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Columnist and Technology

How Star Trek-style replicators could lead to a food revolution

Our Future Chronicles column explores an imagined history of inventions and developments yet to come. This time, Rowan Hooper takes us to the early 2030s, when a technological step change enabled us to produce all the food we needed without the use of animals

By Rowan Hooper

11 September 2024

Close up Shot of a Lab-Grown Cultured Vegan Meat Sample Held by the Scientist in Blue Glove. Medical Scientist Working on Plant-Based Beef Substitute for Vegetarians in Modern Food Science Laboratory.; Shutterstock ID 1919496239; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

“Microbially derived food products let consumers eat meat, fish, cheese, eggs and milk that tasted just like the real thing”

Shutterstock/Gorodenkoff

The food revolution burst into the open in the early 2030s. Microbial processes were developed that allowed us to brew all the proteins we needed for our food without using animals, on a tiny fraction of the land, for less money. Such a disruptive technology hadn’t been seen since the industrial revolution.

The dairy industry was the first to collapse. Milk is mostly water, sugar and a bit of fat. Two kinds of proteins, casein and whey, make up…

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