Should the new Trek series depict radically different dietary habits?

[T'Girl]

Re: Should the new Trek series depict radically different dietary habi

There you go ... cheeseburgers in paradise.

 

[uniderth]

Re: Should the new Trek series depict radically different dietary habi

There you go ... cheeseburgers in paradise.

Reminds me of the seaQuest episode where cattle have been banned because of their methane. Then Lt. Krieg gets his hands on some real beef and grills a cheeseburger.

 

[Unicron]

Re: Should the new Trek series depict radically different dietary habi

In "Sins of the Father," Picard claimed that replicated caviar was not as good as the real thing. If it is truly an accurate replication down to the molecular level, there shouldn't be any discernible difference in flavor, texture, etc. So maybe the replicators don't work as well as they seem to.

Interesting thread. Perhaps one alternative take on the "inferior" replicators thing is that they can make a programmed recipe, but it's not necessarily a good one. It's like the difference between going to a small gourmet pizza shop that makes the best pizzas you can imagine, and what you get from the local delivery place. It's not inherently bad pizza (at least in most cases), but it's not the same either because the preparations and other factors are different. Paris said in "Caretaker" that Voyager's replicators couldn't make a decent bowl of tomato soup despite having 17 varieties on file.

To use a RL example, half of my family is from Virginia and the other half is from Maryland. It's probably fair to say that most of us have been able to experience the culture of both states, as well as other states that members have traveled through or live in, and there are certain differences that always amuse me. In both eastern Maryland and eastern Virginia, steamed crabs, shrimp and other seafood are popular and common parts of cuisine. In Maryland it's traditional to cook crabs with a lot of Old Bay on them (it's moderately spicy for those who're unfamiliar with it) so that they get a lot of spiced flavor, but in Virginia the laws generally don't allow them to be cooked that way. You can apply the spice separately if you prefer, but you can't cook them the same way in a big batch. Over the years, I've rather enjoyed talking with Marylanders who don't get to Virginia much (if at all), and the idea of cooking crabs without Old Bay covering them is basically sacrilege. It's ultimately a matter of opinion and personal taste in many ways, but it's a big difference in a very small geographical area. And it's not unlike other foods that have richly local variations, such as barbecue.

 

[woodstock]

Re: Should the new Trek series depict radically different dietary habi

In order for continuity to make sense between all shows, it would make sense that all of these options are always available, from pills to liquids to replicators to real food, depending on place and circumstance. Future Earth is in balance, and just because Riker said they no longer enslave animals doesn't mean there aren't farms where people keep animals and occasionally enjoy eggs or even slaughter a cow for cheeseburgers, they just wouldn't have massive meat factory ranches or whatever that we do today. The books often mention that replicated food is not quite as good as the real thing, but I guess that only applies for fans who consider the books as canon.

 

[The Overlord]

Re: Should the new Trek series depict radically different dietary habi

I'm always for seeing everyday aspects of their lives in the utopia. There ought to be an option to take a pill instead of a meal which would take care of all the nutrients.

Is that really Utopian though? Isn't there something to be said for the art of enjoying a well prepared meal and having a wonderful conversation while doing so, instead of everyone just taking food pills and then goofing off on the computer. i feel meal enjoyment, like conservation is an art and just because people sometimes don't want to practice it because it is inconvenient, doesn't make it bad. It feels like food plays would take away from enjoyment and social interaction among people, rather then enhance it, it seems like something that would make people feel more like robots then humans. Humans enjoying each others company over a meal has part of the human experience for centuries, I don't think a utopia should throw the baby out with the bath water and deem all human experiences before the Federation are instantly bad.

 

[T'Girl]

Re: Should the new Trek series depict radically different dietary habi

In order for continuity to make sense between all shows, it would make sense that all of these options are always available, from pills to liquids to replicators to real food ...

What would an Starfleet insectoid officer consume? Nectar maybe (back to the liquid diet), but what happens if we scale a insect up to the size of a average Human?

 

[Greg Cox]

Re: Should the new Trek series depict radically different dietary habi

You just know that Bones would want it dirty.

And we also know that Doctor Boyce sometimes prescribes a mean martini.

And who wants to live in a world when you only live on pills. That's sounds more like some sterile, THX-1138 style dystopia than any future you'd want to live in.

 

[Mudd]

Re: Should the new Trek series depict radically different dietary habi

"Utopia" of course means "no place," and the utopian version of Star Trek is no place I'd want to visit much less hear every blithering detail about.

 

[Nyotarules]

Technology and knowledge may improve but humans will always eat real food. E.g Sisko's dad's restuarant prided himself on none of that replicated stuff. Too many replicators will put millions of people out of jobs, the canon of no money and no one gets paid in the Federation - utter rubbish for the ST universe IMO.

