Soylent and cricket patties - the food of the future? Interview with Food&Science researcher Vsevolod Ostakhnovich

Vsevolod Ostakhnovich was the founder of a farm food store and worked as a cook. But at some point, his interest shifted to Food & Science, a field that is sometimes called bromatology in Russia.

This is a hybrid discipline in which food products are studied: their safety, the effect of various nutrients on the human body, new technologies for processing them, and so on.

However, first of all, Vsevolod is still a blogger who shares useful scientific information about food with people. We talked to him about the most common misconceptions about nutrition and the diet of the future.

What facts about food are actually myths

What is your least favorite myth about food and cooking?

— My unloved myth is that products are not created equal. There are good ones and there are bad ones. It reflects the view of the world in principle.

I talked a lot on this topic with my friends, explained to them that the body breaks down both avocados and burgers into simple basic blocks, without marking them as “good” and “bad”. And they answered me: “I still do not believe that french fries useful."

Speaking of cooking... I've moved away from this topic and think more about food in general. But from the last such case was remembered. I watched videos of Gordon Ramsay, Michelin starred chef. He said: "It is imperative to add vegetable oil to the butter in order to lower the temperature and make sure that the butter does not burn." It is not true. Vegetable oil will also heat up and burn if you do not follow it.

What fact that initially seemed true to you was actually a myth?

— That vegan and vegetarian diets are harmful. I read that people adhering to themare not getting certain nutrients. But it turned out that this was not the case.

Vegan and vegetarian diets, like any other, can be healthy or unhealthy, depending on how they are formulated.

Omnivorous people can also have distortions: someone eats a lot of chocolate and few fruits, and someone eats a lot of meat and few vegetables. As a result, both of them receive less of some nutrients and suffer from a deficiency in the long term.

However, the vegan diet consists of more restrictions. Yes, you can get all the necessary macro- and microelements from plant foods. But it's harder to do so. People on these diets need to be more careful about what's on their plates.

I am not promoting anything. I am neither a vegetarian nor vegan. But the truth is more important.

- Are people's fears about food supplements E-101, E-20 and the like justified? What are they for?

- Not substantiated. The food industry is developing successfully. Hundreds of years ago, people baked sour gray bread with bran, mixing it with straw from the stables, usedhe Journal of Health, Volume 3 toxic food colorings and poured lead into the wine, achieving a sweet aftertaste.

Now we have an organization for the control of nutritional supplements - joint committeeJoint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives / World Health Organization FAO/WHO experts on food additives. And when a substance is assigned an E-number, it means that it has been tested and found to be suitable for food.

At the same time, in the food industry, the use of a certain additive is allowed only in the permitted amount, which is 100 times lower than the permissible daily dose.

Additives are not used to bring the theory to life "Golden Billion"The Golden Billion is a conspiracy theory according to which some powerful government is trying to reduce the world's population to one billion people.. They are needed solely to ensure that the product is safe and has certain qualities. For example, at home, we will not be able to get juice in which pieces of fruit will float evenly throughout the volume: they will simply settle to the bottom. But thanks to the achievements of the food industry, we will achieve this effect.

Another example: milk turns sour in the heat in a few hours. Food additives prolong its life by removing pathogenic flora - bacteria, mold fungi.

We often worry about things we shouldn't. People use alcohol and nicotine. And it's proven carcinogens. That's what you need to think about, and not focus on baseless fears. A couple of glasses of vodka can easily outdo the harm from eating supplements.

What will we eat in the future?

Q: How would you rate Soylent and other all-purpose foods that are only meant to provide nutrients?

— SoylentSoylent is a powdered product that dissolves in water. As conceived by the creator, it should completely replace traditional food, as it contains all the substances necessary to maintain life. is a Silicon Valley toy. It was invented by a programmer whose level of scientific knowledge remains in question. This is what the development most likely looked like. People googled what micro and macro elements a person needs, threw them into a conditional mixer and said: “Here is a drink that will provide you with food for the rest of the day.” But it's not right.

Because, firstly, it is not by chance that in the course of evolution we received teeth and a digestive system capable of processing complex fibrous products. If she doesn't work, she will die.

Secondly, science still does not know exactly which substances we should receive. Thyme alone contains dozens of chemicals. How to understand what is important and necessary, and what is not? To do this, it is necessary to conduct complex multifaceted studies.

This is a lot of work. Therefore, scientists advise to make a variety of diets. It is incorrect to reduce everything to a set of 30-50 useful elements.

- Is the prospect of growing meat from a test tube real? Can such production be put on stream?

— Another project that, at first glance, seems cool. However, there are currently too many restrictionsLab-grown meet is supposed to be inevitable. The science tells a different story / The Counter.

Technologies for creating artificial fabrics develop very slowly. In addition, it is unlikely that it will be possible to make a product with their help that would completely repeat the texture of meat. Maximum - a semblance of minced meat.

— Now there is a lot of talk about the fact that due to climate change, some foods are disappearing from the diet. What can we lose in the future?

“Now we are forced to grow varieties that are resistant to various environmental conditions: drought, humidity, beetle dominance. There is a rejection of rare species, the generalization of everything. We lose a lot every year.

In addition, some varieties become unprofitable to grow: they quickly deteriorate. Why do you think "plastic" tomatoes are sold all over the world? They are just easy to carry.

Do you think people will eat less meat in the future?

- I think yes. Perhaps one day we will all have to give it up, because now our planet is suffering from meat production.

- What then could become food in the future, in your opinion?

- Insects. Already NowA. Huys, J. Itterbeeck, H. Klunder, E. Merten, A. Halloran, G. Muir, P. Vantomme. Edible insects: future prospects for food and feed security / FAO they are eaten by about 2 billion people on a regular basis: 31% - beetles, 18% - caterpillars, 14% - bees, wasps and ants. For many, this is the norm.

There is such a thing as a life cycle assessment. Each product receives it based on how its production will affect the environment. Thus, 1 kg of produced beef generates 70 kg of greenhouse gas emissions. For comparisons: 1 kg of potatoes - only 500 g, insects - even lower.

At the same time, insects are a nutritious product. For example, mealworms are comparable to beef in terms of protein. In addition, many insects are rich in vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, iron, and zinc.

- Are there any industrial enterprises for the production of products from insects now?

- Yes. Every six months, new enterprises are opened where caterpillars, silkworms and cockroaches are grown. The latter are then processed into cricket meal and protein powders or made into patties.