Better Bioeconomy Weekly - Mar 27th 2023 🌏
Biden administration sets out bold goals to supercharge America's bioeconomy.
WORD BUFFET 📖
🇺🇸 Biden administration sets out bold goals to supercharge America's bioeconomy
The Biden-Harris Administration announced some new goals for biotechnology and biomanufacturing to help make the American bioeconomy more sustainable.
Biomanufacturing can help create more sustainable options in lots of different industries like plastics, fuels, and even medicines. It could also help find new solutions for issues like climate change, energy, food security, and more. And, it can help make the US more secure as a nation, both economically and otherwise.
The report they released discusses the R&D needed to achieve the ambitious vision for biotechnology and biomanufacturing, the establishment of biomanufacturing priorities for the Department of Defense, and the assessment of the economic value of the US bioeconomy.
Oh, and they're also planning on expanding education opportunities and making sure biosafety and biosecurity are super strong.
🗺️ Navigating the alt protein industry: Exploring key benefits, developments, and opportunities
Alternative proteins aim to replace animal proteins and offer several advantages. For starters, they're way better for the environment. And they're made in a way that's much more ethical than traditional meat and dairy production. Plus, generally, they can even be better for your health!
By diversifying protein sources and modernizing production methods, we can reduce the environmental impact of meat and dairy. And that's not all - it can also help prevent disease outbreaks and save land.
There are all kinds of alternative protein sources out there, like plants, fungi, algae, and proteins that are made in labs. Each one has its own set of benefits and challenges, but the possibilities are endless.
🌱 Using plants as bioreactors to revolutionize protein production
Have you ever heard of molecular farming? Scientists have figured out how to turn plants into little protein factories. Basically, they engineer plants to produce proteins through recombinant protein technology.
These plants act as single-use bioreactors, converting sunlight, CO2, and water into the desired protein. Once the protein is produced, it's retrieved by harvesting and processing the crop.
And get this, there are already some cool companies working on this tech, like Miruku, Mozza Foods, Bright Biotech, Nobell Foods, and ORF Genetics. They're using molecular farming to create everything from plant-based cheese to therapeutic proteins.
Some of the best things about molecular farming is that it's super cost-effective, scalable, versatile, and sustainable. And it's not just good for making food - we're talking pharmaceuticals too.
🌾 How technology can help address challenges in agriculture in the 21st century
Did you know that agriculture was the spark that ignited the Neolithic Revolution? But, modern-day farming practices are putting a serious strain on the environment. In fact, agriculture is responsible for 23% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions!
But, don't lose hope! With advancements in technology, we're starting to see a revolution in agriculture. Innovations like precision farming, high-resolution imaging, drones, and biotechnology are all helping to boost productivity and reduce environmental impact.
If we want to achieve sustainable agriculture, we need to invest in these technologies and get youth and smallholder farmers involved. Improving internet infrastructure and encouraging young talent are key to making this happen.
🐔 Eat just gets FDA clearance for cultivated meat in the US
Eat Just is getting closer to serving its cultivated meat in the US after receiving a no-questions letter from the FDA after several years of working with regulators. Hold up, though - the USDA still needs to give its own approval to ensure the meat is safe when harvested.
Eat Just has already been serving its cultivated meat in Singapore for over two years and has actual safety data to share with the FDA. This is a huge milestone for alternative protein advocates, who see cultivated meat as a game-changer in the food system.
To make things even better, Eat Just is expanding its production facilities in Singapore, building a commercial-scale facility in the US, and working on regulatory reviews for its Good Meat chicken in other countries. They're even hoping to get approval for their completely plant-based serum to grow cells, which would be a major win for sustainability.
🚨 Scientists issue ‘final warning’ on the climate crisis
Have you heard about the latest climate report from the IPCC? It's kind of a big deal.
Basically, the report says that if we don't take action fast, we're in trouble. Really big trouble. We're talking about irreversible damage to the planet, and that's not good news for anyone.
The report goes on to list all the ways that climate change is already hurting us - more deaths from heatwaves, homes destroyed in droughts and floods, and damage to vital ecosystems. It's not a pretty picture.
