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The processing of these future foods has the potential to alter the way food systems work. They can be grown in large quantities in flexible, portable systems that are ideal for urban and rural areas, such as those on remote islands. Food could be grown locally and consistently by populations using a method known as polycentric food networks, eliminating dependence on global supply chains.
Research
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The researchers looked at about 500 existing scientific articles on various potential food production processes to come to their conclusions. The most promising, such as microalgae photo-bioreactors (devices that use light to cultivate microorganisms) and insect breeding greenhouses, farms in closed, regulated habitats, reduce exposure to the natural world s hazards.
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Researchers at the University of Cambridge say our future global food supply cannot be safeguarded by traditional approaches to improving food production. They suggest state-of-the-art, controlled-environment systems, producing novel foods, should be integrated into the food system to reduce vulnerability to environmental changes, pests and diseases. Their report is published today in the journal Nature Food.
The researchers say that global malnutrition could be eradicated by farming foods including spirulina, chlorella, larvae of insects such as the house fly, mycoprotein (protein derived from fungi), and macro-algae such as sugar kelp. These foods have already attracted interest as nutritious and more sustainable alternatives to traditional plant and animal-based foods.
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Maggots and kelp must be on the menu to curb global malnutrition
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Maggots and kelp must be on the menu to curb global malnutrition
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In a study published in the journal
Nature Food, scientists from the University of Cambridge said that farming foods such as algae, which include spirulina and sugar kelp, the larvae of insects such as the house fly, and mycoprotein, which is protein derived from fungi, could help eradicate global malnutrition. These foods are seen as sustainable alternatives to traditional plant- and animal-based foods and can be grown at scale.
The researchers said that using foods like insects and algae as ingredients in the form of pasta, burgers and energy bars, rather than eating them whole, could help overcome consumers’ reservations.
Do kelp and maggots offer a solution to global malnutrition?
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Novel foods have to be a part of the solution if the world is to solve the problem of malnutrition – that’s according to researchers from the University of Cambridge.
Though they don t look very appealing, maggots could be used as an ingredient in other foods
Radical changes to the food system are needed to safeguard our food supply and combat malnutrition in the face of climate change, environmental degradation and epidemics, according to a new report.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge say our future global food supply cannot be safeguarded by traditional approaches to improving food production. They suggest state-of-the-art, controlled-environment systems, as well as the production of novel foods, should be integrated into the food system to reduce vulnerability to environmental changes, pests and diseases. Their report is published today in the journal Nature Food.