 

[xanne]

(...) Future Earth is in balance, and just because Riker said they no longer enslave animals doesn't mean there aren't farms where people keep animals and occasionally enjoy eggs or even slaughter a cow for cheeseburgers, they just wouldn't have massive meat factory ranches or whatever that we do today.(..)

I don't quite understand that, for me it's a contradiction itself. If you don't slave an animal it's because you consider him/her as an equal, so you don't explode him/her, you don't see him/her as an object, you might give him/her the right to come and go wherever he/her wishes not under human control and later demands.

As for the main discussion, it really doesn't bother me much, as long as they explain the process at some point but again, it does become a contradiction later on the show, it seems to be animal slavery as well (that Irish colony for instance, Picard wanting to ride a real horse, etc). Don't forget the 'pet' issue on board the Enterprise. The dogs and the cats, they don't belong in that environment, they usually get stress when we carry them on any car/bus/train, besides they seem to depend on humans for everything (even in that era! wow!), then again where is the free will and respect for animals we were talking about before?

 

[The Old Mixer]

Moving to the forum with that new series smell.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I EATING RAW GOAT IT'S NORMAL IN THE 23RD CENTURY

 

[cultcross]

Environmentally, the production of meat for consumption is a disaster, but that may no longer be the case by the 23rd century. We don't know at this stage whether the crew will have replicators, as it is ambiguous whether these existed prior to TNG so the show could go either way. There may also have been changes to moral beliefs which would support vegetarian or vegan diets. Although I am neither, I do foresee this becoming the norm in the future. I suspect one day we will view eating meat as something primitive and old fashioned, how we might view hunting with spears today.

 

[Tesophius]

The idea of replicators creating food is actually enough to make it believable. Although, I think it's would a nice touch if several of the crew opted out from eating and instead use any of the dozens of hypothetical futuristic nutritional intake scenarios.

Don't really care about their cuisine.

 

[JasonJ]

Environmentally, the production of meat for consumption is a disaster, but that may no longer be the case by the 23rd century. We don't know at this stage whether the crew will have replicators, as it is ambiguous whether these existed prior to TNG so the show could go either way. There may also have been changes to moral beliefs which would support vegetarian or vegan diets. Although I am neither, I do foresee this becoming the norm in the future. I suspect one day we will view eating meat as something primitive and old fashioned, how we might view hunting with spears today.

Yeah.... but we've been herding animals for meat consumption for thousands of years... it wasn't a problem until our human population exploded and got out of control; that's the REAL issue. In fact, that's the root cause for a lot of humanity's problems today.

Hunting wild boar with a spear is still normal operating procedure in many modern and new fashioned cultures, as well as the "primitive" ones. Archery hunting is still very much accepted as modern and acceptable, yet we've been doing that for millennia.

One thing I did notice: In Enterprise, they seem to consume iced tea as the most popular beverage available. Alcoholic beverages seem to be available, but predominantly it's iced tea. Given it's high popularity today as the most consumed beverage in the world, excluding water, that makes sense.

I see humans in the 22nd, 23rd, 24th century eating more balanced, varied meals. If we succeed as a society to the level that Star Trek has, it'll be because we haven't killed ourselves with a diet of coca cola and nacho cheese doritos. I see people at some point finally getting BACK to eating everything, but in moderation and ensuring that meals are balanced and wholesome.

 

[Bones]

One area I have a hard time with is eating food from alien races. Given that things evolved in completely different environments it's hard to imagine finding something that wouldn't be toxic never mind nutritious. (assuming alien life is even dna-based) But if we can accept a human-vulcan love child as our science officer, then I guess I can accept people sharing alien food on a tv series where most of the aliens look human to begin with

 

[Kor]

One area I have a hard time with is eating food from alien races. Given that things evolved in completely different environments it's hard to imagine finding something that wouldn't be toxic never mind nutritious. (assuming alien life is even dna-based) But if we can accept a human-vulcan love child as our science officer, then I guess I can accept people sharing alien food on a tv series where most of the aliens look human to begin with

According to TNG, all humanoid species came from the same genetic stock.

Kor

 

[Bones]

According to TNG, all humanoid species came from the same genetic stock.

I really enjoyed The Chase which sort of explains the love children. I still get stuck on interchangeable food among the races, given billions of years of evolution. At least we saw the Klingon tea ceremony which provided a Klingon food that was toxic to humans.

 

[Baxten]

This discussion reminds me of this: direct link

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[Spider]

We already have 3-D food printers and have grown "edible" meat in the lab from cultured cells. No telling what things will be like in a few hundred years.