Industrial Protein

Abstract

In simple theory, industrial routes to protein are more reliable and economic than agricultural routes, if only because they escape the variability of weather. Industrial routes cultivate organisms under artificial conditions which imitate and subsequently improve on natural environmental conditions. Traditional plants and animals are presently used but there are developments of cultivating new crops including microorganisms. However, since traditional plants and animals were selected or developed to meet prevailing natural conditions it is not probable that they will thrive to advantage under artificial conditions and it is probable that they will be replaced by new species which could not thrive under natural conditions but will thrive under the protective conditions of scientific control. In view of the rising cost of area, the primary requirement of a subject for industrial protein production is ability to grow in cramped quarters, needing no activity other than the consumption of food and the breathing of air. The second requirement is a rapid conversion of supplied food into body weight, preferably at a standard rate so that harvests and executions can be organised to coincide with demands.