Artificial steak may be a ways off, but the future of our food is more likely to be limited by cultural factors than technology. Here’s an excerpt:
Some scientists warn that trying to copy the meats humans are used to is futile – another symptom of our ignorant and unsustainable nostalgia about food. “It’s simplistic to say ‘natural is good’, to reject globalisation and hark back to a mythical past when food was still ‘true and honest’,” says the Dutch intellectual Louise Fresco, a former head of food- innovation research and an advisor to the UN.
“It’s the default thing to do, to try and replicate what you know,” warns van Mensvoort. “It’s not how you innovate. We started with horseless carriages, but in the end what we got was cars. ‘Natural’ is the biggest marketing scam, and the most successful, of all.”
Cultural factors like food nostalgia bump against pragmatic matters when trying to determine the best way to provide adequate nutrition to the world’s population. The question of whether biotechnology is the answer to the world’s growing need for food is one of deep contention. See some of the additional resources below for more perspectives.
Additional Resources:
- Is Organic Agriculture “Affluent Narcissism?”, Forbes
- Genetically modified food-crops: blessing or curse?, The Express Tribune
- Genetic modification can help solve food crisis, Market Watch
View the original article here: Inside the meat lab: the future of food