I do like my food. No prizes for guessing one of my perpetual favourites, but the fact is we’re living in a world of dwindling resources. As the population continues to explode, we’re going to have to find some more creative ways to feed everyone.
As any vegetarian will happily tell you (Although I can’t quite find some interesting stats I saw a little while ago), meat is one of the most uneconomical uses of land and resources for producing food. Also, cows fart more than turnips. Presumably in the future much red meat will become increasingly expensive and only enjoyed by the super-rich. So for the rest of us plebs, what does the future hold?
Whilst some potential alternatives to cattle are clearly more trouble than they’re worth, there is always the growing trend of Entomophagy - the eating of insects. My random web trawling tells me that this practise is already undertaken in 80% of countries, so maybe we’re the odd ones out by lagging behind.
One of the plusses to insect farming is that it requires us to preserve forests rather than clear them, but sorry Al, apparently locusts are one of the best of all.
But if that isn’t particularly attractive to your palate, how about test tube meat? Whilst a little expensive (At around $290,000 a serve currently) once they get it right, presumably the price will drop slightly to be closer to what we currently get gouged in the supermarket.
Given our finite resources (or resources that will in future go to the highest bidder) how would you be prepared to alter your eating habits? Increase the leg count, grow it in a vat or switch out to the good old spud?
We do practice entomophagy in Australia. Aborigines have been eating witchetty grubs for 40,000 years.
Very true, and one of the articles I linked did specify Australia in a list of ‘example countries’, but it’s not yet widespread. I’d like to see Melbourne’s cuisine centres include Chinatown, the Greek quarter, the Italian bit and Bugtown before saying it’s widely practised here.
Western countries do eat far too much meat, particularly red meat. Aside from the environmental issues it is also bad on your health, bowel cancer rates go up significantly for people that consume more than 500g of red meat per week. In an age of steaks the size of a dinner plate (which it is fine to eat on the rare occasion, just not often) this is easy to exceed. We make an effort to eat vegetarian once or two nights a week plus seafood at least one other night. Apparently bowel cancer rates in places like Okinawa are non existent because of their seafood and plant based diet. It’s just a shame that bacon tastes so f&$#ng fantastic.
Cool bear.
I think the rest of the population should start eating insects. That’s probably the bets way to get rid of them. Just run advertising campaigns promoting the advantages of eating all the ones we need to wipe out. Me, I’ll stick to meat. It’s not going to get too expensive in my lifetime.
I can see it now – aniseed ants, caramelised crickets, barbecued bees, . . . . liquorice locusts.
As far as test-tube meat goes, they’ll probably get it as close to the real thing as most of the packaged stuff around now anyway. Of course, in the photo on the packet it’ll look really good.
And, to help HM sleep, mango mozzies and macaroni mosquitoes.
So, by the same token, Aussies should be eating Rabbit as often as possible.
I do eat rabbit – usually ones that I have shot. Mr R does a mean curried rabbit stew… omnomnom.
I like rabbit, getting Mrs H to cook it is the trick.
When I was young Mum used to bake two rabbits for dinner. One for me, one for the other three in the family.
At risk of being labelled greedy, selfish, or whatever, I’ll stick to the real thing, thanks. I can easily handle eating less meat than I do currently, but when I do, I want to really enjoy it. And I would be prepared to pay for it.
And I know it’s just a mindset, but I’m really not keen on eating Al’s rellies and other creepy crawlies.
Besides, you can’t fake bacon – it just *has* to be the real stuff.
Agreed, totally.
I always cringe in the supermarket deli when they have a sign saying “bacon-style pieces”. Like that’s even a thing…
I made the mistake of buying that once! I wasn’t really concentrating at the time. Mr Nerd will never forgive me for it. Now every time we go shopping he ensures we get *real* bacon.
I remember going with a group to a Chinese resteraunt. One person ordered a dish that was chilli glazed eggplant.
We all looked at them strangely, but then we tried it. OMFGNOMNOMNOM! It was one of the most amazing things I have ever eaten.
While I could live without most meat, the idea of life without bacon – NOOOOOOOOOO!
