Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"I forged a concept which is relatively simple and possibly unique in theology, and that is, the irrational is the primordial stratum of the universe."
- Philip K. Dick
 |
| Synthetic Food | ||
| Edible food for humans, grown in the laboratory. |
| He had earned that position by his inventions which made possible the artificial production of all food supplies in the individual home. Prior to his work in this dietary field, large laboratories in every city had produced synthetic food and meats, grown in large test tubes. The method was adequate in every way to the needs of the populace, but the manner of distribution was still antiquated. Hubler perfected a small but complete production laboratory, not much larger than the electric refrigerators of the past century. His product in its preparation was entirely automatic and practically foolproof. It would generate, day by day, and year by year, a complete and attractive food supply for a family of two. It not only created the food, but there was an auxiliary machine which prepared it for the table in any form desired by the consumer. All that was necessary was the selection of one of the twenty-five menus and the pressing of the proper buttons. |
| From Unto Us A Child Is Born,
by David H. Keller. Published by Amazing Stories in 1933 Additional resources -
|
Compare to artificial food from The World Set Free (1914) by H.G. Wells,
syntho-steak from Farmer in the Sky (1950) by Robert Heinlein,
vat meat from The End of the Line (1951) by James Schmitz,
Chicken Little from The Space Merchants (1952) by Frederik Pohl and CM Kornbluth,
animal tissue culture vat from Uller Uprising (1952) by H. Beam Piper,
carniculture plants (factories) from Four-Day Planet (1961) by H. Beam Piper,
butcher plant from Time is the Simplest Thing (1961) by Clifford Simak,
pseudoflesh from Whipping Star (1969) by Frank Herbert,
vat-grown meat from Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson and
ChickieNobs from Oryx and Crake (2003) by Margaret Atwood.
Arguably, one of the first people to talk about synthetic meat was Winston Churchill. In 1931 in an essay Fifty Years Hence he wrote:
"We shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium."
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Unto Us A Child Is Born
More Ideas
and Technology by David H. Keller
Tech news articles related to Unto Us A Child Is Born
Tech news articles related to works by David H. Keller
Synthetic Food-related
news articles:
- In Vitro Meatballs For SciFi Spaghetti
- Mmm, Tasty Duck From A Petri Dish
| Can We Grow Crops On Mars? |
| Rich (and Regular) People Should Stop Eating Meat, Says Bill Gates |
| Autonomous Russian Greenhouse For ISS Wheat |
| OK, NASA 3D Printer Of Food Not Yet Star Trek Food Synthesizer |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'It's illegal to hold back information during a psyche test,' the machine said peevishly.'
Perfect for exploring ancient artifacts on distant planets.
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs over a slant of steep upland.'
'This was as close as a robot could get to a cop in uniform.'
'Waldo flexed and extended his fingers gently; the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
'They were stylish, with yellow-tinted lenses and hip frames, but the posts were unusually thick.'
