What will we be eating in 20 years' time?

[adam2]

Perhaps Oats? To paraphrase:
Oats: 'A nutritious grain that in Scotland feeds men and in England feeds horses'.
Anybody have the rejoinder to that one?

Something about "better men and better horses"

[Little John]

Perhaps Oats? To paraphrase:
Oats: 'A nutritious grain that in Scotland feeds men and in England feeds horses'.
Anybody have the rejoinder to that one?

Something about "better men and better horses"

Insects. Lots of insects.

[SleeperService]

Real men eat jellied eels

[Standuble]

Mushrooms via foraging. We eat half our collection and smoke the other half.

[vtsnowedin]

I believe the answer came from an enlightened English woman that recognised the arrogance of the given definition and replied : "And what horses and Oh what men. I'm sure a google search can track it down but I'm just working off long ago reading. A good enough shot that I remember it twenty plus years on.

[Little John]

http://suite101.com/article/will-insect ... es-a409253

Eating bugs, or entomophagy, may sound bizarre. As the world population explodes though, insects could be on the menu sooner than you think.

This summer, on the grill, wouldn't you love to have some hot, sizzling, locusts, or barbequed meal worms? It sounds outlandish, but we could all be eating insects sooner than we think. With close to 7 billion people in the world today, and the probability of a world population of 9 billion by 2050, one of the biggest concerns is how we are going to be able to feed ourselves in the future. The world will not be able to sustain current levels of meat consumption, and insects are a viable replacement source of protein.

If you are lucky enough to live in a developed country, the average amount of meat you eat is 80 kilograms a year, and up to 120 kilograms a year, if you live in the United States. People who live in developing countries, though, average less than half of that amount, at 25 kilograms a year. As we become more affluent, and people in developing countries become richer, we, as a population, tend to eat more meat. China, for instance, has increased their average meat intake from 20 kilograms a year to 50, in just 20 years.

As the population grows, there will be more mouths to feed, about 30 percent more by 2050. Close to 70 percent of all available agricultural land is already being used for meat production. The math is simple; even if the population does not become more affluent, like China, and begin to eat more meat, 100 percent of all agricultural land will have to be used to satisfy our hamburger cravings. What will we do to produce all this meat? Cut down all the rain forests, or, perhaps, start herding cows on the moon?

Insects have many of the same essential nutrients as meat. They contain fat, protein, minerals such as iron and calcium, and vitamins such as A, B1, B2, and vitamin D. Insects contain less fat than beef or pork, so are a better source of protein for people who are watching their waist.

The energy and raw materials that would be used for raising insects as food are much more sustainable that current practices for raising animals for meat. For instance, 1 kilogram of grasshoppers is equal in calories to 10 hot dogs or 6 Big Macs. With 10 kilograms of feed, you can produce 1 kilo of beef, 3 kilos of pork, 5 kilos of chicken, or 9 kilograms of locusts (grasshoppers).

Much less land area is needed to grow insects as food. Insects also create less waste, such as manure and ammonia, than conventional farm animals. Their production will also create less greenhouse gasses.
More on this topic

The best part about eating insects is that they are very different from us humans in their genetic structure. We all know about the different illnesses we can get from pork, chicken, and beef, but there are no recombination of viruses in insects that, when consumed, will affect humans.
What's for Dinner Tonight? Insects

Eating a plate full of locusts for dinner might sound like a crackpot idea that will never happen in the real world. Many cultures across the globe, though, totaling about 80 percent of the world population, already eat over 1000 different types of insects as delicacies. Worldwide, people who don't eat insects are actually the minority.

Will entomophagy ever catch on as a regular practice in the western world, though? The European Commission is hoping that it will. This group feels that eating insects has so many ecological benefits, that they are offering a 4.3 million dollar prize to the group who comes up with the best idea to sell people on entomophagy.

It's not so much a question of if we will see insects on our dinner plate, but when. If prepared correctly, insects can be just as tasty as anything else on our plates. Some trendy restaurants offer insect dishes, and recipes can be found on the internet. You never know, a cricket stir fry may become your new favorite dish.

[vtsnowedin]

I'd much prefer to feed the crickets to the chickens then eat the eggs and chicken.

[Little John]

I'd much prefer to feed the crickets to the chickens then eat the eggs and chicken.

The point about eating the crickets, though, is to avoid the huge energy transfer losses incurred by eating chicken, sheep or cows etc.

If you take another look at that article, the energy transfer losses with crickets is minute compared to the other sources of protein. About 10% for crickets I think as compared to 90% for beef.

