Zac Efron gets taste of strange food and sustainable travel in Down to Earth

Zac Efron's new travel shows wants to rethink where our food and energy come from. Photo / Supplied, Netflix

Those in the search for vicarious travel television are in for a treat.

Hollywood actor Zac Efron has been travelling the world for a new Netflix docuseries named Down To Earth, in the search for some "new perspectives on some very old problems".

The series Down To Earth Efron shows presenter Efron interviewing "top-eco innovators" around the world while "eating really, really well." At turns an environmental commentary and others a cooking show - could this show finally be a successor to Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown?

Zac Efron is supplying a dose of vicarious travel TV. Photo / Supplied, Netflix

The show promises no shortage of strange dishes such as dung-smoked dishes, grubs and durian 'stink fruit'. However, beyond having a taste for strange and exotic meals, the show is about consumption more generally. It's time for us to rethink how we consume everything: "from our food to our power."

To help rethink our modern diet of food, water and energy, Efron will be joined by wellness guru and nutritionist Darin Olien.

The 32 year old film star has been filming in the UK, France, Costa Rica and Iceland, Puerto Rico, and Peru - but don't fret, this travel has all been undertaken in the name of sustainability. At each location he and Olien will be exploring new, more responsible ways to generate food and energy - and picking up the odd bit of rubbish while they're at it.

Zac Efron and Darin Olien are going to be eating really, really well. Photo / Supplied, Netflix

It's TV to make you feel better about the state of the world and travel, even while these international destinations may seem a long way off.

Down to Earth comes to Netflix US on July 10, though New Zealand has not yet got an airing date.

While you'll have to wait for Zac Efron's take on travel TV, there's another show in the pipeline. The actor also starred in an adventure travel series Killing Zac Efron for rival streaming service Quibi.

Eat, Pray, Recycle: Efron says his show is about rethinking consumption. Photo / Supplied, Netflix

For this show Efron's efforts are less about the sustainable and more about survival.
Dropped into the jungle of an unknown island with nothing but a guide and the most basic equipment, he is given the challenge of surviving for 21 days on his wits and what he can find.