What will the diet of Australians look like in 2050? More kangaroo, less fruit and vegetables, say a group of experts who have compiled a list of foods based on climate change predictions and their impact on food production.

Key points: The future of meat eating could depend on your economic status

The future of meat eating could depend on your economic status Consumption of kangaroo has increased in Australia

Consumption of kangaroo has increased in Australia Pollination declines could lead to less fruit production

Pollination declines could lead to less fruit production Food waste will need to be considered more within households

The team of entomologists, atmospheric scientists, dieticians and economists tasked with investigating what the nation's diet will look like in 30 years time also say one of the biggest changes to how Australians eat will be to the way they think about food and waste.

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Dr Tobin Northfield, from James Cook University, is part of the team and said that in the future, the amount of meat you eat could depend on your economic status.

"You may not be able afford that much beef, you may have to switch to more economically viable options," he said.

"Particularly with beef consumption, the cattle consumer plants will be affected by pests, but then the cattle themselves will also be affected by pests.

"As well, beef produces a lot of methane gas. So there may be also political pressure and social pressure to eat less beef."

And as Aussies eat less beef, the team of researchers say seafood and kangaroo meat are expected to fill the dietary void.

Australians eating more kangaroo

John Kelly, from the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia, said kangaroo was now available in virtually every supermarket in the country and on hundreds of restaurant menus across the country.

"The consumption patterns are increasing and evolving, I guess is what we're seeing," he said.

"Initially, people who went looking for kangaroo were people making a personal choice on health grounds, on the basis a kangaroo is extremely low in fat and has no agricultural chemicals used in its production.

"That was one sort of key consumer. And the other was people making an ethical choice (on the grounds that) they didn't want to consume meats that had lots of methane emissions in their production systems."

Mr Kelly said it was unlikely Australia would ever be able to produce as much kangaroo meat as it does beef or lamb.

But he said there was capacity for production to increase significantly.

"Kangaroo has been the red meat of choice amongst Australian consumers for the last 40,000 years, so it's really only in the last 100 years or so there's been a bit of a hiccup in its marketing program and I think we're turning that around."

'One fifth of all food in a household is wasted'

And it is not only the meat eaters who will be feeling the pressure on their diet.

Dr Northfield said the researchers expected people to be eating less fruit and vegetables in the future as falling levels of pollination and increasing pest problems hit production.

But Dr Northfield said one of the biggest changes of all would be to the way consumers think about food and waste.

"One fifth of all food in a household is wasted," he said.

"For example, a family of four is on average buying enough food for a family of five and wasting that extra person's worth of food.

"So the perception for what types of food we eat needs to change, as well as being more careful of the food that we waste.

"I think the other thing that I would recommend that people get more involved in their community gardens and understand where food comes from and get kids used to growing their own fruits and vegetables."