The Future of Food & Ethiopian Lentil Stew

I've just started reading Warren Belasco's book, 'Meals to Come: A History of the Future of Food'. In it, he looks at articles from the past that have attempted to "predict" what people will eat in the future.

One of the most striking parts of the book is constant references made to the "inefficiencies" of meat, particularly beef. The key to it being just how much in grain/feed protein is need to produce that kilogram of meat that we consume. The shame about it all is that we don't get told these things.

People choose between beef and chicken on a whim sometimes, not really having a preference. It would be nice if we were educated about things like this and we knew that there is a huge difference between choosing beef, chicken or vegetables.

Needless to say, it put me in the mood for vegetarian food. But not just any vegetarian food. If I was going to cure world hunger with one dish then it would have to be filling.

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Ingredients:
- 2 tins of diced tomatoes
- 2 litres of vegetable stock
- 2 cups of red lentils
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed and diced
- Thumb sized piece of ginger, finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons of berbere (an Ethiopian spice mix, essential)
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 medium onions, sliced

Method:
- Saute the garlic, ginger, onion and berbere in a large pot.
- Add everything else to the pot and simmer on a low heat until the lentils and carrots are soft.

Serve over cous cous. Makes enough to feed the third world.