Brits think they’ll be dining on 3D-printed foods, meals in powder form, and dishes made from algae in the near future, according to research. A poll of 2,000 adults found 55 percent believe the food we eat will be grown in a lab, and 40 percent think we’ll get used to eating designer foods, tailored to individual health needs.
In fact, 16 percent would be happy to swap their current diet for an under-the-sea style feast consisting of algae, while 17 percent would be willing to eat their future meals in powder form. It also emerged Brits expect these types of diets to be adopted within the next 12-and-a-half years.
But what some might consider to be “future foods”, others are already eating – with one in 20 using algae in cooking, and eight percent already eating foods in powder form, according to the research commissioned by California Almonds.
Danielle Veenstra, a spokeswoman from the brand, said: “It’s promising to see that people are looking to food to help bring more sustainability into their lives. Some of these future foods may actually be coming sooner than we think.
“For example, new innovations in the food space are using what are traditionally seen as agricultural by-products, such as crop by-products, as food ingredients in their own right – almonds hulls being a prime example.”
The research also found over half of adults (56 percent) believe meals will be far more sustainable within the next century.
But many are already taking steps to eat more sustainability, with 34 percent of those who follow a vegetarian or plant-based diet doing so for environmental reasons.
The stats also revealed that just 15 percent think we will be eating foods made from agricultural waste – which could be crop by-products, like plant stems or leaves – in the future, despite innovations being made in this space.
And 57 percent admitted they know nothing at all about foods made from agricultural waste. But despite this lack of awareness around the future of low-waste foods, 76 percent are already utilising food waste in meals at home – such as turning stale bread into croutons, or using vegetable trimmings to make broth, according to the research, carried out via OnePoll.
Plant-based chefs Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, aka BOSH!, said: “We are hugely excited to see all the incredible innovations being incorporated into our diets and onto our plates in the future, especially those which support sustainable and plant-based diets.
“We are huge advocates for supporting our planet and our people, and would love to see a world with zero-waste, repurposed products and future foods. It’s the way forward.
“One future food innovation that we’ve tried recently is actually made from an ingredient many of us will find in our kitchen cupboards – almonds.
“The almond hulls, which grow around the nut’s shell, are being used in promising food developments – such as tea and coffee alternatives, nutritional bars, and even beer.
“We love this, because not only is it a new way to use almond co-products, but upcycled ingredients means we can do more with less.”
Danielle Veenstra, also a third-generation almond farmer, added: “California almond farmers are working to grow almonds in increasingly sustainable ways – one of which is using a zero-waste approach. Everything grown in our orchards is put to good use.”
