Food

Food in the Cyberpunk series various between countries and social class.

Cyberpunk 2020 Food
The economy of the United States during the 20th century was largely driven by agriculture and food-related industries. Due to the Collapse however, famines had plagued the country, including a worldwide Food Crash in 2002, wiping out wheat crops worldwide. This allowed Far Eastern nations like China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam to profit immensely, exporting both real and synthetic foods.

Americans in 2020 have slowly but surely regained the power to quell their 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 oftentimes limited to 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-packs, fresh soup and ramen noodles are also available. Real fresh food is usually only found at high-end restaurants.

Cyberpunk RED Food
During the Time of the Red, food has become more varied. This is due to the supply chain collapse caused by the Fourth Corporate War, which caused people to begin illegally growing their own food in urban greenhouses. Nomad groups even revived the practice of the "cattle drive" by raising livestock in the Badlands. Faced with the threat of raiders, these groups found it mutually more profitable to sell their wares directly to Corporations for the benefit of added security.

This isn’t to say that the majority of food in the Time of the Red isn’t synthetic. In fact, the food most people eat is synthetic food sold to them by the company Continental Brands. Continental Brands runs a series of convenience stores called Oasis, with their primary business strategy being to make themselves the only reliable source of food in a community.

Cyberpunk 2077 Food
Most meat products are still SCOP in 2077, the most popular and cheapest varieties being from worms or insects grown on protein farms. Since 2020 the ability to alter the flavor and texture of SCOP to resemble organic food has improved while the prices became significantly cheaper, making the need for Kibble obsolete. Vegetarian foods are derived from algae, soy and artificially grown vegetables, and foods like milk and eggs are now entirely synthetic.

Kabayan Foods, All Foods and other grocery chains have popped up in the 2077 offering cheap food and meal services. The majority of people do not cook, opting to purchase pre-prepared foods instead just like in 2020. Prepackaged artificial food products like sushi, burritos and even flavored nutrient pastes are available from vending machines on nearly every street corner, and even inside of cheap apartments as a replacement for kitchens. Street vendors selling foods like ramen, jambalaya, and kebabs are also still very prevalent.

While there are now brands of cloned fruit available for comparatively cheap prices, genuine fresh fruits and vegetables are still reserved exclusively for the wealthy to consume. Chains of restaurants serving meals made from genuine organic ingredients have also popped up for the service of wealthy corpos, but much cheaper chains such as Buck-A-Slice also exist to serve the poorest citizens in Night City.