Vibrating belts that give you flat abs while you sit back and watch TV; self-aware robotic vacuum cleaners that can reach every nook and cranny; boiled cheeseburgers in a can.

The lazy technological gadget has long been with us, but this week it’s taken on a new dimension with the development of a pill that its makers claim will help you to your 5 A DAY (p4).

And now, you don’t need to be an astronaut to get your hands on one - for just £24.75 a month you too can suck all the enjoyment out of eating in colour and switch to a world of monochrome simplicity instead.

But would you want to? Can a pill ever make you feel satisfied in the same way that eating actual food can? Would a little tablet look quite as appealing on your plate at a barbecue as a nice side salad?

Naturally, the makers of the pill have distanced themselves from the line that their product could be used as a straight replacement for fruit and veg. To claim otherwise would have brought a whole barrage of headlines, criticism and scrutiny. And in a sense, you have to applaud them for tapping into the trend for supplements and creating a product that fits the demand for health and minimal effort.

I’m just not quite sure I’m ready to switch over yet. Call me old-fashioned, but I still like to taste my food as I eat it rather than swallowing it whole with a sip of water.

We’ve been promised entire meals in pill form ever since sci-fi writers started thinking about how future generations will eat. I don’t think the fresh produce industry needs to panic just yet.