There is a lot of hunger in the world. Are there any quests in the sense that one grass (or several species) could be modified so that a human could digest that too? For example, leaves from trees are there in billions of numbers, right? If they can be used culinary, it would make part of the famine disappear. We eat several types of vegetables and tubers, why shouldn’t grass be possible? There will probably be certain enzymes and many other biological causes that make it difficult, but for example a cow eats almost only grass (well, just imagine a few other things) and humans eat the cow. Are there no residues of that “grass” in the meat of that cow? Then the human being also digests it, right? Is it possible to manipulate a type of grass in such a way that it grows with some nutritional value for humans?
Regards
Answer
Unfortunately this is not possible. Grasses contain fibers that humans cannot digest. A cow can do this, but it also has a completely different digestive system (several stomachs and completely different enzymes).
There are no genetically modified grasses that can be digested by humans yet.
The cow extracts energy from the grasses, which is then converted into muscle tissue and fat (meat). That energy is also necessary for the cow to live and grow. The part of the grasses that the cow does not digest is excreted in the faeces. We therefore do not ingest any remnants of grasses through the meat.
Answered by
prof dr ir Greet Vansant
Nutrition and Health
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
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