Food

The economy of the United States during the 20th was largely driven by agriculture and food-related industries. Due to the Collapse, however, disaster struck as famines had plagued the country, including a worldwide Food Crash in 2002, wiping out wheat crops worldwide, allowing Far Eastern nations like China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam to profit immensely, exporting real and synthetic foods.

Americans in 2020 have slowly but surely regained the power to quell the hunger.

The farm economy has changed direction from food to fuel-centric, and most Americans in 2020 must eat manufactured and synthetic foods. These foods vary slightly in quality and quantity, however Kibble is the most prevalent taking up around 70% of consumed products and is the basis for many other manufactured foods. The American diet is made up of almost 20 manufactured foods now, and Kibble is by far the simplest. Kibble was designed by Purina Foods for the South American relief effort due to the effect of the Central American Wars. The consistency is very similar to pet food (dogs or cat products), but also provides a full day’s supply of all major vitamin and mineral compounds, along with a small number of complete proteins and amino acids.

Then there is SCOP which takes up 20% of the market, the main selling point is how diverse it can be. SCOP which stands for Single Cell Organic Proteins can be tailored to fit any taste or preference from chicken scop, to burger scop to cheese scop. Soya has also been engineered to fit into many of the vegetable protein foods currently available.

When it comes to fresh foods, the availability is there for corporates, celebrities, and generally wealthy people. Statistically, as little as 3% of the total population eats fresh food more than once or twice per year. Massive burials and bio plagues have tainted the natural groundwater in the United States and thus fresh food has to be grown in indoor hydroponic gardens like that of ConAg located in Kansas City, which has skyrocketed its prices. The majority of fresh food consumed is imported from Europe and Canada, the new breadbaskets of the world, with the Soviet Union reported to produce 10% of the world's wheat and corn. Other major imports come from South East Asia, like Japan.

In the year 2020, almost all the food consumed is eaten out. Vendors fill the streets not controlled by the corporations, and although most vendors sell hand foods and pre-pack, fresh soup and ramen noodles are also available. Real fresh food is usually only found at high-end restaurants.

Cyberpunk 2077 Food
In Cyberpunk 2077 synthetic meat is also produced at the All Foods plant, so it seems like things have changed slightly at least in outwards appearances as the timeline has moved on.

Kabayan Foods and other seemingly larger grocery stores seem to pop up in the 2077, Pad Thai and Ramen Noodles being offered in the street, meaning Kibble might be less necessary as Night City recuperates from the Age of The Red and the 50+ years since the Collapse.