The first commercial canning factory was established in England in 1813. It was pioneered by a French man by the name of Nicholas Appert in the 18th century. The raw food is packed into a can which is then cooked at high temperature and pressure to get rid of all bacterial spores and fungi so that the food is commercially sterilized. This enables canned food to be shelf stable over a long period. The high temperature kills all bacterial spores but unfortunately it also destroys the texture, natural taste, color and the nutritional values of the food.

Canned food has always been meant for emergencies and convenience and is always perceived as low quality. In the early 1960s, an improvement called the retort pouches was introduced in the market. Instead of metallic cans, special plastic laminates are used to hold food products. However, the cooking process for retort pouches is still the same as for cans which results in the same over-processed food products.

Recently there was an invention where there is a modified retort process where the food is not subject to the same high temperature and pressure as in canning process. They are able to cook and preserve almost all types of food products in retort pouches and retort trays without sacrificing quality. Food that is processed according to this technique keep its organoleptic qualities and it tastes close to freshly cooked meals. This modified process won three major awards in Australia in year 2002 and 2003. Today United Kingdom imports 40,000 bags of lamb shank per week from Australia.

In 2003, the largest rice cooperative in Australia, took up a processing license for the technology to produce pre-cooked rice of different flavors for the Australian market. Having ready-meals in the house which are good in quality in terms of nutrition, taste and value for money would be a trend to come and will catch on in the 21st century. When the kids moved out, many elderly people would probably live in apartments with a small kitchen. They will eat out more often and would probably have lost the desire to cook meals. Many live alone and may not find it easy to go out for their daily meals. By just pressing the button on the microwave, food can be served like freshly cooked.

The young generation and those in their mid-20s to mid-40s are occupying middle to senior level management positions and spend more time in office than in the kitchen. Many apartments are designed without a kitchen but are replaced by just a microwave oven for reheating. The women of this generation are more assertive and ambitious than their mothers and demand equal rights with men. Many do not know how to cook a good meal. Divorce rates soar and marriage is delayed or even put off altogether and there are many single mothers. Living together without marriage is a norm and same sex couples are rife. This generation would have forgotten how to cook or had not been taught how to cook.

Those born in the late 20th century can be classified the internet generation and is one of the most medicated generations in history with many prescribed anti-depressants and other behavior-altering drugs. Childhood obesity is another health problem due to the proliferation of junk food and reduced physical activities except for their movements of their fingers due to computer games, iPod, text messages etc. This generation does not eat proper meals but grew up snacking and this is especially so in the newly developed and developing Asian countries. Fast food outlets are packed with children taking along their parents to have meals there. Just look at the intense advertisements capturing the hearts of the children unlike in the past, the meals were very natural, home-cooked.

With the invention where ready meal products can still maintain its highly nutritious low fat, low sugar, low salt, no artificial additives and yet taste good, they are bound to capture the market and give convenience to millions of people in the modern world. Wide range of varieties can be found even in the frozen food under the vegetarian section. If vegetarian food is processed in the same manner, then it will give convenience to millions of vegetarians worldwide as well as those health conscious people who seldom take meat. White Sun is studying this possibility to provide nutritious vegetarian food using the modified retort process without sacrificing quality.

Man by nature is composed of physical body and mind. The organic body which is of material form needs to rely on material things such as food to nourish its growth whereas the mind requires a serene order in order to live. Confucius said, The object of the superior man is Truth. Food is not his object. After the three inches down the throat, there is no more taste but man by nature craves for good taste. In order to encourage vegetarianism, we still have to ensure good taste and nutrition intact without preservative as in the modified retort process to serve as vegetarian fast food.

A vegetarian diet, with its emphasis on pulses, legs of mushrooms and grains to provide essential vitamins, is regarded by many medical experts as much healthier. Medical evidence from around the world suggests that diets rich in animal fats lead to heart disease and cancer. It is also encouraging to note that vegetarians have significantly lower incidences of cancers of the lung, breast, rectum and colon because the diet of a vegetarian is usually higher in fiber.

Dr William Bruce, a researcher at the Ontario Cancer Institute at Torontos Princess Margaret Hospital found that people who cut their animal fat intake from 150 mg a day to 50 mg a day (in essence, decreasing their meat consumption) could reduce the presence of detectable cancer-causing (N-nitroso) compounds by 50%. In addition, the addition of bran to the diet and a daily intake of 2 gm of vitamin C per day were also found to reduce the presence of cancer-causing compounds. Vegetarian fast food definitely will help the same at the same time cutting off the bad karma between human and animal.

Author: T.A Chew