Feeding the WorldFeeding the World
Bacteria themselves can be eaten as food though this seems unpleasant to
most people. In many parts of the world there is not so much a shortage of
available food, as a shortage of protein – some bacteria comprise up to 50%
protein and in many cases it is what nutritionists call ‘complete’ protein
– this means it contains all the essential amino acids. ICI actually marketed
a bacterial feed called Pruteen, extremely high in proteins – originally it
was destined for the human marked but this idea failed and it is now sold as a
commercial feed for farm animals.
One of the advantages of bacteria as food is that they can often be fed
on waste products (eg methane gas) or widely available, non-protein, foodstuffs
such as molasses (treacle).
An example of a bacterial food that is consumed by (at least some) people is cyanobacteria – this is a type of bacteria that sometimes grows into long filaments – these are removed from the salt water in which they grow and are left to dry in the sun into ‘mats’ of fibres that can be made into a type of biscuit. One such cyanobacterium is Spirulina, originating in the salty lakes of Chad and Mexico. ‘Health food’ stores sometimes stock this food.