“It’s a Huel World.”
hahaha I love questions like this. So much room for discussion.
Before we get into this question deeper though. Shall we clarify the some things like why and how the world becomes 100% Huel?
Mainly because I believe, if given a choice there will be always those who eat meat simply because they enjoy it.
Even if the price of chicken went up ten-fold, it would just end up becoming a delicacy to those who can afford it. (much like caviar which tastes horrible but people eat it just because it’s a statement of wealth.)
Today, Whaling is still in huge effect and Shark Fin soup is still widely eaten even though it is frowned upon in most parts of the world.
And then there are those who eat dog for some awful reason. Enough said!
We also need a time scale. And a brief explanation on how we ‘switched’. Was it a gradual process? or were we forced into this overnight due to some pandemic or virus?
Imagine what would happen if the demand for Huel increased at alarming rate.
A quick google search will tell you there are around 400 million vegetarians in the world. so imagine if that figure rose to 7 billion?! - worldwide famine as food shortages takes their toll on poorer countries.
Farms will not be able to sustain the sudden demand for crops required to make Huel. Rationing would undoubtedly be enforced.
So let’s say in this 100% Huel world, Meat is no longer a safe or efficient option to gain sustenance.
100 years ago today, a widespread pandemic rendered all meat unsafe due to a virus that would prove fatal to consume. Finding a cure has been unsuccessful. However, Huel has evolved to a point where a single drink would be enough to sustain the average person’s calorie requirement for a day. It also costs the same as a small bag of crisps and comes in flavours a plentiful to keep everyone happy.
This question has been answered by ASAP Science on youtube. “What would happen if everyone became vegetarian” And I assume the results will be pretty much the same for a 100% Huel Earth.
They estimate there are currently 20bn chickens, 1.5bn cows and about a billion sheep and pigs around the world.
So in short. Without the need for livestock for food;
We’d have them as pets! (remember you only get the virus if you eat it!) I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d totally ride into work on a cow. Search youtube and you’ll find that cows, pigs and chickens can be trained to do many 4-year-old level tasks. Anyone see the video of the dancing chicken? - I’d have that over a goldfish any day.
We’d have more land (they currently use up land about the size of Africa, 26% of non-ice-covered land surface) - seeing as the world’s population is slated to grow to 9 billion by 2050 it’s likely we’ll need this space for housing or some sort of solar-farm.
Blender sales would boom. - I wonder how much blender technology would advance in 100 years?
Better use of energy - We put far more energy into animals per unit of food than we do for any plant crop. The main reason is that cattle consume 16 times more grain than they produce as meat.
so right there we have 16 times as much energy just to grow those crops. Think about how much energy we use to cook a simple microwave meal. compared to 30 seconds in a blender for a Huel.
Lower risk of contracting an antibiotic-resistant virus. The problem of antibiotic-resistant infections would become a whole lot less serious. Because of the way animals are currently farmed - often in incredibly close quarters - farmers do everything they can to prevent any kind of infection from cropping up and decimating their stock. And not only do antibiotics prevent disease, but they can also promote growth, which makes their livestock more valuable. But that’s not helping humans in the long run. According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, “much of antibiotic use in animals is unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe”.
Unemployement. This is a big one. Many jobs will be at risk in the livestock industry. And all those industries linked to livestock. The fast food industry will suffer and jobs related to these companies will be affected. However, the increase in demand for crop farming will undoubtedly create more jobs. The demand for agricultural machinery will boom. So engineers, builders. Welders and mechanics will be needed to keep up with production. More Researchers will be needed to help increase the production rate of crops.
McDonalds, Burger king and KFC will have to change their menus. As demand shifts, so will business - Double-Huel Burger anyone?
Got gas? Cows alone are responsible for more carbon emissions than all the cars on the planet. So no cows? = less strain on our ozone layer. All this means good news for the fight against global warming and a better home for Johnny polar bear.
Fewer By-products; It’s not just the meat we consume. We also use livestock to make thousands of different by-products.
Cow’s for example;
Hides make leather. So Genuine leather will undoubtedly no longer be produced and become extremely rare over time. marshmallows, ice cream, chewing gum and some candies are made from by-products of cattle. Inedible beef fat provides us with aeroplane lubricants, hydraulic brake fluid, biodiesel and medicines.Photo film, vitamin capsules, charcoal and glass are all derived from bones and horns of cattle. Cattle organs and glands are used in the production of medicine, insulation, antifreeze, shampoos/conditioners and instrument strings. Think of all the other products that may not be possible without other farm animals. However over time, we’ll find new alternatives for these products that do not require livestock. We already have cow-less milk.
Longer life spans. It goes without saying that Huel has many health benefits. So, being on 100% Huel should, in theory make the average life expectancy age to go up. As Huel evolves, research will continue to improve the contents of Huel.
What will my dog eat?. It is true that dogs belong to the order Carnivora, but they
are actually omnivores. The canine body has the ability to transform
certain amino acids, the building blocks or protein, into others,
meaning that dogs can get all the amino acids they need while avoiding
meat. So Huel is for humans. so Duel is for…Dogs?
Will we loose our teeth? - Well, no. It would take hundreds of centuries of evolution to even start to become an issue. Having teeth is still beneficial to humans even if we didn’t use them as much. Huel will probably have ready-made solid-based food products by then anyway.
Will we still need restaurants? Well, will we? Many of us do not realise how much eating plays a role in our social life. Those who have limited themselves to a 100% Hule diet will understand what a pain it is to turn down invites because you can’t picture yourself sitting there with your liquefied mug of Huel amongst all the chicken korma everyone else is eating. But if everyone was on 100% Hule, those restaurants might be replaced with other social venues. 24hr arcades perhaps?! Indoor baseball? I’m sure the arcade industry would definitely make a comeback, especially with VR advancing the way it is.
Conclusion
If you’ve made it this far. You amaze me! Thank you for reading the insides of my head.
Obviously, this is just a thought experiment. I’m no scientist and nothing I’ve written above should be taken as gospel! It’s just a collection of thoughts and random articles i found all over the interweb. I am just interested in what everyone else thinks. But we are a long way from a 100% Huel world. Humans by nature, although brilliant at adapting to their environments. Are notorious for fearing ‘change’.
If I lived in a 100% Huel world? I would look back and say.
“Yes. We are better off. The ozone layer is recovering. I have an extreme sense of well-being knowing that animals aren’t being treated like prisoners in concentration camps. I’m healthier. I live longer. My pet cow is brilliant at keeping me warm in the winter and I spend less money on food and electric bills…But MY GOD… I miss Bacon.”
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