Birch Burgers, Anyone?

"Getting your fiber" is taking on a whole new meaning. Scientists have found a way to turn cellulose into starch, the most common carbohydrate in the human diet.

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Survivalists should cultivate trees for emergency food, if a recent laboratory experiment pans out. In a scientific first, there may be a practical way to turn plant cellulose into food. And forest products are full of cellulose.

You won't have to fry tree bark like this guy on SurvivalTopics.com (photo via MentalFloss.com). The new process uses enzymes to turn cellulose into a nutritious, flour-like food additive.

Researchers at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg focused on turning wood cellulose into starch, which makes up as much as 40% of people's diets.

So far, the process converts up to nearly a third of the cellulose into amylose, the team reports in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That compound, which is a white powder when dried, can be added to food. 

Research leader Y.-H. Percival Zhang reminded reporters that famines spurred peasant rebellions that helped lead to the collapse of the Tang Dynasty in the 9th century and the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century.  "Food security has always been the number one question for nearly 5000 years," he said.

In the lab it cost about $1 million to produce a modest supply of starch from timber. The research team believes its process could eventually make a day's serving of carbs for about $0.50.

Wood -- it's nutritious, grows almost anywhere, requires no artificial irrigation or fertilizer, and has a long shelf life. Stock up!