34 SCIENCE NEWS | May 7, 2022 & May 21, 2022

FROM TOP: SZJPHOTO/MOMENT/GETTY IMAGES; PONSULAK/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS

THE FUTURE OF FOOD

Each is full of nutrients and

just might survive the

changing climate

By Anna Gibbs

Millet

SOURCE OF: Carbohydrates, protein, minerals (potassium,

phosphorus and magnesium)

USES: Whole grain; gluten-free flour, pasta, chips, beer

The United Nations has declared 2023 the International Year

of Millets (a handful of varieties exist). Quinoa earned the

same honor in 2013, and its sales skyrocketed. First culti-

vated in Asia some 10,000 years ago, millet is a staple grain

in parts of Asia and Africa. Compared with wheat, maize and

rice, millet is much more climate resilient; the crop needs

little water and thrives in warmer, drier environments. Some

more good news: Millet is one of many ancient grains —

including teff, amaranth and sorghum — that are similarly

sustainable and resilient (not to mention capable of being

turned into beer).

Bambara groundnut

SOURCE OF: Protein, fiber, minerals (potassium,

magnesium and iron)

USES: Roasted or boiled; gluten-free flour; dairy-free milk

You’ve heard of almond milk and soy milk. The next

alternative at your coffee shop could be made from

Bambara groundnuts, a drought-tolerant legume native

to sub-Saharan Africa. Like other legumes, the Bambara

groundnut is packed with protein. And bacteria on the

plant convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia so

the groundnut grows well in nutrient-poor soil without

chemical fertilizers. A better understanding of the plant,

says Festo Massawe of Future Food Beacon Malaysia, could

pave the way for breeding programs to help the Bambara

groundnut become as popular as the soybean, a legume

that produces high yields but is less drought tolerant.

SIX

of the future

FOODS

N

o matter how you slice it, climate change will

alter what we eat in the future. Today, just

13 crops provide 80 percent of people’s energy

intake worldwide, and about half of our

calories come from wheat, maize and rice. Yet some of

these crops may not grow well in the higher tempera-

tures, unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events

caused by climate change. Already, drought, heat waves

and flash floods are damaging crops around the world

(SN: 9/25/21, p. 16).

“We must diversify our food basket,” says Festo

Massawe. He’s executive director of Future Food Beacon

Malaysia, a group at the University of Nottingham

Malaysia campus in Semenyih that studies the impact of

climate change on food security.

That goes beyond what we eat to how we grow it. The

trick will be investing in every possible solution: breeding

crops so they’re more climate resilient, genetically engi-

neering foods in the lab and studying crops that we just

don’t know enough about, says ecologist Samuel Pironon

of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London. To feed

a growing population in a rapidly changing world, food

scientists are exploring many possible avenues, while

thinking about how to be environmentally friendly.

Consumer preferences are part of the equation as well.

“It does have to be that right combination of: It looks

good, it tastes good and it’s the right price point,” says

Halley Froehlich, an aquaculture and fisheries scientist

at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Here are six foods that could check all those boxes and

feature more prominently on menus and grocery shelves in

the future.