“Novel food” on the table
On 28 October 2015, the European Parliament gave the green light to new rules for the introduction and sale of so-called “novel foods”, unusual, destined for our tables; while on November 11, also came the OK of the EU Council and, therefore, the legislation will come into force.
The nobel food, are all those foods that, before 15 May 1997, the date of adoption of the old regulation, were not consumed in the European Union. These insects such as crickets and ants, but not only that: algae, foods made in the laboratory and supplements or fruit juice obtained with particular techniques of pasteurization.
Belgium and the Netherlands are some of the European countries where it is permitted the human consumption of certain species of insects. For example: as locusts fried snacks.
In 2050, in an overpopulated planet, according to UN estimates. United have to double the world food production, reduce waste and food experience “alternative”. So appetizer grasshoppers, soup and seaweed, as the second, a man-made burgers on the grill.
The algae at the base of the food chain, are the real engine of the green table of the future; worms, along with grasshoppers, crickets, ants and spiders, are recommended by the FAO as a sustainable alternative to meat.
Not only. Zhikang Li, a Chinese botanist, has crossed over 250 rice varieties from 16 different countries to get a type of plant without the use of GMOs, which could feed 100 million people in more than now; to reduce by 60% the environmental impact of meat, for some time, Mark Post, a professor at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, is working on the project to launch artificial meat grown in vitro from stem cells of pigs.
