FROM FOOD TO FUTURE

For the past many decades, futurists have been predicting that very soon our food will be coming from totally sanitised science labs, not farms. It’ll be grown in beakers or petri dishes by people in white coats and will have nothing to do with dirt, rain and farmers.

If that is not scary enough, there is even a possibility that we might go to neighbourhood pharmacies to buy our meals, and grocery stores selling fresh produce will cease to exist. Terms such as taste and texture will no longer be used to describe food. We might not have use for our teeth and could easily forget what it means to chew.

Imagine the family doctor prescribing moth tablets to take care of our vitamin needs, or crickets capsules for protein.

Apologies if I sound like a scaremonger, but trust me, I am equally scared by the enormity of this scenario. I’m hoping this prospect of the future will unfold itself after my time. Either that, or miraculously, farming or nature in general will survive the ravages of time and we will produce enough food to feed the billions we will grow to be. (Now, I’m sure you’ll agree that I am the metaphoric ostrich that buries its head in the sand when faced with danger.)

Since these extreme views of the future might not play out, hopefully, I’ve found a middle ground in what renowned food author Michael Pollan says: Our future lies in our past.

We will be eating what our great grandmothers ate – simple homecooked meals made using fresh fruits and veggies that are grown close to our homes, not in factories thousands of miles away and then flown in to our local supermarket.

Read our feature on page 16 .Itis a proof that my – and Michael’s – look into the crystal ball might not be that far-fetched.

There is a possibility that we might go to neighbourhood pharmacies to buy our meals, and grocery stores selling fresh produce will cease to exist

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