Soy spaghetti and dandelion salad: climate scientists talk about the food of the future

Fried seaweed noodles, soya spaghetti and dandelion salad: climate scientists have revealed what we will eat for dinner in the future. Dishes such as shepherd's pie and fish and chips will soon disappear from British dinner menus in favour of more sustainable options, according to a new report.

Scientists and HelloFresh have predicted what Britons will eat in just 10 years as humanity battles to stop climate change. The menu of the near future features five very unusual dishes that will not contain meat, writes the Daily Mail.

These include stir-fries with kelp noodles, and mushroom “meatballs” on a bed of sorghum. Dandelion salad is also served with teff galette, a French pie made with teff, a highly nutritious ancient grain. The spaghetti of the future will be made with soy protein, and ramen with tempeh, an alternative protein made from fermented soybeans.

Experts say we will see these dishes in the next 10 years or so, but by 2050 they will be in fashion and widely used in homes.

All five dishes contain no meat and very little cheese, which research shows are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane, the Daily Mail notes. Many of the crops used in the dishes are grown with minimal emissions. But others are particularly heat-resistant, making them well suited to growing in high-temperature environments.

“Our diets in 2050 are likely to look different, but perhaps not in the ways people think,” says Dr Joseph Poore, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford. “Climate change will mean we will need to grow a wider range of drought- and heat-tolerant crops, some of which our ancestors would have grown. We will also need to eat a diet lower in animal products to prevent serious global warming; these foods will be good for our health and the planet.”

Experts believe that the popular foods of the future will fall into four categories: native UK crops, greenhouse gas sinks, Andean and African crops, and locally grown "exotic" foods. Native UK crops include leafy greens and flowers such as sorrel, rowan and fat hen, as well as grains and seeds such as buckwheat, rye and camelina. These were once part of the traditional British diet but have disappeared from menus over the past 50 years.

Greenhouse gas sinks include tree crops like nuts, citrus, and olives, which remove greenhouse gases from the air, and mussels and oysters, which absorb carbon in their shells. Other carbon-absorbing ingredients that will become more common in our diets include seaweed, a staple in many Asian cuisines, and edible cacti, which can be used in everything from tacos to jam.

Meanwhile, Andean and African crops are well-adapted to the unpredictable climate and are set to become regulars on our tables in the coming years, claims the Daily Mail. Kiwicha and canihua, two Andean relatives of quinoa, as well as teff and fonio, African “millet” grains, are likely to become the new “supergrains”. Meanwhile, bambara and marama beans may soon compete with lentils, chickpeas and kidney beans for a place in our traditional stews.

Finally, 'exotic' foods that were previously grown overseas will be grown in the UK, thanks in large part to warmer temperatures. Examples include avocados, as well as durum wheat (used to make pasta), soya beans, chickpeas, okra and citrus fruits.

“We can expect many changes in the way we live and eat in the future,” says Dr. Morgaine Gay, a food futurist involved in the new study. “Despite all the changes in how and what we eat, cooking together will remain an important way to connect with our senses, our friends and family, and the natural world. AI will not be able to replace the joy of eating at home with the people we love.”