"The Food of the Gods" is a science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...

, first published in 1961. It was subsequently published as part of a short story collection The Wind from the Sun

The Wind from the Sun

The Wind from the Sun is a 1972 collection of short stories by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. Some of the stories originally appeared in a number of different publications...

in 1972.

The title is in reference to ambrosia

Ambrosia

In ancient Greek mythology, ambrosia is sometimes the food or drink of the Greek gods , often depicted as conferring ageless immortality upon whoever consumes it...

, the mythical food of the ancient Greek gods and the name of the controversial food product discussed in this story. The title could also be seen as a tribute to the novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth

The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth

The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth is a novel written by H. G. Wells. Published in 1904, it is one of his lesser known scientific romances, aside from the various B-movie adaptations .-Plot summary:...

by H. G. :Wells

H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...

.