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How to make all your food waste disappear

News Feed
Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Composting is not for everyone.I realize this when I go home to visit my parents in Florida, or almost anywhere outside states, such as Vermont, that mandate it. Curbside pickup is rare. Many view it as a chore. Even for people like me who enjoy transforming leftovers into rocket fuel for their garden, composting can turn into a foul, stinking, sulfurous mess.But what if you could make food waste disappear by throwing it into a hole in the ground and walking away. No more fouled trash. Less climate pollution. While researching ways to compost, I discovered an easy method to turn virtually any organic waste from veggie scraps to chicken bones to pet waste back into nature: solar digesters.They don’t produce compost, the rich, fluffy organic matter that turns back into soil. Instead, these biodigesters — typically little more than half-buried plastic cones within a small patch of dirt — harness microbial workhorses and the sun’s heat to transform organic matter into its elemental components, mostly carbon, water, CO2 and micronutrients, says Yichao Rui, a soil scientist in the Department of Agronomy at Purdue University. “Nematodes, bacteria and fungi all work together to decompose all these organic materials,” he says. “Soil organisms large and small primarily digest and eat them,” transforming plant and animal matter back into the building blocks for soil and air.It’s a simple, easy, no-mess solution to keep organic waste out of trash and landfills: 58 percent of all methane emissions from municipal landfills are emitted by rotting food.So this January, I ordered my own “Green Cone,” buried it in the ground, and began filling it with lots of food waste every week to put it to the test. Here’s what happened.The mounting food waste problemEach year, the average household in the United States dumps 300 to 400 pounds of food waste into the trash, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. When this is buried in the airless depths of landfills, it turns into methane, a potent greenhouse gas fueling still more warming.States and federal agencies are hoping to choke off this source of global warming fuel. First, they hope to prevent food waste: encouraging less wasteful food shopping and storage, as well as donations and upcycling (such as reusing for animal feed). But waste will always exist, and a rising share of states now treat food waste similar to recyclables: a valuable material that should never go into the trash.On July 1, 2020, Vermont became the first U.S. state to ban the disposal of most food scraps in the trash or landfills. Most trash haulers must offer food scrap collection or residents can use home composting (residents who compost at home are not required to compost meat and bones — although you can). State officials estimate more than half of food scraps are now being diverted from landfills. Eighty-five percent of Vermonters compost, mostly in their backyards, according to the University of Vermont. Only about a fifth characterize it as “hard or very hard.”States are following Vermont’s lead by adopting food waste restrictions, says Dana Gunders, executive director of ReFED, a food waste reduction group. While most policies initially focus on large businesses, residential mandates become more feasible once compost and distribution facilities are in place. Ten states including Massachusetts and New York, as well as Washington, D.C., now restrict organic waste disposal. “I do think the emerging science demonstrating food in landfills is responsible for around 10 percent of U.S. methane is driving more attention to organic waste bans and diversion goals,” says Gunders.What are solar digesters?Solar digesters remain little known. For now, “soil savers” ($52), an insulated compost bin for cold climates, and “barrel composters” ($38), a compost bin or drum you can rotate to mix the contents inside, are the most popular, says Josh Kelly, a solid waste program manager at the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.But solar digesters are poised to play a much larger role as organic waste bans spread.The most popular design is probably the Green Cone. The digester ($200 retail, or subsidized by many waste agencies) is a two-foot high cone above a plastic mesh basket buried a few inches underground that holds food scraps. The cone concentrates the sun’s heat. A bacterial culture, or “accelerator powder,” is sprinkled on the food scraps occasionally to speed decomposition.The plastic mesh basket allows soil microbes and invertebrates to join the party, while the large air chamber ensures aerobic conditions suppress smells. Since it’s buried underground, most animals are excluded, although wire mesh is recommended if burrowing animals become a problem.How much food waste can it handle? Two pounds per day, or the equivalent of food scraps from one to two families, says Karl Warkomski of Tar River Trading Post, the distributor of Green Cones in the United States. He says a combination of warm internal temperatures as high as 130 degrees and tailored microorganisms make quick work of almost any organic matter, even bones and pet waste (with a special bacterial culture). Every few years, anything remaining in the basket can be dumped. Only woody biomass like branches and yard waste, and industrially compostable plastic are not recommended.How well did my solar digester work?On a warm spring morning, I positioned my Green Cone in my backyard and began filling it with food waste. Over the subsequent months, it consumed everything I threw at it. The level of waste never rose more than a few inches. At one point, I did have a little unwanted help: a burrowing animal broke into the underground basket. I fixed it with cheap wire mesh. It’s still going to this day.Is a solar digester for everyone? You will need to dig a hole in well-drained ground and get enough sunlight. If you have waterlogged or clay soils, you’ll need to elevate the cone so the digestion chamber stays moist, but not soaked. Decomposition slows, but does not stop, in the winter so long as there’s sun exposure. If it’s too pricey (Warkomski says high manufacturing costs in Canada, the United States and Britain, as well as the use of high-grade recycled plastic contribute to higher costs), share with another family or, if you have the time, you can DIY you own.Composting doesn’t have to be hard. With a solar digester, it’s almost too easy. Weeks might go by without emptying the trash. Recycling takes care of the bulkiest things. My Green Cone handles the rest.

