It was interesting to read recently the story of a Tasmanian couple who farm and eat guinea pigs.
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More accurately, it's been interesting to read other peoples reactions to the story.
Despite claims that guinea pig could be more sustainable to farm than other meat animals, requiring little space and food, it turns out lots of people are vehemently opposed to the idea of eating these furry friends.
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Even if guinea pig isn't your cup of tea, it is worth considering where our food comes from and the resources that go into producing it.
As our population grows and climate changes we need to look at ways of producing food that prevent food shortages and malnutrition, but also protect biodiversity and land and water resources. Some of our top scientific minds are working on the issue and have come up with a few ideas ... which may be more or less palatable than a guinea pig.
Insects have been proposed as one food source of the future. They're high in protein, and can be grown with less greenhouse gas emissions.
Australian insect farming is mostly about crickets and mealworms. While a lot of these insects are destined for animal, not human, consumption you can treat yourself to some cricket protein powder, roasted mealworms, or cricket powder pasta.
If the idea of eating bugs is a no from you, then maybe something plant-based would be more to taste.
When it comes to future foods many experts have their money on algae. Microalgae is high in protein, and rich in vitamin B12 and other nutrients. It can be produced in large quantities using less space and water than traditional crops like soybeans.
Microalgae are also of interest as a source of animal feed, biofuel, and for textile production ... apparently there isn't much that algae can't do.
When it comes to meant, over the last decade we've started to hear a lot about "cultured" meat -meat grown in bioreactors.
The process starts with the collection of stem cells from animals, which are then multiplied before being given the signal to turn into something resembling muscle fibres.
The end product apparently looks, smells and tastes like the real deal - and scaled up production will be more water and energy efficient and require less space than traditional farming.
To keep feeding our growing population we might need to stop turning our noses up at guinea pigs and bugs, and embrace these foods of the future.
