Since we’re on the topic of foods this week (or the faking of foods anyway), I thought it be brilliant to bring to light another 2 issues that are closely tied to it – world hunger and the infinite argument of animal cruelty through its consumption in the human food chain.
Scientists first set to work on creating substitutes for natural foods as an answer to the diminishing/imbalanced supply of food in the world. They set their eyes on achieving the ultimate goal – that was to be able to mass create food and keep it at a sustainable supply level. Did they make it? Sort of but there’s still a long way to go.
So we get that one of the greatest task at hand is about the supply of meat. Presently the farming industry is under much scrutiny for their contribution to green house gas emissions and the unhealthy use of genetic modifications in their effort to meet supply demands. The most hoped for success in the scientific arena right now is probably the successful introduction of the in-vitro meat into the consumer market but there are still lots of controversy surrounding it from a question of safety to a question of morals. Would vegetarians and vegans consume in-vitro meat?
But there really is an easier substitute for meat. Did you realize that vegetarian meat has been around for centuries? The Chinese have that creation perfected to a tee. They can mimic practically any meat (chicken, beef, pork, fish) with the use of soya bean or soya bean curd and it’s perfectly safe (unlike the fake beef we highlighted yesterday). Now I wouldn’t dare vouch for the vegetarian meat that comes in a can because I’m pretty sure some additives/preservatives are going to be in them but the ones you make on your own at home definitely are. And if you think it’s an elaborate effort to make a vegetarian meat then you’re wrong because it’s really simple as you can tell from these recipes.
I suppose taking things a step further from this traditional Buddhist diet innovation is Hsieh and Huff (Hsieh is a professor of biological engineering and food science in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and Harold Huff is a senior research specialist, both of the University of Missouri) who are trying to create the perfect soy chicken product that can be sold to the market as an acceptable substitute for the poultry meat as it looks, feels and tastes like real chicken (i.e. not processed in a can but rather packed like how fresh chicken meat would be).