Composting is not for everyone. But you haven’t tried solar digesters.

Composting is not for everyone.

I realize this when I go home to visit my parents in Florida, or almost anywhere outside states, such as Vermont, that mandate it. Curbside pickup is rare. Many view it as a chore. Even for people like me who enjoy transforming leftovers into rocket fuel for their garden, composting can turn into a foul, stinking, sulfurous mess.

But what if you could make food waste disappear by throwing it into a hole in the ground and walking away. No more fouled trash. Less climate pollution. While researching ways to compost, I discovered an easy method to turn virtually any organic waste from veggie scraps to chicken bones to pet waste back into nature: solar digesters.

They don’t produce compost, the rich, fluffy organic matter that turns back into soil. Instead, these biodigesters — typically little more than half-buried plastic cones within a small patch of dirt — harness microbial workhorses and the sun’s heat to transform organic matter into its elemental components, mostly carbon, water, CO2 and micronutrients, says Yichao Rui, a soil scientist in the Department of Agronomy at Purdue University. “Nematodes, bacteria and fungi all work together to decompose all these organic materials,” he says. “Soil organisms large and small primarily digest and eat them,” transforming plant and animal matter back into the building blocks for soil and air.

It’s a simple, easy, no-mess solution to keep organic waste out of trash and landfills: 58 percent of all methane emissions from municipal landfills are emitted by rotting food.

So this January, I ordered my own “Green Cone,” buried it in the ground, and began filling it with lots of food waste every week to put it to the test. Here’s what happened.

The mounting food waste problem

Each year, the average household in the United States dumps 300 to 400 pounds of food waste into the trash, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. When this is buried in the airless depths of landfills, it turns into methane, a potent greenhouse gas fueling still more warming.

States and federal agencies are hoping to choke off this source of global warming fuel. First, they hope to prevent food waste: encouraging less wasteful food shopping and storage, as well as donations and upcycling (such as reusing for animal feed). But waste will always exist, and a rising share of states now treat food waste similar to recyclables: a valuable material that should never go into the trash.

On July 1, 2020, Vermont became the first U.S. state to ban the disposal of most food scraps in the trash or landfills. Most trash haulers must offer food scrap collection or residents can use home composting (residents who compost at home are not required to compost meat and bones — although you can). State officials estimate more than half of food scraps are now being diverted from landfills. Eighty-five percent of Vermonters compost, mostly in their backyards, according to the University of Vermont. Only about a fifth characterize it as “hard or very hard.”