Or, to put it another way, if it takes 5 acres to raise a cow (including open pasture and also hay for the winter), it will take less than 2/3 of an acre to produce the same food equivalent in crickets. I should say, the above calculation is based on an entirely self-sufficient system of rearing. The only reason it does not take 5 acres to feed a cow at the moment is due to the use of fossil fuel inputs/other food inputs brought in from outside and we all know what the problem is with that.

Additionally, I have also discovered the following site showing which insects are edible and how to prepare them as food.

http://insectsarefood.com/

[kenneal - lagger]

I think I've just eaten a few insects in my salad, judging by the crunch!!

We eat prawns and shrimps so what's different in eating insects? That's a purely rhetorical quest you understand.

[Snail]

Seaweed. Dulse I think comtains significant protein too. I like picking it from the shore, quickly wash it in the sea, and chew&eat it raw. I'd like to eat more of it but unsure how safe it is to eat pollution-wise?

What about sprouts? Do seed sprouts give much nutrients, compared to the full vegetable.

[adam2]

As conventional foodstuffs become more expensive, not all will be able to afford these.
More reliance will have to be placed on artificial or manufactured foodstuffs.
These are available right now ! but so far have found only limited demand,
HUGE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY.
BUY SHARES NOW IN THE WORLDS LEADING PRODUCER.
An ethical investment, what could be better than "feeding the world, one person at a time"

http://www.rachelaaron.net/soylent/investment.html

[vtsnowedin]

I'd much prefer to feed the crickets to the chickens then eat the eggs and chicken.

The point about eating the crickets, though, is to avoid the huge energy transfer losses incurred by eating chicken, sheep or cows etc.

If you take another look at that article, the energy transfer losses with crickets is minute compared to the other sources of protein. About 10% for crickets I think as compared to 90% for beef.

Or, to put it another way, if it takes 5 acres to raise a cow (including open pasture and also hay for the winter), it will take less than 2/3 of an acre to produce the same food equivalent in crickets. I should say, the above calculation is based on an entirely self-sufficient system of rearing. The only reason it does not take 5 acres to feed a cow at the moment is due to the use of fossil fuel inputs/other food inputs brought in from outside and we all know what the problem is with that.

Additionally, I have also discovered the following site showing which insects are edible and how to prepare them as food.

http://insectsarefood.com/

OK have it your way but how do you fence in a cows worth of crickets?

[Little John]

I'd much prefer to feed the crickets to the chickens then eat the eggs and chicken.

The point about eating the crickets, though, is to avoid the huge energy transfer losses incurred by eating chicken, sheep or cows etc.

If you take another look at that article, the energy transfer losses with crickets is minute compared to the other sources of protein. About 10% for crickets I think as compared to 90% for beef.

Or, to put it another way, if it takes 5 acres to raise a cow (including open pasture and also hay for the winter), it will take less than 2/3 of an acre to produce the same food equivalent in crickets. I should say, the above calculation is based on an entirely self-sufficient system of rearing. The only reason it does not take 5 acres to feed a cow at the moment is due to the use of fossil fuel inputs/other food inputs brought in from outside and we all know what the problem is with that.

Additionally, I have also discovered the following site showing which insects are edible and how to prepare them as food.

http://insectsarefood.com/

OK have it your way but how do you fence in a cows worth of crickets?

You don't, you grow them under very high density conditions in small rooms. From what I have read, they need very little space as long as you give them somewhere to eat, to mate and to lay eggs. In terms of food, they are fantastically unfussy will eat anything green.

[RenewableCandy]

Fille and Fils both hail from North o'the Border and do, in fact, prefer to eat porridge for breakfast in the winter. We recetly had a go at cycling-and-camping, never done it before, and it has to be said that oats are the best start to that kind of day.

Anyone remember that Scott's Porridge advert from the 1970s "Scotland's energy supplies will last until at least lunchtime" or somesuch?

[JavaScriptDonkey]

Seaweed. Dulse I think comtains significant protein too. I like picking it from the shore, quickly wash it in the sea, and chew&eat it raw. I'd like to eat more of it but unsure how safe it is to eat pollution-wise?

What about sprouts? Do seed sprouts give much nutrients, compared to the full vegetable.

Along with shellfish you have to be careful that you aren't down stream of industrial , agricultural or sewage out flow.

There used to be outbreaks of Cholera along the West Scotland coast (Saltcoats) caused by locals eating shellfish that had been thriving in the sewage washed down from Glasgow.