05-22-2013, 11:43 PM
Quote:NASA is investing in a 3D printer which can create food
The company behind it believe it could solve the earth's looming food shortage
Meals would be made from cartridges containing carbohydrates and protein powders
Insects, grass and algae could replace meat and vegetables as the main sources of our protein
The kitchen of the future could see all our fancy devices – even refrigerators and ovens - replaced by a 3D printer which will create meals from cartridges full of carbohydrates, protein powders and oils.
The concept might sound rather far-fetched today, but NASA has just given 3D printer firm Systems & Materials Research Corporation (SMRC) a six month, $125,000 grant to focus on developing a universal food synthesizer.
The device is similar to the ‘replicator’ used in several of the Star Trek TV series which enabled crew members to create their favorite foods.
NASA is investing in the project because it wants to make it easier to transport nutrients in bulk through space, but SMRC’s founder Anjan Contractor believes the device will ultimately help solve the earth’s looming food crisis.
With the earth’s population one day predicted to reach 12 billion people, the strain on our food sources will become immense.
‘I think, and many economists think, that current food systems can’t supply 12 billion people sufficiently,' Contractor told Quartz.
'So we eventually have to change our perception of what we see as food.'
While only the very rich will be able to afford to eat real meat, fish and vegetables, Contractor predicts everyone else will eat customized, nutritionally-appropriate meals synthesized one layer at a time, from cartridges of powder and oil they buy at the corner grocery store.
With traditional food sources extremely rare, those powders could be anything containing the right organic molecules including insects.
Dutch technology company TNO Research has suggested that 3D printing could make it possible to turn food-like starting material, such as algae, insects and grass, into edible meals.
Pizza is an obvious candidate for 3D printing because it has distinct layers and only requires the print head to create one substance at a time.
Contractor plans to start building his 'pizza printer' within the next couple of weeks, he has already printed a chocolate bar using the technology.
It will work by first 'printing' a layer of dough, which is baked at the same time it’s printed, by a heated plate at the bottom of the printer.
Then it will lay down a tomato base, 'which is also stored in a powdered form, and then mixed with water and oil,' says Contractor.
Finally, the pizza will be topped with a 'protein layer,' which could come from any source - which eventually might mean insects or algae.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...algae.html