States are following Vermont’s lead by adopting food waste restrictions, says Dana Gunders, executive director of ReFED, a food waste reduction group. While most policies initially focus on large businesses, residential mandates become more feasible once compost and distribution facilities are in place. Ten states including Massachusetts and New York, as well as Washington, D.C., now restrict organic waste disposal. “I do think the emerging science demonstrating food in landfills is responsible for around 10 percent of U.S. methane is driving more attention to organic waste bans and diversion goals,” says Gunders.

What are solar digesters?

Solar digesters remain little known. For now, “soil savers” ($52), an insulated compost bin for cold climates, and “barrel composters” ($38), a compost bin or drum you can rotate to mix the contents inside, are the most popular, says Josh Kelly, a solid waste program manager at the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

But solar digesters are poised to play a much larger role as organic waste bans spread.

The most popular design is probably the Green Cone. The digester ($200 retail, or subsidized by many waste agencies) is a two-foot high cone above a plastic mesh basket buried a few inches underground that holds food scraps. The cone concentrates the sun’s heat. A bacterial culture, or “accelerator powder,” is sprinkled on the food scraps occasionally to speed decomposition.

The plastic mesh basket allows soil microbes and invertebrates to join the party, while the large air chamber ensures aerobic conditions suppress smells. Since it’s buried underground, most animals are excluded, although wire mesh is recommended if burrowing animals become a problem.

How much food waste can it handle? Two pounds per day, or the equivalent of food scraps from one to two families, says Karl Warkomski of Tar River Trading Post, the distributor of Green Cones in the United States. He says a combination of warm internal temperatures as high as 130 degrees and tailored microorganisms make quick work of almost any organic matter, even bones and pet waste (with a special bacterial culture). Every few years, anything remaining in the basket can be dumped. Only woody biomass like branches and yard waste, and industrially compostable plastic are not recommended.

How well did my solar digester work?

On a warm spring morning, I positioned my Green Cone in my backyard and began filling it with food waste. Over the subsequent months, it consumed everything I threw at it. The level of waste never rose more than a few inches. At one point, I did have a little unwanted help: a burrowing animal broke into the underground basket. I fixed it with cheap wire mesh. It’s still going to this day.

Is a solar digester for everyone? You will need to dig a hole in well-drained ground and get enough sunlight. If you have waterlogged or clay soils, you’ll need to elevate the cone so the digestion chamber stays moist, but not soaked. Decomposition slows, but does not stop, in the winter so long as there’s sun exposure. If it’s too pricey (Warkomski says high manufacturing costs in Canada, the United States and Britain, as well as the use of high-grade recycled plastic contribute to higher costs), share with another family or, if you have the time, you can DIY you own.

Composting doesn’t have to be hard. With a solar digester, it’s almost too easy. Weeks might go by without emptying the trash. Recycling takes care of the bulkiest things. My Green Cone handles the rest.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

Dear Doctor: Sun exposure is the primary cause of thinning skin

"Could I take vitamin K or increase my platelets to limit this happening?"

