In 1964, Nobel Prize winner Alvin Shockley, predicted that before the end of the 20th century, most people would be dining on meals that consisted entirely of a handful of nutrient pills. Perhaps because I have never been fond of doomsday theories, Shockley's pronouncement failed to frighten me. Nor am I now afraid that fine dining will be replaced by the advent of zero-calorie, zero-nutrient food. In fact, my guess is that the only market for these terrible things will be the same people who not that long ago were ingesting large amounts of Methedrine, Olestra and other things that are said to keep them slim.

As a person devoted to fine food, my nightmare is even worse, because it is one entirely dependent upon the latest offerings of science. My nightmare is based on foods that, while they offer all of the calories, proteins, minerals and other nutrients we need, have only one problem - they are not real foods.

Because protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and fats can all be created in the laboratory, I can envision dining on bacon such as that created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The bacon in question started out as fuel oil that was treated with liquid hydrogen and then spun into threads. The threads were then bound with a mixture of artificially made flour, gums and other ingredients, passed through a flavoring solution and then pressed into an imitation of bacon. More than seventy percent of those who tasted this stuff said it actually resembled real bacon.

Another part of my nightmare, brought to reality at the University of Arizona, involved placing water into tanks that contained microscopic plants and then exposing the water to artificial sunlight from which it collected enough energy to allow the plants to grow at an enormous speed. After artificial vitamins and minerals were added, this amorphous mixture was then converted into something we are told had "a remarkable resemblance to cheese". Going even further with this same set of experiments, researchers at Cornell University managed to extract protein from this primordial mass, combined that with soy beans, spun the combination into an imitation of animal muscle and created man made "roast beef".

Actually, Cornell University seems to have a starring role in my nightmare, because it was also here that food technologists succeeded in making "bread" entirely from carbohydrates derived from formaldehyde, a generally highly poisonous liquid derived from natural gas or coal. The same technologists also managed to convert the same kinds of algae that cause rust on the hulls of ships into something resembling butter.

I have nothing against soy beans, algae or fuel oil. I even have a grudging respect for formaldehyde, which is particularly useful in preserving dead bodies, but the thought of any combination of these ingredients appearing on my breakfast plate as ham and eggs or for lunch as a cheeseburger, make my mind and my stomach rebel.

© Daniel Rogov