The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights contains an article according to which everyone has the right to decent food. But despite this, according to WHO, about 30% of the world's population suffers from lack of food. People can feel a massive food shortage as early as 2050. Scientists from the University of Minnesota predict that by this time the world's population will grow to 9.6 billion people and will not be able to feed itself. Therefore, scientists around the world are already working to create the food of the future. Powdered food, jellyfish dishes, faecal water and other food options …
Food plaster
The transdermal patch is not a new word in medicine. Today it is most commonly used to quit smoking. In the mid-2000s, scientists, together with the US Department of Defense, began developing a food patch capable of supplying the body with the necessary trace elements and vitamins. As conceived by the creators, biologically active substances should be absorbed through the pores of the skin, and then carried through the circulatory system throughout the body. A chip built into the patch will be able to read information about a person's satiety and, if necessary, will give the body a “supplement”. First of all, the food plaster will be useful to the military in the combat zone, cosmonauts and miners. Dr. Patrick Dunn, director of development, estimates that the first samples of the transdermal patch will be available by 2025.
Nutritious gum
In Roald Dahl's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, eccentric pastry chef Willie Wonka made a gum lunch. It seemed to the chewer that he had eaten a full three course lunch and that he was absolutely full. British scientist Dave Hart from the Institute for Food Research in Norwich decided to turn the fabulous idea into reality, and in 2010 he started work. In chewing gum, Hart came up with the idea of introducing microcapsules with the taste of certain products, which burst upon contact with saliva. The softer capsules with the taste of the first courses "open" at the beginning, and the harder ones, with the taste of hot and dessert, later and with more intense chewing. Hart managed to develop a technology that keeps flavors from mixing. To do this, he laid different layers of chewing gum with gelatin.
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Powdered food
The slogan of the popular in the 90s instant drink Invite "Just add water!" was adopted by the American programmer Rob Reinhart. In 2013, he introduced a powder cocktail called Soylent, which, according to its creator, can completely replace traditional food. All you need to do before using it is simply dilute the mixture with water. At the same time, the cocktail will already contain the required amount of vitamins, amino acids, fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Reinhart himself, as an experiment, ate only Soylent powder for a month. During this time, he managed to lose a couple of extra pounds, felt healthy and energetic, but most importantly, he was not distracted by thoughts of food.
Following Soylent, other powdered food analogues appeared on the market. One of them is the organic Ambronite cocktail, suitable even for vegetarians. Its creators focused on the naturalness of the product, and included organic apples, berries and chopped nuts in its composition. One serving of Soylent formula costs $ 2.5, after which the feeling of hunger is not felt for 5 - 6 hours.
Fecal water
Drinking water shortage is one of the global problems of the 21st century. According to Forbes, Bill Gates, the richest man in the world in 2016, proposed his own version of its solution, whose fortune is estimated at $ 75 billion. The billionaire has invested in the Omni Processor project, which processes feces into drinking water. Its pilot version was launched in 2015 in Dakar, Senegalese. The plant that converts excrement into water and electricity was developed by Janicki Bioenergy. Dakar, with a population of 3.4 million people, was chosen to launch the Omni Processor for a reason - a third of the local population does not have access to sewers.
Gates himself does not hesitate to drink water obtained from the products of human life. In his blog, the billionaire wrote: “I watched how the faeces fell through the conveyor into a large tank, where they underwent a purification process: water was evaporated from them, then processed. In a few minutes I was able to appreciate the end result: a glass of pure tasty water."
Vegetable eggs
In addition to water from faeces, the Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation has invested in the development of plant-based eggs. In addition to the spouses, another entrepreneur, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, has invested in the project, which was developed by biochemists from Hampton Creek Foods. To obtain vegan eggs, which are powder used in cooking, 12 plants were selected, including peas and sorghum. The semi-finished product was named "Beyond Eggs" and went on sale in the United States in 2013. Vegetable eggs do not contain antibiotics, cholesterol and harmful microorganisms. In addition, Bill Gates noted their environmental friendliness and ethical production "chicken free".
According to UN forecasts, the price of animal products will increase significantly in the future. This means that their substitutes will be needed. According to Josh Tetrick, founder of Hampton Creek Foods, herbal counterparts of popular foods can also help fight hunger in Third World countries.
Test tube meat
Back in the 1930s, Winston Churchill said: "In 50 years, we will not be absurdly raising a whole chicken to eat only breasts or wings, but will grow these parts separately in a suitable environment." The former British Prime Minister was mistaken for several decades. The first piece of beef, 140 grams, obtained in the laboratory using stem cells, was presented in 2013. "Meat from a test tube" was synthesized by the team of Professor Mark Post from the University of Maastricht, and the main investor of the project was Google co-founder Sergey Brin (No. 13 in the global Forbes rating, worth $ 34.4 billion). He invested $ 300,000 in the development of artificial meat. Then a piece of beef was tasted by several volunteers, but his taste was not satisfied. The next few years were spent by the laboratory staff to improve the quality of meat and reduce its price - by 2015, the cost of a kilogram of the product was $ 80. Test tube meat may hit store shelves in 5 to 10 years, says Mark Post. Moreover, more and more people will give preference to it due to ethical considerations.
3D printed food
Homes, prostheses, weapons and more. 3D printing technology expands its range of possibilities every year. And it is not surprising that scientists tried to print food. One of the first prototypes of such a device was presented by the American engineer Anyang Contractor from Systems & Materials Research Corporation. Soon, NASA drew attention to its development and issued a grant for further research. The printer creates food from several nutritional components contained in special cartridges. Their shelf life is at least 30 days, which solves the problem with perishable food.
Another project involved in the development of 3D-printed food is the New York-based company Modern Meadow. Its specialists focused on the creation of leather and meat and in 2014 received a grant of $ 10 million. "A real 3D printed steak is almost fantastic today," said the head of the firm, Andras Forgex. “Of course, this will not be our first product, because creating a steak is very difficult. The first wave of meat products created by this method is likely to be semi-finished products from minced meat and pâté."
Jellyfish
The jellyfish population has reached a critical level. Such data was published by the UN in its report in 2013. Jellyfish pose a threat to ships, clog power plant drains and eat their competitors in the food chain. In Asian countries, jellyfish themselves have long been included in the diet and they are called "crystal meat". UN experts advise the representatives of other nations to adopt the Asian experience: "If you cannot fight them, eat them." This will help reduce the population of jellyfish and provide additional food for humanity in the future.
There are advantages to eating jellyfish. They contain a healthy range of vitamins and minerals, are a source of protein, and are low in calories.
Inhaled food
Instead of chewing and swallowing, biomedical engineer and Harvard professor David Edwards suggested inhaling food. In 2011, he introduced the Le Whaf apparatus, a device in which edible fog is fed to the table. A special liquid substance with a concentrate of tomato soup or chocolate cake flavor is placed in a glass container, where it is broken down into a tiny suspension under the influence of ultrasound. Also, with the help of Le Whaf, you can turn alcohol into steam. To inhale the product and taste it in your mouth, Edwards provided a special glass tube. It is worth noting that the famous French experimental chef Thierry Marx, known for his liquid Lorraine pie and meringues cooked in nitrogen, helped the scientist in creating compositions with different tastes. “Le Whaf brings us closer to the future,in which nutrition is both an ephemeral and inalienable action, something like breathing, Edwards commented on his invention.