How Forgotten NASA Research from the 1960s Helps Produce Food from Air
A 20-person Californian startup called Air Protein recently attracted $32 million from Google Ventures, Barclays, and food giant ADM. Founded by Lisa Dyson (chief executive officer) and John Reed (chief scientific officer), the company uses carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and renewable power to produce edible protein. It was spun off from sister company Kiverdi, which uses a similar process to recycle plastic, enrich soil, and produce aquaculture feed, among other things.
For Dyson, who has a PhD in physics from MIT, the project has become her passion. She says she was prompted to make a difference when she witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. At that time, she was working as an education consultant appointed to a team tasked to rebuild the education system of New Orleans. She realized there needed to be significant changes to our lifestyles to halt climate change.
How Do Animal Protein Alternatives Contribute to the Environment?
Modern agriculture produces more greenhouse gases than all cars, trains, and planes put together. It currently utilizes 40 percent of the Earth’s landmass and requires vast quantities of water. While major scientific efforts and resources are focusing on carbon removal technologies, some experts say red meat consumption needs to fall by 90 percent to save the planet as we know it. And with food demands predicted to rise 70 percent by 2050, we don’t have much time.
Additionally, factory farming contributes to mass deforestation and keeps millions of animals in unnaturally confined and crowded conditions. Apart from the animal cruelty issues, these conditions and the stress they cause promote infection and disease. This, in turn, leads to the widespread use of antibiotics that then enter our food systems, potentially causing antibiotic resistance. When we consider that potential together with the possibility of new zoonotic diseases (diseases that transition to humans from animals), it’s a scary prospect.
What Does Air Protein’s Process Entail?
The Air Protein process is based on NASA research from the 1960s that investigated ways of turning carbon dioxide into edibles for astronauts on extended missions. It’s a process of fermentation that combines carbon dioxide with microbes called hydrogenotrophs. The carbon dioxide is consumed by the culture and ends up making a protein-rich liquid. This is then dried to form a tasteless brown powder.
In a 2016 TED Talk, Dyson refers to a protein meal similar to soy flour and says her team has also created an oil with similar properties to palm oil. But currently, Air Protein is focused on meat, poultry, and fish substitutes, and photos released by the company show something resembling chicken. The company spent 2020 working on texture and taste profiles to mimic the experience of eating meat. Apparently, consumer taste tests have been successful.
How Soon Before Air Protein Products Are Commercially Available
Dyson says it will be years before we’re eating Air Protein products. However, the company has started the process of obtaining GRAS certification, which is required for its products to be sold in the United States.
Safe consumption isn’t the only potential obstacle to Air Protein’s success. While producing food from the air may be possible, the company will need to prove it can be financially viable. At the moment, the process is taking place in a lab environment with highly trained staff overseeing it. Plus, it still requires energy to produce. In this respect, it’s a little like an electric vehicle — it’s only as environmentally friendly as the power source it runs off. Fortunately, Air Protein’s method of creating animal alternative protein isn’t our only option.
Reclassifying Meat
Several other companies are reclassifying meat as an eating experience instead of a definition of its origin. Meanwhile, a total investment of $930 million was directed at alternative protein development in the first quarter of 2020 alone, primarily in the US.
Impossible Foods, founded by Stanford University professor Patrick O. Brown, produced a meatless burger so convincing it turned a vegetarian consumer’s stomach. The company has patented the addition of the heme molecule produced by fermenting genetically engineered yeast with DNA from soy plants. The heme molecule is a compound found in every living thing, and the texture and taste of the Impossible Burger are attributed to its inclusion.
New York-based food technology startup Atlast Food Co. intends to replace whole-cut meats. It uses mycelium fibers (similar to the material that makes up the stems of mushrooms) to replicate the texture of meat. It launched its meatless bacon earlier this year.
If you’re a meat-lover feeling guilty about your food choices but are not quite ready to replace your steaks and burgers with falafel and tofu, don’t despair. A lot of brilliant people are working hard to give you a satisfying, tasty alternative.
