HONG KONG: One of the world’s top chefs has warned that environmental degradation and an explosion in fine dining restaurants worldwide is set to have a drastic impact on the food trade.

Habitats are being destroyed, killing off wild fish stocks and making some vegetables and fruits so scarce that a number of dishes will have to be dropped and restaurants will be forced to close, warns Pierre Gagnaire, one of the pioneers of experimental modern cooking.

He also predicts that, as the number of restaurants soars, demand for produce will rise, forcing up the price of dwindling stocks of good quality food and sending menu prices sky-high.

For those eateries that do survive, Gagnaire says chefs will have to adapt their cooking techniques as only farmed or genetically altered food will be available.

“It’s a terrible worry, but it’s reality — the food we eat will drastically change,” said Gagnaire during a recent visit to his Pierre restaurant in Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

“For instance, in the next five to 10 years there will be no wild fish, only farmed fish. That will have a huge impact on not only cooking techniques, but also flavours and the dishes we cook,” he added.

Recent reports by conservationists paint a gloomy picture for the future of many wildlife species whose very existence is under threat from hunting and habitat destruction.

Wildlife preservationists have warned that unless oceanic and reef fishing is reined in, most major culinary fish species would be wiped out within 50 years.

Among the most at risk, it warned, were the bluefin tuna, which experts believe will be extinct within three years and the South African abalone.

Many species of shark, including the mighty oceanic white-tip, have also been added to the endangered list due to overfishing for their fins, a delicacy in China, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Gagnaire’s near-apocalyptic vision of the not-so-distant future comes as booming economies worldwide have sparked a surge in lucrative fine dining restaurants.—AFP