainable. But thanks to start-up companies and technological advances, we won’t be seeing empty supermarket shelves anytime soon. Here are the foods of the future.
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Cultured meat or lab-grown meat
In the next decades, there will be less slaughtering of animals, thanks to cultured meat or lab-grown meat. Lab-grown meat is produced by isolating muscle cells from an animal (living tissue). These cells are nurtured and grown in a controlled environment. Through this, the meat is made in a more hygienic environment. This minimizes the risk of food-born pathogens like salmonella, and animal diseases like swine flu.
Cultured meat is also more sustainable and environment-friendly than farm-raised meat. According to FAO, the livestock industry contributes 7.1 Gigatonnes of CO2. This number is 14.5 percent of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, globally. A research said that cultured meat could cut greenhouse gas emission by up to 96%. Furthermore, there would be less land and water use too.
The only challenge for cultured-meat companies is making their product cost-effective. In 2013, the very first cultured meat (beef patty) cost $300,000. And the project took 2 years to complete. In 2020, cultured meat in the form of chicken nuggets just went on sale for the first time ever in Singapore. Each nugget was first reported to cost US$50 each. Like most novel product developers, significant investment for efficient equipment and process engineering is necessary for the price of cultured meat to go down.
By 2027, the value of the cultured meat industry is expected to reach $514 million.
3D printed food or additive manufacturing
First time hearing such term? 3D printed foods have been around for almost 2 decades now. Simply speaking, food 3D-printing is producing and manufacturing food using automated additives (usually via syringe or nozzle). Remember those eye-catching foods featured to depict the future in Science-fiction films?
The earliest 3D printers printed various food items such as chocolates and cheese. Today, 3D printing is used for foods like cake with complex decorations that are rather difficult to make the traditional way. Also, this technology favors those who prefer to customize the amount of nutrients in their food. This will also benefit the elderly or the individuals who need to keep their health in check.
Low carb high protein snack, anyone?
However, this fancy technology still has a long way to go. In fact, 3D printers are only available in select market and restaurants. But in the future, 3D printers are going to be common equipment for prepping food in our kitchen. If you can’t wait, book a flight to London and visit Food Ink, the world’s first 3D-printing restaurant. The British 3D-printing restaurant opened its door to the public in 2016.
Edible food packaging
The Earth is aging faster because of plastic pollution. In fact, 8 million tons of plastic pollutes the oceans every year, according to National Geographic. Most food packaging materials including PET (polyethylene terephthalate) take hundred of years to decompose.
The solution? Place foods in edible packaging. With edible packaging, we could lessen the amount of plastic pollution. As an environment-friendly alternative, edible packaging can either be eaten or biodegrade in just a few weeks.
However, edible packaging proved that starting out can be difficult. In fact, New York-based Lolliware experienced failure, like most startups did. Their initial project, edible cups, seemed like the solution to the growing plastic pollution. But customer dissatisfaction held them back. First, the edible cups were hard enough to chew through it. It had shipping problems—would reach the customer damaged. And lastly, the cups were relatively expensive. A pack of four cups cost $12. As a result, the edible cups are no longer available for sale. Check out their newest product, the seaweed-based Lolliware straw.
More start-up companies are also using seaweeds to create edible packaging.
Notpla, a start-up company based in London, England has been in the lab for edible packaging for sauces, beverages, and condiments. The company was first known in 2014 for developing “Ooho”, a seaweed-based packaging material for liquids. They wish to commercialize their products in the near future. Evoware, an Indonesian start-up company also uses seaweed as a base for their edible food packaging. In fact, ice cream is already enjoyed in seaweed cups in Indonesia. The Jakarta-based start-up wont find it difficult in improving their products since Indonesia is the 2nd biggest seaweed producer in the world.
Plant-based meat substitute
There will be more plant-based meat or “fake meat” in the future. And you can’t blame people. Plant-based meat has a lot of advantages over real meat that we usually enjoy. Health-wise, plant-based meat contains no cholesterol, has more nutrients, high amount of fiber, and fewer calories. Aside from these, production of plant-based meat help lessen greenhouse gas emission by up to 90%.
How does plant-based meat measure up? Plant-based meats have come a long way. In fact, the first commercially available plant-based meat called “Nuttose” was introduced in the late 19th century.
Today, most plant-based meats are made of plant protein or whey protein. Plant-based meats made of tofu, lentils, peas, soy are also available. Do these meats look, feel, and taste like real meat? A lot of people now agree that plant-based meat today tastes like real meat. This is especially true for products by huge companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.
Driven by demand for healthier meat alternatives, this market is growing rapidly. The plant-based meat industry is already worth $20 billion. According to Swiss bank USB Group AG, the market could be worth $85 billion by 2030.
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Genetically modified (GM) food
Bioengineering first paved the way for genetically modified food in Flavr Savr in 1994. The Flavr Savr was a genetically modified tomato to slow its ripening process down. Today, genetically modifying food items serve various purposes such as better tasting, added nutrition, less use of chemicals like pesticides, longer shelf-life, and faster growth of plants and animals.
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Although it has been almost 3 decades since Flavr Savr’s initial release, the first GM animal for human consumption only gained approval for commercial use in 2015. Developed by AquAdvantage in 1989, AquAdvantage Atlantic Salmon can grow in market size in just 18 months, cutting its growing duration in half.
However, genetically modified animal have faced controversies. Many oppose GM commercialization due to health, consumer, environmental, and animal welfare concerns. In fact, these were the reasons why AquAdvantage salmon took 26 years before it won FDA’s approval. But with a steady growing global population, new methods are necessary to ensure a healthy food supply. And it seems GM foods are gonna take a bigger part of the future.
As researches on GM foods continue, expect novel products like bird flu-resistant chickens and swine flu-resistant pigs to counter meat supply shortage.