As I see it, so many people love meat. Be it Sunday roast, the BBQ, or any other number of favourite dishes, demand for meat will always be high.
Since price is supply vs demand, this will drive the cost of meat upwards, and that will in turn make the farming of animals for meat a more profitable business. Which in turn encourages more farmers to move toward supply, and so the cycle goes.
Maybe the socio-economical classes of the future will be the lentil class, and the bacon class.
Honestly? Once they get it right, and the price drops, I’m perfectly comfortable eating test tube meat. But I think I’d be reasonably okay without meat. It has never been something that I lived for; I am a carb girl at heart. Now that I’m avoiding processed grain, however, it looks like my meal options are getting smaller and smaller…
I won’t have a problem with the idea itself, or eating it. I’ll just be mighty pissed off if it’s like all the other packet stuff but they still put a picture of a perfect eye fillet on the packet. Given the record with truth in advertising, that is exactly what will happen.
I don’t mind if the picture lies, I shop with my eyes and I’d prefer to see that than the alternative, I will be happy as long as they state on the packaging that it is manufactured meat.
Unrelated hijack
http://nowhiring.com.au/424936+job+Prime+Minister+of+Australia+ACT.aspx
Be sure to click on the ‘Apply Now’ button
Oh, my! I’m almost scared to share that around, in case I hasten the speed with which it is removed!
ROFL!
LOLZ! Love the application questions too.
Your job application has been sent successfully.
Job Title: Prime Minister of Australia
Employer: Australian Labor Party
Location: ACT
^___^
This is why I want to win the lotto so I can buy myself a little block of land and be self-sustaining… Then no one can tell me I can’t eat meat
PP I would even be willing to make my own bacon so that I can share it with my poor deprived friends!
Like Dog we do try to eat vegetarian at least once per week but normally manage twice or so. 2012 for us is all about everything in moderation, so it’s just finding that balance.
That said, with a family farm already I don’t think I would need to worry about buying test tube meat anytime soon!
You’re a really useful person to know when the zombie apocolypse comes…
Isn’t somewhere trying to pass laws to prevent people from growing/raising their own food? Ostensibly on grounds of health and safety? Codex Alimentarius?
I grew up as a plain ol’ meat and 3 veg girl, so I guess I probably do eat a lot of meat. Mr Coaster and I try to mix it up with some lamb and pork as well as beef, but we eat a lot of chicken.
Doing the 1 million kilo challenge, every week I’m surprised at the high amount of chicken and fish on the menu. We don’t eat a lot of fish, usually just tinned tuna on a sandwich or something, and even that not very often, so that’s been interesting for us.
I’m not sure how I feel about test tube meat. The idea is pretty squicky, but perhaps with time, and if I saw that it looked and tasted indistinguishable from real meat…
How is it going? We’re thinking of trying it
One way to cut down the impact of meat production is to only have pets who are herbivores (essentially no cats or dogs) or not to have pets at all. Not that I think everyone should get rid of their pets but science suggests they add to our problem. Any realistic solution for the future will have to take meat production for non-humans into consideration as well.
It would be really interesting to be able to go into the future and look at how this pans out. I think the test tube meat option will probably be the one adopted, I can’t see people willingly opting out of eating meat altogether. I personally don’t mind the idea as long as tastes and textures can be maintained. If scientists could come up with a steak that could not be cooked tough that would actually make me an active fake meat advocate, nothing worse than ordering a medium rare and it getting to your table as tough as leather.
Time for soylent green.
I think Smoph might have a comment or two on this…
Gah! I need red meat or I take hostages.
Although I’d love to see how Maccas and the like would sell test tube meat…
They could probably switch to the McLocust and nobody would notice.
I thought that’s what McNuggets are…
Ahhh, intermittent Intarwebs, how I hate thee.
We have no food problems. As the population grows, so does the food supply.
Soylent Green, it’s made from the best stuff on Earth, people.
I was semi-vegetarian for awhile but have gone back to eating red meat about once a week, chicken probably3 times and the rest vego or fish. I could live without it again if it got super expensive, but we would probably try to cut other things back – like we’re trying to do now with fuel