In vitro meat or insects anyone?

If you look toward the future with an eye on food, and in particular with an eye on meat, you might find that you start to squirm. New Zealanders - like much of the developed world - are comparatively big meat consumers, averaging a little under 300g of meat each day. What's often overlooked is the impact this has economically, culturally and environmentally.

The world's population is growing rapidly and an increasing proportion of those people have higher standards of living than before. The environmental side-effects, combined with a growing demand for meat and other high-input resource foods such as dairy, means current meat consumption levels cannot be maintained forever. Projections suggest meat production will plateau by 2030 because of limited resources and environmental costs. So what will be on the horizon - or on our plates - in the foreseeable future?

In vitro (lab-grown) meat
This is meat grown from stem cells in petri dishes. It sounds like the stuff of sci-fi movies, but it is very much a reality although - for a number of reasons, including commercial viability - it is likely to be a few more years before we see it on supermarket shelves. Although the 'yuck factor' means this product will require some aesthetic dressing up or disguising, it has many potential benefits. It could become a more environmentally benign way of producing meat, animal welfare factors are not such an issue, and its leanness means that it would be a healthier alternative to other meat products.

GMM - genetically modified meat
Genetic modification allows you to make animals 'do' things differently from their non-modified counterparts, including growing faster and being more environmentally friendly. Examples are salmon modified to grow more rapidly; the 'enviropig' (or 'frankenpig', depending on your view of GMO), which has been modified to decrease its phosphorus output and reduce harm to waterways; or cows that fart less to limit the amount of methane they produce. As with in vitro meat, many consumers will have reservations about eating something they deem as 'unnatural', but there's every likelihood that such flesh will be on our plates in future.

Insects
Endomophagy (eating insects) has been receiving a fair bit of media attention in recent years - and for good reason. Insects are widely eaten in different parts of the world and provide a lean source of protein that is often abundantly available. The 'yuck factor' is again a consideration here and some aesthetic work may need to occur for such foods to be deemed more palatable to those not accustomed to eating them. Mealworm, crickets and grasshoppers are popular candidates for mini-livestock production.

Nose-to-tail consumption
While not new, nose-to-tail consumption is, as the name suggests, eating as much of an animal as possible in order to waste as little as possible. The environmental benefits of consuming everything from offal to pig trotters comes from limiting waste and reducing demand. This eating practice is experiencing a renaissance moment with some celebrity chefs exalting the taste sensations you get from consuming animals' lesser-eaten parts (in a New Zealand context at least).

Non-meat proteins
If all of the above leaves you a little nauseous, the simplest idea is to eat non-meat proteins. This doesn't have to be the specifically-designed vegetarian products made to replicate meat - and it does not have to mean forgoing meat completely. It could simply be a well-balanced diet that includes a combination of vegetables, legumes, nuts and grains that, together, provide all the sustenance that humans require, with meat playing a much lesser role. ?