Manufacturing Food

Manufacturing Food. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

I have read a couple of stories in the last couple of days that have made me chuckle and then scratch my head. Farmers and ranchers have been working hard to supply food for a growing population. Companies are working to develop more disease and pest resistance strains of products so higher yields can be produced to feed that population. Then there are things like the two stories I read. One was about a man who has come up with a liquid diet that can sustain the human body for weeks. It is made of all sorts of powders to supply the nutrients needed. He developed it mainly because he didn’t like to cook and that when he did it took too much time out of his day. Then there is the story of the scientists who have manufactured essentially a hamburger in a lab. With a much publicized taste test the testers claimed while it felt like a burger in their mouth it did not taste much like it since there was no extra fat. All this leads me to the head scratching part. Why? Is this something you would really want to eat or drink day after day? There have been a number of science fiction movies made on the subject. I for one do not have a problem with a nice fat juicy hamburger and I know it will taste like it. And yes, I have had the odd power shake from time to time but I also love my time in the kitchen creating new flavors. We have the answer to the growing population and that is to simply support agriculture and stop trying to fix something that isn’t broken. I’ll be back after this.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.