‘More than just eating bugs’: Future proteins made from fungi, algae, and bacteria offer sustainable alternatives to current global diet

Plant-based and insect-based protein aren't the only alternative proteins around. Credit: Liimatainen Niskanen and MycoKeys via CC-BY-3.0
Plant-based and insect-based protein aren't the only alternative proteins around. Credit: Liimatainen Niskanen and MycoKeys via CC-BY-3.0

Would you eat a burger enriched with mealworms? Fake bacon sliced from a mass of fermented fungi? Milk proteins extruded by microbes? Maybe you already have. Dozens of companies are now banking on these alternatives to animal protein becoming a regular part of your diet.

Follow the latest news and policy debates on sustainable agriculture, biomedicine, and other ‘disruptive’ innovations. Subscribe to our newsletter.

In the past few decades, there has been an explosion of plant-based meat imitators from companies including Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, Gardein and more. Most are still niche products. The Good Food Institute, a non-profit organization based in Washington DC, reports that sales of plant-based alternatives to meat and fish totalled US$6.1 billion in 2022. That is an 8% increase from 2021, it notes, but still a tiny proportion of the multitrillion-dollar market for animal products.

Now the market is widening to encompass all kinds of alternatives, from insects to microbes. These proteins could have an important role in making food more efficient and environmentally friendly for both humans and animals. Researchers and manufacturers are joining the hunt for the protein of the future, all hoping to overcome the challenge of cost — and the whims of taste.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}
screenshot at  pm

Are pesticide residues on food something to worry about?

In 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring drew attention to pesticides and their possible dangers to humans, birds, mammals and the ...
glp menu logo outlined

Newsletter Subscription

* indicates required
Email Lists
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.