DEAR DR. ROACH: I thought you could help with a stubborn problem. I am a healthy and active 78-year-old woman who, I admit, likes to look younger than my age. The problem is my skin, especially on my hands and arms; I get these bruises that look unsightly and take a while to resolve. I hear it is from age-related thin skin. My friends of this generation also complain about these red spots or bruises. They don’t hurt.Could I take vitamin K or increase my platelets so as to limit their happening? I’ve read not to take aspirin or any pain reliever. Is there any medicine to take to help my blood coagulate better or make my skin thicker? -- S.M.ANSWER: This common problem is called solar purpura, and it is largely the sun causing the damage to the skin, thinning it with age. Avoiding the sun and moisturizing your skin diligently can reduce the risk of this happening. Once it’s happened, these measures are still important for preventing it from getting worse.You should still avoid the sun and moisturize to prevent the condition from worsening. One study showed that bioflavinoid supplements helped reduce new bruises. These aren’t particularly expensive, but you can also get them through food, specifically citrus and other fruits.Vitamin K deficiency causes clotting problems, but taking more vitamin K doesn’t help. Aspirin does reduce the effectiveness of platelets, but if you are prescribed it (for blockages in the heart, for example), you should definitely keep taking it. Occasional ibuprofen has little effect on platelets, and acetaminophen (Tylenol) has none.DEAR DR. ROACH: For years, I have been plagued by a chronic nasal drip. It’s usually most present in the mornings, though it seems to be intermittent during the day. I frequently have to wipe or blow my nose. I thought it might be due to allergies, so I have been taking a Zyrtec tablet every morning. But it doesn’t seem to have any effect.I talked with my primary care physician about this, but he didn’t have any recommendations. I don’t know what is going on or how to stop this. Do you have any recommendations? -- R.M.ANSWER: An antihistamine like Zyrtec is a reasonable thing to try as allergic rhinitis often responds to antihistamines. (We just love our Latin and Greek names, and “rhinitis” comes from the Greek roots for “inflammation of the nose.”) Since an antihistamine didn’t work, it seems likely that you might have nonallergic rhinitis, and a nasal spray like ipratropium is usually effective for this.I also recommend azelastine nasal spray, which is now available over the counter as “Astepro.” There are some steps you can do to help your environmental risk, such as reducing dust and avoiding excess dryness.I warn people against the habitual use of nasal decongestants like Afrin, which should only be used for a day or two -- never more than three. Once the body gets used to it, nasal congestion will worsen every time a person tries to go without it.If the nasal spray doesn’t do the job, I’d recommend an evaluation by an expert, such as an otorhinolaryngologist, who may need to look for nasal polyps, laryngopharyngeal reflux, and other less-common causes.Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.(c) 2022 North America Syndicate Inc.All Rights Reserved

Ashland Earth Day celebrants find ways to help the planet, say ‘hang in there’

Ashland is a year-round Earth Day with "people who are creating organic, local, sustainable food, drink and music," said A Street Block Party participant Emily Simon.

