With the world’s population estimated to grow to 10 billion in 30 years’ time, nothing is off the table when it comes to food — from insects to cultured meat.
Professor Johannes le Coutre from UNSW Sydney’s School of Chemical Engineering said it would be a pressing challenge to ramp up calorie production without overwhelming the planet.
“We’re going to need to change what we eat and how we grow it over the next two decades so we can diversify our sources of protein,” he said.
Many places such as Thailand, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mexico have embraced insects in their cuisine for centuries. Though this is still considered foreign in many western cultures, insects are protein-packed and biologically similar to shrimps.
According to le Coutre, not every insect is edible, but crickets, moths and beetles may be on the menu in 30 years.
Cultured meat is another means of diversifying protein, which will also be more accessible in 30 years.
The first cultured meat patty was showcased to the world priced at almost US $330,000 ($500,000 AUD). Now, companies such as Post’s Mosa Meat report the price of cell-cultured meat has decreased to about $10 US ($15.15 AUD) per burger.
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