PROTEINS FOR THE NEW GENERATION

World shortages of certain raw materials leading to appreciable price increases is currently a regular feature of our daily lives— and is likely to be so, unfortunately, for the next few years. Meat has been increasing in price owing to various shortages in animal feeding stuffs. The fact that the populations of developing countries rightly demand that home produced meat is made available for their home consumption rather than for export is also adding to the problem as far as developed nations are concerned. The obtaining of sufficient protein for everyone's dietary needs is as basic and important as the need to have sufficient supplies of energy to meet world requirements. The amount of protein to be found on this earth is in excess of our projected needs, but there could well be severe shortages of protein foods for humans in an acceptable or usable state, especially if we continue to rely so heavily upon animal protein. There is, therefore, a real and urgent need for scientists to develop ways and means of transforming basic protein raw materials into acceptable products.