The Margenes

Two students find tiny straw-colored, doughnut-shaped organisms on a beach that multiply inexorably and defy easy biological classification. Scientists determine they are highly nutritious and palatable when cooked, triggering mass harvesting and industrial processing that turn the organisms into a cheap global staple controlled by a private corporation. Rapid adoption collapses many agricultural markets, reshapes labor and urban environments, and sparks international political tensions and propaganda campaigns as nations compete for access. Widespread environmental degradation and social upheaval follow as economies and societies restructure around the new food, producing unrest and the threat of armed conflict.