Japanese alternative food products to tackle hunger

It is estimated that at least 720 million people in the world are currently unable to eat enough food. In other words, about 1 in 9 people are considered to be hungry.

The rising costs of food shortages are beginning to directly affect even the United Kingdom and the United States, especially due to the climate crisis, pandemics, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is becoming an issue that even people living in Global north countries cannot ignore.

Meanwhile, the food technology industry is attracting attention as a countermeasure to the food crisis. In Japan, various alternative food products are being developed to ensure a stable food supply.

Tackling food crisis and fuel problems with Euglena

Euglena Co. Ltd. is developing beverages, cookies, and other products using Euglena, a type of alga.

It has 59 different types of nutrients, including both animal and plant. It is expected that the mass cultivation of Euglena will contribute to the world’s food shortages. Furthermore, the company is involved in a biofuel business that produces fuel from Euglena and is a remarkable company working to solve both the food crisis and the global fuel issue.

Sustainable beetle farming

TOMUSHI is a company that produces edible beetles in an eco-friendly way. They reuse organic waste from shiitake mushroom cultivation as bait, and as of July 2022, the company processes 300 tons of waste mycorrhizal beds annually and has reached a production of 60,000 beetles.

Local cuisine with insects

In some areas of Japan, such as mountainous regions where marine products are scarce, insect-eating has long taken root. For instance, locust is one of the most common insects that have been eaten for a long time. While locust is considered a pest that eats rice, it has also been considered a “feast” caught as a byproduct of rice production. Usually, it is seasoned with sugar and soy sauce are still available at souvenir stores and delicatessen corners.

Besides, black wasps’ larvae are also consumed and cooked as cooked rice or nectar.

The food crisis is an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed immediately. In addition to promoting new food materials such as entomophagy and indoor plant cultivation unaffected by extreme weather and pests, it could be necessary to work from multiple angles to increase production efficiency through adopting advanced science and technology and the development of infrastructure.