Joe Bianculli participated in the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, and 55 years later, he was handing out environmental-action information to throngs of people attending Ashland’s first Earth Day A Street Block Party. Biancelli, who lives in Ashland and volunteers for Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands (“KS Wild”), said on Tuesday, “We had high hopes for saving the planet and we still have high hopes. It’s getting tougher and tougher every year, but we all have to hang in there.”The ecologically focused event in the historic Railroad District stretched for blocks along A Street, past the Ashland Food Co-op and Masala Bistro to the KS Wild open house, where Biancelli handed out stickers that read “Love where you live, defend what you love” in the front yard as the bluegrass band Eight Dollar Mountain performed in the backyard.About 1,000 people attended the free outdoor event organized by Karolina Lavagnino of Wild Thyme Productions.People chatted in line to order from the Tacos Libertad food truck in the parking lot used year round by customers of Get ‘N Gear second-hand outdoor equipment and clothing stores. Near an outdoor display of used kayaks and bikes for sale, volunteers of Ashland Devo explained the group’s mission: to cultivate grit, resilience and camaraderie in youth through the sport of mountain biking. Board member Moneeka Settles said Earth Day is simple: It’s a chance to “gather together and celebrate Earth.”Across A Street, in a lot next to the Ashland Yoga Center, Suzee Grilley was leading Elbow Room Taiko drummers, who captivated a large crowd with their rhythmic sound and dramatic movements around barrel-shaped drums.“We always celebrate Earth Day,” said Grilley. “We feel a lot of our music expresses a communing with nature, and the sprits that animate nature, from the trees, to the sky, to the water, to the earth itself, to human beings and animals.”She said the drums the group play reflect nature. “Every one of our drums is made of wood, skin and metal, and crafted with love and prayer by an artisan,” she said.Vince DiFrancesco of the Siskiyou Mountain Club, which works to maintain more than 400 miles of backcountry trails, welcomed people to his booth set up between the Grange Co-op and Ace Hardware.DiFrancesco sees Earth Day as a time for public service. “It’s about getting out and doing work on public lands to keep them open for recreation for everybody,” he said. Nearby, musician Gatore Mukarhinda drummed a heartbeat and sang a love song to Mother Earth. “She says, ‘take care of me,’” he said.Aubrey Laughlin of Talent, who had recently volunteered for Siskiyou Mountain Club trail work, said the idea for Earth Day was about “looking out for the next generation and connecting with each other, the place we live and our community.” Marie DeGregorio of Medford, who also attended the street party, said the day reminds people that “the planet needs help and we are stewards.”Party goer Susan Cox of Ashland agreed. To her, the day means “taking care of the planet, and each one of us doing our part as best we can and keeping it happy.” Yu Kuwabara of Ashland, who rode his bike to the event, said “Earth Day is a celebration of getting outside and enjoying the community.” Plenty of people rolled into the event on bikes, and Piccadilly Cycles provided free bike valet parking in front of its store.People gathered around booths displaying handmade jewelry and vendors selling treats like vegan- and gluten-free Plant Baked cookies, donuts, blueberry limoncello squares and cinnamon swirl loaves.Bloomsbury Books, a landmark independent bookstore on Ashland’s East Main Street, had a pop-up shop with nature-focused books. Earth Day is a day to learn about the environment, said bookstore co-owner Megan Isser. “Come read,” she said, gesturing to a table with copies of books, including “Garden Guide for the Rogue Valley,” published by the Jackson County Master Gardener Association with support from the Oregon State University Extension Service. Adults tasted small-batch wines from Circadian Cellars at the Ashland Recycled Furniture store, and mocktails by Hummingbird Heart Co. in a lot near Fourth Street.Creekside Strings fiddlers kicked off the event around 4 p.m. with traditional tunes in front of La Baguette Music Cafe, well known for its weekly jazz sessions. The event ended there too at 7:30 p.m. after a performance by folk duo Jenika Smith and Simon Chrisman.To block party participant Emily Simon, the best place to be on Earth Day was in Ashland, where she lives and supports sustainable businesses year round. “It’s such a wonderful event to be out here with our neighbors,” she said, “and celebrating the Earth with people who are creating organic, local, sustainable food, drink and music.”Upcoming Earth Day events:ScienceWorks Hands-on Museum hosts its annual Earth Day celebration 3:30-7 p.m. Friday, April 25, with activities highlighting the science of sustainability at 1500 E. Main St. in Ashland (541-482-6767). Parking is limited and people are encouraged to walk, bike, carpool or use public transit.Pollinator Project Rogue Valley holds its spring native plant sale 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, April 27, with five growers offering a large selection of plants (listed here) native to the southern Oregon bioregion in the parking lot behind The Pollination Place at 312 N. Main St., Phoenix.See more events statewide at oregonlive.com.Here is Oregon: Southern Oregon— Janet Eastman covers design and trends. Reach her at 503-294-4072, jeastman@oregonian.com and follow her on X @janeteastman.

Trump Administration Plans Ban on More Synthetic Food Dyes

By I. Edwards HealthDay ReporterTUESDAY, April 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The Trump administration is expected to take new steps to remove...

