TYPICALLY, global food trends articles would feature a slew of cuisines and diets that take centre stage on people's plates. But 2019 was pretty different compared to the years that went before.
People didn’t just want to tuck into popular ethnic foods or explore fad diets that would help them reach their weight goals. We wanted to know how food affected us, and more importantly, how it affected our environment. This extended to how we consumed and packaged our food.
Have Malaysians actually followed these trends in the past year?
ENTOMOPHAGY
As it turns out, chicken, beef, pork and fish aren’t the only things we’re tucking into. The year that will soon come to an end was also the year of Entomophagy — the practice of eating insects!
As the global population swell to unprecedented levels, the cost of farming animals has also increased. And the cost involves more than just money. It also involves time and resources.
Do you know that in order to produce 500g of beef, it takes watering six square metres of corn or grain over an extended period to produce the feed for one cow. It's an incredibly inefficient and un-environmentally friendly way of harvesting protein. However, farming bugs takes a fraction of the time and resources. You can also eat the entire insect, as opposed to just less than half of a cow or a chicken.
Some of us might be horrified at the idea of Entomophagy but it’s actually quite the norm in Asia. People in West Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Japan eat insects all the time. And with the cost of meat going up, you might want to consider indulging in a little insect consumption! In fact, Barclays reported that the Entomophagy industry will be worth 8 billion USD in 2030.
But are Malaysians ready to start consuming insects? Maybe not yet. But there are Malaysian companies like "Ento" that supply insects as a food source. So if you're game to participate in this food trend, try their kimchi or salted egg-flavoured crickets.
PLANT-BASED MEAT PRODUCTS
The concept of "plant-based meat products" seems like an improbable oxymoron. But it’s certainly a reality today. In the last year, there have been a few companies, like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, which have managed to not just imitate meat's texture and flavour but have also created "meat products" that bleed.
Companies such as Impossible Foods have also started working with Burger King in the US to provide the masses with a means to try their burgers, via the Impossible Whopper. They're also available raw in grocery stores in the US.
What’s interesting is that these meats seem to not only be healthier — containing no cholesterol and having more fibre than real red meat — they're also environmentally-friendly. According to the Impossible Food's website, their "meat" requires 96 per cent less land, 87 per cent water and 86 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
But can you get the meat here in Malaysia? Yes, in certain places. For example, the KL-based restaurant, Sushi Ryu serves Impossible Meat as a Japanese dish. Meanwhile, Singapore has some serving Impossible Burgers, like PS. Cafe and Prive. This could mean that it won't be too long before they make their way to our shores! In addition, Phuture Foods, a local Malaysian company is planning to sell plant-based pork in Singapore beginning next year.
ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING AND STRAWS
Thanks to a video of a turtle with a straw stuck in its nose that went viral in 2015, most countries have started to promote the ban of single-use plastic products, like straws and bags for food items.
As for us Malaysians, the ban on plastic straws came into effect at the start of this year. And while there have been some grumbling, most of us have adjusted to this new norm — thanks to paper straws.
Consequently, more companies are now designing cups that require no straws whatsoever. For example, Starbucks introduced "strawless lids" for cold beverages in the US, which will probably make its way here soon enough — changing the way we drink our iced-coffees forever.
But it’s more than just plastic straws. Out of the world's 9 billion tonnes of plastic produced, only 9 per cent of it has been recycled. This means that we still have a long way to go before we can eliminate single-use plastic.
However, a grocery store called Rimping located in Chiang Mai, Thailand, went viral not too long ago for posting photos of vegetables being wrapped in banana leaves, thus eliminating the need for single use plastic wrappers.
There are also many more companies now, which are promoting biodegradable packaging for food items. This might change the way our food will be packaged in the near future.
So, if you haven't jumped on the eco-friendly food bandwagon just yet, it might be worth studying and considering. While these changes seem to be spearheaded in the Western world, it appears to be making its way down to our region pretty rapidly.
Change is imminent, and we might as well get used to dealing with our food in a more sustainable manner — even if it might mean tucking into masak lemak crickets for dinner!