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ScienceGlobal issues

What Foods Will We be Eating in the Future?

July 26, 2024

How nutritious are our intensively cultivated crops? What would happen if we all started to eat vegan diets tomorrow? What should farmers plant on fields? And does biofuel made from plants make sense?

https://p.dw.com/p/4iiTR
Poke Bowl Vegan mit gebratenem Tofu
Image: Michael Bihlmayer/CHROMORANGE/picture alliance
Various Vegetables
Various VegetablesImage: Sina Schuldt/dpa/picture alliance

What would happen if all humans went vegan?

If everyone gave up animal products at once, what would that mean for us and the planet? How realistic is a world without packaged meat, leather shoes or soap? And what would happen to our farm animals?

 

Was food more nutritious in the past?

Ever more grain, fruit and vegetables – high-yield varieties dominate conventional agriculture. It squeezes as much as possible out of fields and plantations. What does that do to our food? Is it still as rich in nutrients as it used to be?

 

Various superfoods
Various superfoodsImage: Daniel Dash/Zoonar/picture alliance

New crops – food production and climate change

In many places, the weather is turning drier, hotter and more unpredictable, impacting which crop plants flourish. So what will we grow in the future? In Germany, agricultural scientists are experimenting with crops like amaranth, quinoa and chia.

 

Biofuels – crops for the table or the tank?

Should we only put rapeseed oil on salads, or also use it to power our cars? Fuel production from biomass raises water consumption and isn’t terrifically efficient. Many energy experts say power from the sun and wind are better alternatives.

 

 

 

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