TUESDAY, April 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The Trump administration is expected to take new steps to remove artificial food dyes from the U.S. food supply, officials say.This follows a major move by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January, under former President Joe Biden, to ban red dye No. 3 in food, drinks and some drugs. That action came more than 30 years after research linked the dye to cancer in animals.Now, federal officials appear ready to go even farther. Kennedy has been an outspoken critic of petroleum-based synthetic dyes, which are used to make foods and drinks look more appealing to consumers.In March, Kennedy supported a new West Virginia law banning some of these dyes. It made West Virginia the first state to take such broad action. Studies have linked some food dyes to behavior and learning issues in children, CNN reported.More than half of U.S. states, including both Republican- and Democrat-led ones, are pushing to restrict these ingredients, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG).In a March email to CNN, the National Confectioners Association said while states have a role to play in the nation's food system, "the FDA is the rightful national regulatory decision maker and leader in food safety." Some of the association's members sell products that contain artificial dyes.John Hewitt of the Consumer Brands Association also urged the FDA to take the lead, saying the agency should “aggressively acknowledge its responsibility as the nation’s food safety regulator.”Artificial dyes such as red No. 3, red No. 40, green No. 3 and blue No. 2 have been linked to cancer or tumors in animals. Others, like yellow No. 5 and yellow No. 6, may contain cancer-causing chemicals. Even tiny amounts of yellow No. 5 can cause restlessness or sleep problems in sensitive children, CNN reported.Marion Nestle, a well-known food policy expert, welcomed the plan.“Non-petroleum substitute dyes are available and used widely in other countries by the same companies that sell products here," she said. "Companies have been promising to get rid of the petroleum dyes for years. The time has come.”In public health terms, “this is low-hanging fruit," Nestle added. "I want to see RFK Jr. take on ultra-processed foods, a much tougher problem and a far more important one.”Most of these dyes are used in low-nutrition foods like candy and soda, but they may also appear in less colorful products, the Center for Science in the Public Interest says.People who want to avoid these dyes can check ingredient labels on food and drink packaging, CNN said.SOURCE: CNN, April 22, 2025Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Mission to boldly grow food in space labs blasts off

The mission will explore new ways of reducing the cost of feeding an astronaut.

