When you bite into a loaf of bread, you’re eating a little slice of history, with roots that stretch back for millennia. But this basic and important food, which has dominated tables for thousands of years, is in a dangerous decline.

According to a study, 32 percent of the purchased bread is being dumped in the UK. And in France-a country whose breads are internationally well-known-young people are cutting 30 percent less than a decade ago.

Traditionally, bread has been a cornerstone of many cultures around the world. Wherever wheat was grown, bread was sure to follow. Its roles were just as varied as its origins. Bread could be used as an appetizer, a palate(味蕾)cleaner, a post-meal palate cleaner-even as an entire meal itself. As its popularity grew, so too did its symbolic value, Christianity adopted bread as are presentation of Christ during religious ceremonies. “Breaking bread” with someone became a common symbol of friendship. The French even used to bring baguettes(法棍面包)home as a symbol of love to the family.

But recently, the world’s love with bread came to fade. Some guess that the fast pace of modern life is changing people’s eating habits. Others believe it’s a reflection of health concerns. Bread is rich in complex carbobydrates(碳水化合物), a fact that could alienate anyone who practices a low-carbon or gluten-free(不含麸质物的)lifestyle.

The shift against bread is also associated with its mass production. Extra yeast(酵母)and additives are added to the dough, to extend its shelf life. In the process, bread ends up being blanched(变白)and nutritious stripped.

But dedicated bakers around the world have rushed forward to rescue bread’s good reputation. They say no to mass production-in-favor-of-baking-flavorful loaves the old-fashioned way. British baker Mark Newman is a good example. His loaves take up to 18 hours from start to finish. “In terms of nutrition and eating satisfaction, a handmade loaf of real bread and mass-produced bread are completely different products.” he said. Artisanal bakers hope to build on the popular enthusiasm to grow their industry. With a little luck-and some fresh, whole grains-bread might return to its traditional glory.

Organic foods are produced according to certain production standards, meaning they are grown without the use of conventional pesticides, or chemical fertilizers and that they were processed without food additives. Livestock are raised without the routine use of antibiotics or growth hormones. In most countries, organic produced foods must not be genetically modified. They may also be required to be produced using energy-saving technologies and packaged using recyclable materials when possible.

Early consumers interested in organic food would look for non-chemically treated, fresh or minimally processed food. They mostly had to buy directly from growers: “Know your farmer, know your food” was the motto. Personal definitions of what constituted “organic” were developed through firsthand experience: by talking to farmers, seeing farm conditions, and farming activities. Historically, organic farms were relatively small family run farms—which is why organic food was once only available in small stores or farmers’ markets. However, since the early 1990s organic food has had growth rates of around 20% a year. As of April 2008, organic food accounts for 12% of food sales worldwide. Currently organic food production is legally regulated. Many countries require producers to obtain organic certification in order to mark food as organic.

Several studies have attempted to examine and compare conventional and organic systems of farming. The general consensus is that, in the short term, organic farming is less damaging for the following reasons:

●Organic farms do not release synthetic pesticides into the environment—some of which have the potential to harm soil, water and local wildlife.

●Organic farms are better than conventional farms at sustaining diverse ecosystems, i.e., populations of plants and insects, as well as animals.

●Organic farms are more energy efficient and produce less waste.

Another report published in March 2008 by The Organic Centre claims that organic food is on average 25% more nutritious than conventional food.

However, many critics believe that the increased land needed to farm organic food could potentially destroy the rainforests and wipe out many ecosystems. And organic products cost 10 to 40% more than similar conventionally produced products. Processed organic foods in supermarkets are 65% more expensive.

While work on lab-grown meat has made the headlines in recent years, similar work on fruit is less common. Scientists at Plant & Food Research in New Zealand are aiming to change that by growing fruit tissue (组织) from plant cells (细胞) that they hope will one day taste, smell and feel like real fruit. Researchers hope that the program will help guarantee the country’s food security.

“Here in New Zealand, we’re good at growing traditional horticultural crops (园艺作物),”said Dr. Ben Schon, the lead scientist for the Food by Design program at the government-backed Plant & Food Research, “but looking into the future, there’s a lot of change coming in the world with population growth, increasing urbanisation (城镇化) and climate change.”

The program aims to grow fruit tissue without the parts that are usually discarded like the peel of the banana. Providing consumers with only the tissue of fruit will help reduce food waste, said Schon.

Lab-grown foods could play an important role in sustainable (可持续的) agriculture but are still in the very early stages of development, according to Dr. Ali Rashidinejad, a senior food scientist at Massey University in Palmerston North. Since lab-grown food is a completely new idea, once it is developed, it will then have to prove its safety through long expensive experiments. The Plant & Food Research program started 18 months ago, but scientists warn that the end goal of getting something that is nutritional and enjoyable to eat is some years away and might not be achievable at all.

The technology would probably be suitable for growing fruit tissue within cities, said Dr. Sam Baldwin, a strategy leader at Plant & Food Research, in the hope that it would reduce the cost and carbon emissions created when transporting food into urban centres.