What are you expecting in 2020?

　　Science fiction has fed us with so many ideas about what thefuture would be like. The movie, Soylent Green no matter howold, still comes to mind for its chilling present-day relevance.

　　Based on a novel written in 1966, Soylent was set in the year2022, and depicted an ugly world dying due to the effects ofclimate change, overpopulation, food scarcity, pollution, and issues similarto what we currently face. Meat was a luxury, so everyday food was, takenote, plant-based, supposedly made from soy, lentil, even plankton (or sowe thought until we reached the movie’s highpoint).

　　The future of food is easier to predict compared to 50 years ago, and I’dlike to think we are better equipped to manage crises in order to preventfood and water scarcity that futurists speak of when pertaining to risingpopulations. In advanced countries, we’re seeing industry’s efforts leaningtoward sustainable sources of ingredients, food, packaging, and wastereduction in every step of production and consumption. Among them isprotein derived from plants. In this issue, we’ve compiled several forecastson plant-based proteins.

　　The research and idea lab, SPACE10 (https://space10.com), has beenexperimenting on future foods, and much of what they’ve come up with aremeals with a mix of vegetables and alternative proteins such as edible insects,spirulina, and lab-grown meat. Microgreens are grown hydroponically.

　　Since many of these ingredients although highly nutritious can turn offconsumers, SPACE10 experts are focusing on flavours so products liketheir Dogless Hotdog and Bug Burger will be enjoyable. That’s what manymanufacturers dream of, and ingredients providers are ready to support themwith texturisers, flavours, colours, and other components.

　　Hydroponics, plant-based, dairy-free chocolate, edible bugs – we knowthem today, and they will be a big part of our future. One of the mostrecent innovations is Barry Callebaut’s M_lk Chocolate, which is said tobe creamy and milky even if it’s dairy-free.

　　But if you ask me, one that I’d like to see come to life is Willy Wonka’s(of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) “three-course chewing gum”which gives you the taste of “tomato soup, roast beef, baked potatoes, thenblueberry pie and ice cream” sequentially. That definitely meets today’s socalledbusy lifestyle. No need to cook, sit down to eat, or wash the dishes.

　　Just chew away. Maybe you’ll even lose weight.

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