Mission to boldly grow food in space labs blasts offBBC NewsArtwork: The experiment will orbit the Earth for three hours before returning to Earth and splashing down off the coast of PortugalSteak, mashed potatoes and deserts for astronauts could soon be grown from individual cells in space if an experiment launched into orbit today is successful.A European Space Agency (ESA) project is assessing the viability of growing so-called lab-grown food in the low gravity and higher radiation in orbit and on other worlds.ESA is funding the research to explore new ways of reducing the cost of feeding an astronaut, which can cost up to £20,000 per day.The team involved say the experiment is a first step to developing a small pilot food production plant on the International Space Station in two years' time.Lab-grown food will be essential if Nasa's objective of making humanity a multi-planetary species were to be realised, claims Dr Aqeel Shamsul, CEO and founder of Bedford-based Frontier Space, which is developing the concept with researchers at Imperial College, London."Our dream is to have factories in orbit and on the Moon," he told BBC News."We need to build manufacturing facilities off world if we are to provide the infrastructure to enable humans to live and work in space".NASAAstronauts enjoy eating in zero gravity, but the freeze-dried food itself is not much fun to eatLab-grown food involves growing food ingredients, such as protein, fat and carbohydrates in test tubes and vats and then processing them to make them look and taste like normal food.Lab-grown chicken is already on sale in the US and Singapore and lab grown steak is awaiting approval in the UK and Israel. On Earth, there are claimed environmental benefits for the technology over traditional agricultural food production methods, such as less land use and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. But in space the primary driver of is to reduce costs.The researchers are doing the experiment because it costs so much to send astronauts food on the ISS - up to £20,000 per astronaut per day, they estimate. Nasa, other space agencies and private sector firms plan to have a long-term presence on the Moon, in orbiting space stations and maybe one day on Mars. That will mean sending up food for tens and eventually hundreds of astronauts living and working in space – something that would be prohibitively expensive if it were sent up by rockets, according to Dr Shamsul.Growing food in space would make much more sense, he suggests."We could start off simply with protein-enhanced mashed potatoes on to more complex foods which we could put together in space," he tells me."But in the longer term we could put the lab-grown ingredients into a 3D printer and print off whatever you want on the space station, such as a steak!"Lab-grown steak can be produced on Earth, but can it be created in space?This sounds like the replicator machines on Star Trek, which are able to produce food and drink from pure energy. But it is no longer the stuff of science fiction, says Dr Shamsul.He showed me a set-up, called a bioreactor, at Imperial College's Bezos Centre for Sustainable Proteins in west London. It comprised a brick-coloured concoction bubbling away in a test tube. The process is known as precision fermentation, which is like the fermentation used to make beer, but different: "precision" is a rebranding word for genetically engineered.In this case a gene has been added to yeast to produce extra vitamins, but all sorts of ingredients can be produced in this way, according to Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, Director of the Bezos Centre."We can make all the elements to make food," says Dr Ledesma-Amaro proudly."We can make proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fibres and they can be combined to make different dishes."The brick-coloured "food" is grown in a small biorector, a mini-version of which has been sent into space A much smaller, simpler version of the biorector has been sent into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the ESA mission. There is plenty of evidence that that foods can be successfully grown from cells on Earth, but can the process be repeated in the weightlessness and higher radiation of space?Drs Ledesma-Amaro and Shamsul have sent small amounts of the yeast concoction to orbit the Earth in a small cube satellite on board Europe's first commercial returnable spacecraft, Phoenix. If all goes to plan, it will orbit the Earth for around three hours before falling back to Earth off the coast of Portugal. The experiment will be retrieved by a recovery vessel and sent back to the lab in London to be examined.The data they gather will inform the construction of a larger, better bioreactor which the scientists will send into space next year, according to Dr Ledesma-Amaro.The problem, though, is that the brick-coloured goo, which is dried into a powder, looks distinctly unappetising – even less appetising than the freeze-dried fare that astronauts currently have to put up with.That is where Imperial College's master chef comes in. Jakub Radzikowski is the culinary education designer tasked with turning chemistry into cuisine.Kevin ChurchImperial College's master chef has the job of making lab-grown chemicals into delicious dishesHe isn't allowed to use lab grown ingredients to make dishes for people just yet, because regulatory approval is still pending. But he's getting a head start. For now, instead of lab-grown ingredients, Jakub is using starches and proteins from naturally occurring fungi to develop his recipes. He tells me all sorts of dishes will be possible, once he gets the go-ahead to use lab-grown ingredients."We want to create food that is familiar to astronauts who are from different parts of the world so that it can provide comfort."We can create anything from French, Chinese, Indian. It will be possible to replicate any kind of cuisine in space."Today, Jakub is trying out a new recipe of spicy dumplings and dipping sauce. He tells me that I am allowed to try it them out, but taster-in-chief is someone far more qualified: Helen Sharman, the UK's first astronaut, who also has a PhD in chemistry.Kevin Church/BBC NewsBritain's first astronaut, Helen Sharman and I taste test what might be the space food of the futureWe tasted the steaming dumplings together. My view: "They are absolutely gorgeous!"Dr Sharman's expert view, not dissimilar: "You get a really strong blast from the flavour. It is really delicious and very moreish," she beamed."I would love to have had something like this. When I was in space, I had really long-life stuff: tins, freeze dried packets, tubes of stuff. It was fine, but not tasty."Dr Sharman's more important observation was about the science. Lab-grown food, she said, could potentially be better for astronauts, as well as reduce costs to the levels required to make long-term off-world habitation viable.Research on the ISS has shown that the biochemistry of astronauts' bodies changes during long duration space missions: their hormone balance and iron levels alter, and they we lose calcium from their bones. Astronauts take supplements to compensate, but lab-grown food could in principle be tweaked with the extra ingredients already built in, says Dr Sharman."Astronauts tend to lose weight because they are not eating as much because they don't have the variety and interest in their diet," she told me."So, astronauts might be more open to having something that has been cooked from scratch and a feeling that you are really eating wholesome food."

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