How the burger of the future could be a HEALTH food Purple tomatoes with anti-inflammatory properties have been developed, says Dr Emma Davies, writing in the magazine Science Uncovered They can slow the development of some cancerous tumours There is now lettuce that boosts the body's production of insulin Insects, which are very nutritious, are increasingly popular in restaurants By Dr Emma Davies The word schmeat â€" a form of meat produced synthetically from biological tissue â€" made it on to the shortlist for the Oxford Dictionariesâ€™ word of the year. The word is rarely used, but its very inclusion in the shortlist reflects the long-term significance of the events that occurred in London in August, when the worldâ€™s first lab-grown hamburger â€" developed by a team at Maastricht University in the Netherlands â€" was cooked and served. Itâ€™s a vital development, because current meat production methods are not sustainable and meeting global demand is becoming become increasingly difficult. The United Nationsâ€™ Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that demand for meat will increase by more than two-thirds over the next 40 years. Burgers could soon be both healthy and sustainable produced, according to Dr Emma Davies, a food scientist The Dutch scientists responsible for the first schmeat predict â€˜culturedâ€™ meats (ones grown artificially) could be commercially available within 10 to 20 years. â€˜With the current technology, we can make the meat at a reasonable price and that will only come down as we improve the production process,â€™ says lead scientist Professor Mark Post. â€˜There are still a few technical hurdles, but they require just work and time, and the outcome is reasonably predictable.â€™ Although the team say synthetic meat is biologically the same, it will need to replicate its appearance closely to tempt doubters. Cultured beef is currently white, and coloured using beetroot. Professor Postâ€™s team are now working on cultivating fat tissue and increasing levels of the pigment myoglobin, which gives meat its colour. This would offer a more authentic flavour and appearance. But beef patties arenâ€™t the only part of our diet to attract the attention of food scientists. In the future, every aspect of a burger â€" from the bun to the relish â€" could be modified to make it more sustainable. Whatâ€™s more, it could even become something of a health food. The science is tantalisingly close to delivering, but any new GM foods would have to overcome a raft of regulations, particularly in Europe. In London in August, the world's first lab-grown hamburger (pictured) - which was developed by a team at Maastricht University in the Netherlands - was cooked and served Health-boosting purple tomatoes A team from the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, has engineered tomatoes using genes from the snapdragon flower to give an extra helping of pigments called anthocyanins. These have an anti-inflammatory effect in the body. In tests, the tomatoes slowed the progression of soft-tissue carcinoma in cancer-prone mice. The tomatoes and juice will not be available commercially until regulatory approval, which could be as soon as two years in North America, says lead researcher Professor Cathie Martin. Cultured beef Muscle stem cells from cattle have been cultured in a nutrient broth by researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and then mixed with collagen so they formed strips of muscle tissue â€" the main component of meat. These were then â€˜bulked upâ€™ with electrical stimulation, before being minced up and shaped into a patty. A total of 20,000 muscle strips are needed to create just one burger. Dr Davies says creating lab grown meat (pictured) is a vital development because current meat production methods are not sustainable and meeting global demand is becoming become increasingly difficult Diabetes-treating lettuce Dr Henry Daniell, a molecular biologist at the University of Pennsylvania, works on delivering drugs using plants. He has created lettuces genetically engineered to express a protein that stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin. Tests on mice given freeze-dried â€˜super lettuceâ€™ have shown promising results. Allergy-free milk Milk allergies are often caused by a protein called beta-lactoglobulin (BLG), which is not present in human milk. A New Zealand team has used genetic engineering to create a cow that produces BLG-free milk. They are currently creating more cows with the same genetics using reproductive technologies analogous to human IVF treatment. The article is featured in this month's edition of Science Uncovered magazine Reinforced Bread In 2012, scientists from the UK, Germany and the U.S. deciphered wheatâ€™s complex genetic code, identifying about 96,000 genes. The work paves the way to breeding wheat varieties with higher yields, more disease resistance, and increased ability to cope with drought and other climate-related stresses. Creepy-crawly cuisine is coming Insects are highly nutritious and heading to a dinner plate near you. The idea of eating tangles of muscle from a Petri dish may be unpalatable to some. Even less appealing, however, may be the idea of devouring insects, deep-fried or otherwise. Yet in restaurants from London to Sydney, insects are proving quite a hit with a niche audience keen to eat delights such as grasshoppers, locusts, crickets and scorpions (heat-treated, of course, to remove the toxins). Insects actually form part of the traditional diets of at least two billion people worldwide, according to The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. Thereâ€™s no escaping the fact that they are good for you. A recent FAO report points to the benefits of eating insects. They are high in fat, protein, fibre, and key minerals and vitamins, from iron and calcium to B vitamins and vitamin E. Crucially, insects have a negligible impact on the environment. They are cold-blooded and very efficient at converting feed to protein, not using energy to maintain their body temperature. They can also be fed on organic waste. So-called mini livestock also offer â€˜livelihood opportunitiesâ€™, says a recent FAO report on edible insects, meaning they could also be an ethical choice. This article is featured in this month's edition of Science Uncovered magazine.