Worldwide food shortages are predicted by the year 2050. The most seriously affected populations will be those who live in sub Saharan Africa and South Asia. Obtaining food and fuel from perennial grasses is advantageous. Unlike common grain crops the perennial pasture grasses are natural flora and do not need to be planted yearly. Until now, economic processing of perennial grasses for food and fuel was not considered possible. In this invention it was discovered that brief treatment of grasses with citrate softens the grasses presumable because the citrate chelates the calcium bound to pectin. With the integrity of the pectin disrupted, the cellulose is destabilized and the citrated treated grass can be manually extracted. The extract contains all essential amino acids required for humans and quantitative calculations show that the process can provide enough protein to meet adult male minimum daily requirements.
