Before we started, I asked society how they see the world in 100 years. The first answer we received was “wow that’s a long time away, I wouldn’t even be alive anymore!” We asked them to use their imagination and imagine our world 100 years later. The perceptions (Empfindung) of the people we interviewed were all very similar. They all imagined a world which would continue to evolve and automate. Many workstations would be replaced by robots. There would also be new and faster means of transportation – Maybe even flying cars. Our climate would continue to increase in temperature. The world population would increase by several billion and therefore our field and forests would disappear and become cities. On the contrary maybe our houses would be covered with a green wall. What is a green wall? A green wall is a wall covered with greenery (plants, flowers etc.).
The most common answer we received was that the fate (Schicksal) of our world is in our hands.
Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash
Our world is in our hands / (c) unsplash.com, Bill Oxford
The food in 100 years
Interview with a food scientist
We conducted an interview with Mrs. Michel who studied food science at the ETH in Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and is now doing a PhD (doctorate) at the Institute for Environmental Decisions and Consumer Behavior.
1. Close your eyes and describe what the world would look like in 100 years according to your personal imagination and research knowledge
Most buildings will be renovated to store heat in winter and keep out the heat in summer. Our bodies would be equipped with Via sensors, which would inform us if something is missing or unusual happens. Personalized nutritional recommendations will enable us to provide our body with exactly the substances it needs at any given time.
2. How will the food develop?
In the future, nutrition (Ernährung) will be more personalized. Everyone will know exactly how many carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and other nutrients their body needs. These substances, which our body needs, will be specially customized into drinks and meals. In order to reduce climate change, the majority of the people would take on a vegetarian diet.
3. Do you think the insects will play an important role in human nutrition?
The insects will not prevail (durchsetzen) as food in our culture. But it can be for the production of dog and cat food. So that no other animals would have to be slaughtered (Schlachtung) for this feed.
4. How will artificial (künstlich) food develop and will people continue to eat more of this kind of food in the future?
As a food scientist, I find it difficult to answer this question because the term “artificial food” is very difficult to grasp. For example, it would be possible to buy meat from a laboratory. Provided that the laboratory meat is cheaper, tasted just as good and if not possible, would be healthier than conventional meat. With the current ecological efforts, it could be that more and more people will start growing and cooking their own food again. This way, awareness would increase of food and its ingredients.
For the whole interview (in German) please click Essen in 100 Jahren (PDF)
The opinion of society
Many people say that in about 100 years we will consume less to no meat at all. But in order to keep our proteins, we would have to switch to other possibilities of food. For example, worms and maybe insects in general.
An interesting answer which we received was that drinking water could run out from time to time. That would be a big problem for us humans because we need water to exist. We must use our resources carefully and economically. Another exciting answer we received was that in 100 years our food would no longer be packaged in plastic but in reusable, recyclable and perhaps even eatable packaging, all of which are environmentally friendly. With these interesting answers, we are curious on how our food will change in the future.
The climate in 100 years
Interview with a climate scientist
We conducted an interview with Professor Dr. Grosjean. He is a professor at the University of Bern and director of the climate research center