Looking at the Ecological Pyramid it becomes clear that a primary producer contains more energy then a secondary consumer. A pig and cattle are a secondary consumers, grass and vegetables are primary producers. When we start to explore the Solar System the first manned spaceships and bases will probably have limited space. Also the amount of energy and resources available will probably be limited. Therefore I think that the carnivoric diet will remain something terrestrial. Being vegetarian could even become some sort of a tradition for ExTerra communities. Only when space-life has become available for more people than just scientists and engineers, when big infrastructural systems have been created like orbital cities and a space elevator, then I think the carnivoric way of life could be introduced to outer space. Perhaps in the meantime the creation of synthetic meat has been perfected. You could also transport the meat from Earth to space. Do the International Space Station crew eat meat in orbit?
Alwin says: Assuming that all food has to be transported into space anyway, are you then saying that 1kg of grass contains more energy than 1kg of steak?
“The main problem with this type of Ecological Pyramid is that it can make a trophic level look like it contains more energy than it actually does. For example, all birds have a beak and skeleton, which despite taking up mass are not eaten by the next trophic level. In a Pyramid of Biomass, the skeleton and beak would still be quantified even though it does not contribute to the overall flow of energy into the next trophic level.”
In other words, don’t take the beak and the skeleton into space!
I would assume that greenhouses will be build in outer space using resources available (water and nutrients on the Moon, Mars). These nutrients however have to be made from the rocks. If that is all possible you have a self-sufficient greenhouse. Then you can decide, will you use it to feed humans directly, or indirectly by feeding cattle?
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