But the report also gives us hope. It says that if we take swift and drastic action, we can still turn things around. We need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, invest in renewable energy and low-carbon technology, and aim for net-zero emissions as soon as possible, like by 2040.
🇨🇳 Jimi Biotech develops China’s first 100% cell-based meat
Jimi Biotech made history by creating the first 100% cell-based meat in China! And get this - it's made entirely from animal cells, without any plant scaffolding.
This is great news for all of us meat lovers out there who are looking for a more sustainable option without sacrificing taste or texture. But you might be wondering, how does it compare to regular chicken in terms of colour, smell, and taste? Well, a sensory evaluation found that there was minimal difference between the two.
It's no wonder that the Chinese government has listed cultivated meat as a key area for future food manufacturing. It looks like we're about to enter an exciting turning point in the world of sustainable and delicious food.
SOCIAL FEAST 📱
🥳 Overcoming pessimism and celebrating the progress of the alternative proteins
Have you ever wondered what the future of food might look like? Well, it turns out that we're already on the journey towards it!
Entrepreneurs in the food industry are making some serious strides by coming up with new and innovative foods. They're using all sorts of crazy methods like mycelium and koji, fermentation, cell-cultured meats, and plant-based options.
Of course, progress isn't always easy. There have been plenty of challenges and setbacks along the way. But, we need to keep pushing forward to tackle issues like industrial animal agriculture and other problems in the food system.
⚖️ Managing expectations in cultivated meat: Get to 0.1% market share before 10%
😌 Don't be scared of precision fermentation
Did you know that precision fermentation isn't actually a new technology? In fact, it's been safely used in food and medicine for over 30 years!
And get this - you've probably been eating foods made with precision fermentation for years without even realizing it. Think cheese, cereal, bread, and even vitamins!
But here's the really exciting part - precision fermentation technology has the potential to drastically reduce our dependence on industrialized animal agriculture. Plus, it can give us some seriously tasty and nutritious plant-based options with amazing texture and flavour.
EAR FOOD 🎵
💬 How ESG frameworks can help plant-based businesses communicate their impact
ESG frameworks are really handy tools that can help plant-based businesses show off all the awesome positive impacts they're having on the world.
Sharyn Murray, Investment Engagement Manager at the GFI, knows all about it. She's been talking about how important it is for these businesses to communicate their impact data to the outside world, and how ESG frameworks can help them do just that.
The GFI and FAIRR have been hard at work creating these frameworks to help the plant-based sector with their ESG reporting. And it's not just good for the companies themselves - using the framework can benefit the entire sector by promoting transparency and positive impact reporting.
It's not always easy or cheap to implement these frameworks. The difficulty, duration, and cost can depend on the size of the company and its existing reporting practices. But it's definitely worth the effort to show the world all the good that plant-based businesses are doing.
🏭 Beyond carbon neutrality: Why food and agriculture corporates need higher goals
You may know that the food and agriculture industries are responsible for an enormous amount of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
To combat this, many big companies have announced their plans to go carbon neutral at some point in the future. But, is that enough? Shouldn't we be thinking about other ways to make our food and agriculture industries more sustainable and eco-friendly?
In this podcast episode, a group of experts tackle these questions head-on. They talk about why carbon neutrality might not be the end-all-be-all, and how we can take other important measures to make farming more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Plus, they share some great ideas on how we can make sure that farmers and production workers benefit from these sustainable practices.
VISUAL DELIGHT 🎥
💡 Taking alternative proteins mainstream: Insights and strategies from GFI and BCG
The Good Food Institute (GFI) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) got together to talk about how alternative proteins can become a thing that everybody knows about.
They had this really cool presentation where they talked about how alternative proteins performed in terms of sales last year, what made some companies really successful while others lagged behind, and what marketing strategies could help companies reach more mainstream consumers.
They had data from consumer surveys, academic studies, and even social media analysis of what people think about alternative proteins. It was pretty fascinating stuff!
Thanks for reading! Have an awesome week 🙌🏾
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