Alternative protein is one of the most creative and innovative industries, with new flavors, ingredients and technologies showing up on the scene several times a year. In recent times we have seen the likes of potato milk, fermented dairy, meat grown in a lab, 3-D printed steak... the list goes on. And with consumer tastes and proclivities, the trend doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere.
According to global nutrition supplier Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), the alternative protein market is expected to grow to $125 billion by 2030. This is as per its 2022 Alternative Protein Outlook which it released on February 8th. The Good Food Institute (GFI), a nonprofit that advocates for a shift to more sustainable foods also listed its top trends in January. For the most part, there were no surprises, but both reports advised of further diversification in alternative protein sources.
Leticia Goncalves, president of Global Foods at ADM says that in the last 12 months, meat, cheese and dairy alternatives have more than doubled.
This is to be expected, given market demand.
Waitrose’s 2022 Food & Drink Report found that nearly 70% of its customers feel that the carbon footprint of their food is important to them, while Whole Foods Market’s
“Products aimed at meeting the heightened demand for health-forward solutions that can deliver on evolving consumer taste and texture expectations will continue to come to market over the next decade,” says Goncalves.
According to ADM, alternative protein is moving beyond soybeans and peas to novel and in some cases, completely unconventional sources. Seaweed and insects, okay, okay. But volcanic ash? And air?
Both of these novel types of alternative protein are based on a process of microbial fermentation that is driving much of the alternative protein market into the future.
Volcano-to-table? Wait, what?
The story goes that in 2009, scientist Mark Kozubal, in a NASA-backed project, discovered a microbe— a fungus to be exact— in the acidic volcanic springs of Yellowstone National Park, and recognized that it was able to effectively multiply under extreme conditions with limited resources.
And as luck would have it, through a breakthrough fermentation process, Kozubal’s team was able to grow a complete protein source with all 20 amino acids— with just a fraction of the land and water of traditional protein production.
Fast forward to present day... Kozubel is now Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder (along with CEO Thomas Jonas) of Natures Fynd, a food-tech start-up backed by Jeff Bezos, Al Gore and Bill Gates that is using the Yellow Stone fungus, called Fy, as the primary ingredient in its alternative protein, using a biomass fermentation process.
With respect to flavor, Fy is apparently highly versatile and can be savory or sweet, with the ability to take the form of a solid, liquid, or powder. And it is highly nutritious too. According to Natures Fynd, Fy is a nutritional powerhouse and a complete vegan protein source with all 20 amino acids, including the 9 essential amino acids, with 50% more protein that tofu and twice as much protein as raw peas. In addition, Fy is a good source of fiber and has no cholesterol or trans fats.
In 2019, when the discovery of “volcano protein” was made, Jonas promised, "We'll be providing, in what I call 'burger equivalent’, the same amount [of ‘meat’] that you will get out of cows grazing on 7,000 acres. That's the amount of land that you will need. And we're going to do that in the city of Chicago in just one plant."
To date, Natures Fynd sells original breakfast patties, maple flavored breakfast patties, original cream cheese, and chive and onion cream cheese.
Making alternative protein out of thin air
Would you like some atmospheric CO2 with some fries and ketchup on the side? Startups, such as Air Protein in Berkeley, California and Solar Foods in Finland, would respond with a wholehearted yes!
These companies are using atmospheric carbon dioxide, renewable electricity, and water to generate food using a microbial fermentation process, and like Fy, this alternative protein innovation also has a link to NASA.
In the 1960s, NASA discovered that by metabolizing hydrogen, bacteria known as hydrogenotrophs can transform CO2 in the air into a tasteless protein that can be made to look and taste like traditional foods. According to Solar Foods, the process creates protein exactly in the same way as plants— albeit more efficiently.
With respect to nutritional content, the Air Protein website says that the protein “is rich in vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, with all 9 essential amino acids and 2 times the amino acids of soybeans.” Air protein has demonstrated use of its product in alternative chicken, alternative fish and alternative scallops.
Finnish food technology firm, Solar Foods, is also making protein from air— or what it refers to as “a protein in its most natural form” or Solein. Solar Foods is currently in the process of building an industrial scale production facility for “the world’s first sustainable alternative protein,” and has has already demonstrated its use in approximately 20 products, including vegan burger patties and plant-based meatballs.
Solein consists of 65-70 % protein, 5-8 % fat, 10-15 % dietary fibres and 3-5 % mineral nutrients— very similar to that of dried soy or algae.
According to ADM, the need to sustainably feed a growing global population and meet increased consumer demand for healthy solutions will drive demand in the alternative protein industry.
“Current projections indicate that we will need to produce more food in the next 40 years than we have in the past 8,000 years to feed the world’s population,” said ADM. “This is going to require alternatives that extend well beyond conventional protein sources.”
