Do we ever stop and think about our environment? The effects we have on our planet; affecting crops & livestock. I just took an on-line survey (www.wwf.org.uk) to calculate my carbon footprint. According to the results if everyone lived my lifestyle we would need 2.28 planets but as we all know we only have ONE. This is the equivalent to 14.7 carbon tonnes!
Due
to our carbon footprint(s) we have created environmental concerns for our
planet which have resulted in the rise of food prices. With prices rising and
the population growing there is a huge concern; “How are we going to feed
ourselves in the future?”
What might we be consuming in 20 years’ time? After some reading and research here are the answers to the question:
·
"Rising
prices mean we are now starting to see the return of meat as a luxury. As a
result we are looking for new ways to fill the meat gap." Meaning we’re
going to have to find alternative food replacements.
·
Insects
will be referred to as “mini live-stock” and will become a staple of our diet.
Insects such as; crickets and grasshoppers will be ground down and used as an
ingredient in things like burgers.
Insect nutritional value /100g
Food source
|
Protein (g)
|
Calcium (mg)
|
Iron (mg)
|
SOURCE: MONTANA STATE
UNIVERSITY
|
|||
28.2
|
n/a
|
35.5
|
|
20.6
|
35.2
|
5
|
|
17.2
|
30.9
|
7.7
|
|
Minced beef
|
27.4
|
n/a
|
3.5
|
·
“Sonic
enhanced food”: a current study at Oxford University has discovered that
certain sounds can affect the taste of foods. Certain tones could
make things taste sweeter or bitter.
·
Lab
grown meat. Yes, I agree it does sound rather disturbing and quite frankly
shocking. However, growing meat in a lab rather than slaughtering animals would
reduce greenhouse gases, along with energy and water use.
·
Algae
(seaweed) is predicted to become the world’s largest cropping industry. There
are over 10,000 varieties in the world, with 630 species grown in UK waters but
unfortunately only 145 are used worldwide. It has been said that seaweed
granules could be used to replace salt in ready meals, sausages and even
cheese. This would reduce our salt intake that has become a major concern
within the UK.
Has
this become reality or do you think it is madness? As a population we need to
think about how we treat our planet, do we really want to be eating grasshopper
or lab grown burgers? Some of the solutions above could help our planet and
also us; protein intake would be higher and our salt/sugar intake lowered.
Creating a win-win situation.
