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FUTURE FOOD: Alternate Protein for the Year 2000 by Barbara Ford

FUTURE FOOD: Alternate Protein for the Year 2000

By

Pub Date: May 5th, 1978
Publisher: Morrow

A chatty overview of alternate protein sources, their advantages, drawbacks, and likely dinner-table or feed potentials. Soybeans, of course, come first, both American and Oriental (or fermented) variations, but Ford also describes the research on numerous plant proteins (peanut flour, buffalo gourd, alfalfa leaf), other than traditional animal sources (whey, offal), and the kind of alchemy that turns straw into oyster mushrooms. What makes this such a good bet for popular attention is the restrained tone, easy incorporation of nutritional data (Biological Values, lysine levels, amino acid compositions), and recognition of the origins of resistance: the flatulence factor in bean meals, nutritional miracles that fail the taste test, psychological barriers to termite pilaf or an applesauce surprise cake that features chopped, dried earthworms. Given the nature of research in this area, one can predict that much of this may be superseded within, say, five years, but for now it's both timely and succinct.