Introduction

Whatever you eat, but green vegetables, you should always eat. It has a lot of nutrients and it is very good for health because we get it from nature and our body also need organic. It contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. This means that natural food is good for us. Right!

Do you know anything about synthetic food and artificial food? Yes, maybe you know about synthetic food additives for sure. These are such synthetic ingredients that are mixed in food to enhance the appearance, texture, taste and shelf life of the food.

Such as artificial food coloring, high fructose, corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and sugar, gum, etc. Their taste can be easily identified in breads, baked products, chips, beverages, and salad dressings. But these additives do not make health better, but they can definitely down the health.

So, as much as possible, they should be avoided. And you also know this very well. But still it remains to be known that what else do you know about synthetic food? Have you ever heard about it before? It is a little strange to hear that food can also be synthetic.

Yes, now food can also be synthetic. But the question is how? This is what we are going to know in today’s article. That’s why you should invest the next few minutes on reading. That’s because if you want to stay healthy, which I am sure is the first goal of life, that we stay healthy, then Come, let’s start this journey.

What is natural food?

The same which is grown in natural soil. Simple! Which has passed through minimal processing and reached us and which does not contain any preservatives or artificial additives. So this is healthy natural food.

What is Synthetic Food?

So far, we have heard a lot about synthetic clothes, but now we have also come to know a lot about synthetic food. It is known that it is not made in natural soil, that is why it is called synthetic. So the next question is, where is this food made?

In the laboratory. Yes, synthetic food is produced artificially in labs and industrial conditions. That’s why it can also be called artificial food. This type of food grows in a culture medium or growth medium made of chemicals.

In this growth medium, essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and salts are in the correct proportion so that synthetic foods can be grown. These foods generally imitate the appearance, smell, and taste of natural food. That’s why maybe while eating them, you don’t know if it’s natural or made in a laboratory.

Why Synthetic Food?

Now the question is, what is the need to do this? That is, why are you thinking about making synthetic food? So the reason for this is related to the increasing population. Yes, Because the faster the population is increasing, the faster the food resources are not increasing. So in this way, in the future, sufficient food is available for everyone.

Maybe that’s why it’s being thought and everyone knows that everyone needs food. But when so much food production is not possible, then what will everyone eat? In response to this question, synthetic food has been started to be made and for now, a lot of research is concentrating on the production of synthetic foods. Because it is being understood as an alternative to natural food. So this is the reason for synthetic food production.

Production of Synthetic Food

For the production of this synthetic food, cell culture, tissue culture, stem cell technology, fermentation and genetic modification technologies are being used. The stem cell technology used to grow tissues is now being used to produce synthetic meat.

By using these vitro technologies and 3D printing techniques, synthetic meat products are being made. The first biotechnological methods used in medical treatment, in cleaning oil spills, Biofuels used to be used in many applications. Today, the same methods are being used in the production of synthetic food. But when did it start?

NASA was the first organization to start research on synthetic foods, which started this research in space to produce food for its astronauts. Because if astronauts get food easily in space, they will be able to get help in exploring space for a long time. With this thought in mind, NASA started research on synthetic foods production, in which synthetic meat technology was also used.

Synthetic Food Products

After this, there was no shortage of companies following this new concept and producing synthetic foods. There is no shortage of unique and new concept adopters.

Then there are already many such technologies being used before, which are going to increase food production. Like animal cloning, selective breeding, agroecology systems and genetically modified organisms, that is, GMOs.

Can food items like fruits, vegetables, nuts, dairy products and meat be made synthetically? And will burgers and pizzas also come out of the lab onto our plates? Such thoughts are running in your mind, I’m sure. To remove the tangle of all these thoughts, it can be said, yes, this is possible.

Research work on synthetic food production is going on at a very fast pace right now and some synthetic or artificial food products are already made and are becoming quite famous. Such as the Impossible Veggie Meat Burger, Vegan Cheese, Dairy and Cheese Alternatives, lab-grown meat, and plant-based meat alternatives, etc. Molecular whisky, flora-based dairy, and cell-based seafood are going to be some such food items.

Many famous companies are also investing in synthetic foods development, such as Microsoft, Amazon, JBS, Nestle, Tyson Foods, Cargill, Maple Leaf Foods, etc. So, so many big companies are participating in this synthetic food production. That’s why this type of production is going on very fast. Seeing this, it seems that synthetic foods will soon take up their place in the market and stop the food crisis.

Challenges for Synthetic Food

There are many challenges that synthetic foods may have to face. Like cell sourcing, standardized culture media, the availability of animal-derived and synthetic materials, and bioprocessing, etc. for commercial scale production. The challenges faced by society and health care sites will also not be less, in which many questions will be raised about the safe use and ethical use of synthetic foods. This challenge raises the question that is it really right to do synthetic food production? Can it be a good choice for our health? And will it put natural food production at risk?

Concerns and Debates

So, first of all, synthetic foods cannot make their way to every section of society immediately. Initially, they will be dependent on big corporate companies. They can be quite costly and they will be patented. If synthetic food becomes popular, then farmers can be affected by it.

There are also many such research studies going on that want to understand the impact of eating synthetic food. How can this food affect health? And what impact can it have on society? Can synthetic food overpower natural food production? If this happens, the entire ecosystem and biological life balance can also be in danger. Are these food products ethical and safe or not?

At this point, many people are very concerned about nutrition and safety. So many people are also very happy with the wow factor of synthetic food. Some believe it to be very good, but some believe it is not real food. It is very worrisome about synthetic chemicals, heavy metals and artificial preservatives added to it. There are many debates on the use of such technologies in food production. If you want to know the opinion of an environmentalist, he prefers naturally grown food items.

Conclusion

For now, it cannot be said whether synthetic food production is ethical or not. whether it is safe or not, and whether it is a healthy choice or not. Because this will only be known in the future, when the results of the research on synthetic food production and the studies on its impact will come out. Untill by then, we have learned that apart from natural food, there is also something like synthetic food, on which work is going on rapidly, and which is not made in the soil but in the lab, so that the lack of food sources can be eliminated in the future.