One of the most enduring images of science fiction is the replacement of food with pills or other substances. It is a trope that has been depicted in numerous films, from 1930s musical Just Imagine to 1970s comedy Sleeper.
In this seemingly utopian future, people will have all the nutrition they need in one tiny capsule. They won’t need to worry about cooking, about dieting, or even about taste itself.
Many see the popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs as having the potential to fundamentally change the human relationship with food. The drugs are driving consumers towards smaller portions, with food intake increasingly focused around getting the right nutrients in the body rather than enjoying the taste, texture and experience of eating – in many ways, shifting eating patterns to more closely resemble taking a pill.
But there is one problem with this narrative: human nature. People love to eat, and that will never change.
Uptake is unlikely to be universal
GLP-1s work by silencing what has come to be known as ‘food noise’, constant thoughts of food that can drive people to overconsumption. This has the potential to radically alter one’s relationship with food, allowing them to make food choices based largely on need and utility rather than desire.
If such a transformation were to be universalised, this would no doubt radically change food consumption.
But GLP-1 uptake remains a minority. Even in markets such as the US, where regulation is less stringent and access to the drugs more widespread, estimates put uptake at roughly 12%.
Outside of the US, the prospect of universal change to food is even less likely. Many consumers in Europe, especially in countries with strong traditional food cultures such as France and Italy, are sceptical of GLP-1 drugs, and uptake is low. There are some signs of growth, but even in scenarios of large-scale uptake, predicts ING Bank, users will remain in a minority.
The GLP-1 user base will very likely be larger in 2030 than it is today. But humanity’s relationship with food is going nowhere.
Food is an essential part of culture
GLP-1s may have the potential to alter food markets in limited ways – shave a few percentage points off global calorie consumption, for instance – but they are unlikely to fundamentally alter the way the mass population relates to food, at least on a macro level.
People care about food. It has been at the centre of culture for thousands of years, and this shows little sign of letting up.
Culinary traditions have been at the centre of culture wars around the supposed lack of authenticity of plant-based and cultivated meat, of those around traditional cooking techniques and fears of processing, even around the clash between mass-produced and local foods. Think of how much traction the image of the local butcher or baker still has, representing community and belonging.
People watch programmes about cooking, revere celebrity chefs like rock stars, and devote hours of their lives to the preparation of meals. Food is even associated with romantic love through candlelit dinners and Valentine’s chocolates, and with parental love though comforting memories of home-cooked meals.
Such an ingrained part of human culture is unlikely to change. To abandon food for pleasure, instead eating purely for nutrition, would be the equivalent of substituting music entirely for non-fiction audiobooks.
In short, GLP-1s will not change food fundamentally. The world is unlikely ever to see food as the equivalent of science-fiction style pills, as vehicles for nutrition consumption alone. In the real world, food is so much more.
