So the meat industry is over and probably the milk industry too.. animals are now kept purely for enjoyment and their breeding curtailed. I suppose some people would still eat eggs from their own yard chickens but I bet there are whole generations of people who consider real flesh and actual milk from animals and eggs that came out of a real chicken to be gross.
That reminds me of how rarely any kind of cola was mentioned in Trek. Just see how little there is on Memory Alpha here. Hell, soda pop in general gets very little love in Trek.
Root beer still exists in the 24th century, why the hell can't Coke? Or even Pepsi, for those who prefer the Blue over the Red.
Well Picard was also fond of real caviar so humans do still eat animal products. This does beg the question whether or not humans ever really have to eat ANYTHING that was ever alive? Why limit it to animals when replicators are just as capable of replicating plants. There could be an entire social movement on Earth advocating complete human removal from the food chain.
There must still be a demand for actual food, since replicated food is often said to be inferior to the genuine article. Though I suppose there might be a minority who prefer to eat only replicated food.
I always assumed soft drinks weren't shown on Star Trek because of product placement reasons, much like having certain kinds of rock music would date the show. But considering how Quark once mentioned root beer, it was always there, lurking unseen in the background.
Yes.. but truthfully a lot of people today have diets quite removed from actual food. Sometimes I read the "what are you eating" thread in Misc and it depresses me, the days upon days of processed crap people ingest. Europeans posting there notably eat much better. People gave up real food very quickly when processed, easy, instant food was in front of them. I think the incredible ease of replicators and the ability to make everything exactly to your taste and yet not have it bad for you will pretty much wipe out cooking the way making your own clothes is now reduced to hobby level. The reason people bitched about Neelix's cooking was not because it was terrible but because it was out of their control.. they have been spoiled by always having everything exactly to their tastes. I imagine kids growing up and the parent deciding to have roast beef and vegies for dinner.. and everyone gets their own plate of this because the replicator has saved everyone's preferences. Little Johnny's potatoes are much more buttery than his siblings, Dad's roast is rare and Mom's is well done.. you wouldn't even have the simple lack of control involved in leaving the roast in the oven for too long and so tonight it is slightly less to your taste. Sluggo Cola, LOL.. with 48% real Algae.
Well, there are ways around product placement which many TV shows often do and Trek has done in the past. Next time you're watching Enterprise's Carbon Creek, pay close attention to the ketchup and mustard. Although it looks like the Heinz label, you'll notice the brand name written on it is in fact Fines. Ignoring time travel episodes the first indication we get that people still drink cola in the future is Enterprise's Terra Prime, and even that is just on a list of drinks. The only time cola gets a direct mention is the second last time to feature the Prime Universe. Personally, I find that shocking.
Add to religious reasons the fact that certain species' populations can actually get out of control if there is not regulated hunting. Deer populations in some areas, for instance. If you have to kill something, it shouldn't go to waste; that meat should be eaten. You'd definitely still have a reason for venison to be eaten, at the very least, if not other types of meat.