Engineering food has already left the laboratory and begun to enter the market. However, whether engineering food technology provides a real opportunity for systemic change will depend on research progress, social, political, and economic considerations, as well as consumer acceptance.
Imagine sitting down to eat a 3D printed steak, paired with nutritionally optimized rice and "health promoting" tomatoes, while drinking a glass of lab produced milk - such a meal is no longer purely imagined, at least from a technical perspective, it is completely achievable. Throughout history, the way humans produce and consume food has been constantly changing, often in line with human lifestyles, agricultural practices, and climate change. Today, over 3 billion people worldwide cannot afford a healthy diet, and many food production processes by humans have adverse effects on the climate. Therefore, global food production, human consumption patterns, and agricultural practices urgently need to be adjusted to meet food demand, democratize food distribution, ensure nutritional quality and ingredient safety, and mitigate adverse environmental impacts. Despite concerns about animal welfare.
The increasingly mature technology... can be used to produce healthier, sustainable, and more food with fewer resources and lower carbon footprints, creating opportunities to redefine food consumption patterns to achieve sustainable diets
We are currently developing biotechnology and bioengineering tools to address some of the issues by modifying plants, mammalian cells, and microorganisms to produce food and food ingredients in a sustainable, environmentally friendly, and animal free manner. Increasingly mature technologies, such as genome editingCell agriculture and microbial based food production can be used to produce healthier, sustainable, and more food with fewer resources and lower carbon footprints, creating opportunities for redefining food consumption patterns to achieve sustainable diets. In addition, people are exploring alternatives to meat and dairy products with animal welfare awareness. The Singapore Food Agency approved the first cultured meat product (cell cultured chicken) for commercial use in 2020. Especially, animal free products will have a significant impact on reducing the environmental impact of food production, as most of the adverse consequences of the global food system in terms of land use, water use, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions are caused by animal derived food.
However, due to the uncertainty brought by new technologies, people often hold a skeptical attitude towards genetically modified foods. Therefore, social dialogue and communication are crucial for building trust, changing mindsets, developing transitional pathways, and preventing negative impacts. In addition, the price of the final product is a key determinant of how the engineering food market evolves, therefore, more research is needed to simplify and optimize the production of engineering food. It is important to conduct a strong analysis of the feasibility and potential impact of technological innovation.
This issue of Nature Reviews Bioengineering focuses on the technological advancements and opportunities in engineered food technology, including genome edited foods, cell-based meat cultivation, engineered microorganisms for food additive production, and cellular agriculture for milk production. In addition, two start-up companies that produce silk food packaging and cultured meat respectively also discussed the challenges they face in bringing their products to market. In addition, in a review article, two robotics experts emphasized the potential role of robotics technology in changing agricultural and cooking practices, and challenged the current scientific narrative of disseminating new food and agricultural technologies to the public.
To determine the role of new biotechnology in future food, extensive conceptualization of food security, political economy, and agricultural practices is needed to ensure that technological progress is translated into sustainable food that is widely accepted by consumers. Otherwise, even if 3D printed meat and genetically modified rice are produced, they cannot be bought or eaten. Therefore, whether engineered food can become a game changer for future food depends not only on technological progress, but also on how these technologies are implemented and disseminated in the economic and socio political context.
Editor: Sichuan Jinzhongde Science and Technology Research Institute
Source: High functional film
