Fungi-based meat alternatives to help save Earth's forests

Date:
May 4, 2022
Source:
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)
Summary:
Substituting 20 % of meat from cattle with microbial protein --
a meat alternative produced in fermentation tanks -- by 2050
could halve deforestation, a new analysis finds. The market-ready
meat alternative is very similar in taste and texture, but is a
biotech product which -- by replacing beef -- involves much less
land resources and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and
land-use change. This goes under the assumption of a growing world
population's increasing appetite for beefy bites, and it is the
first time researchers have projected the development of these
market-ready meat substitutes into the future, assessing their
potential impact on the environment.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The market-ready meat alternative is very similar in taste and texture,
but is a biotech product which -- by replacing beef -- involves much
less land resources and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and
land-use change.

This goes under the assumption of a growing world population's increasing appetite for beefy bites, and it is the first time researchers have
projected the development of these market-ready meat substitutes into
the future, assessing their potential impact on the environment.


==========================================================================
"The food system is at the root of a third of global greenhouse gas
emissions, with ruminant meat production being the single largest
source," says Florian Humpeno"der, researcher at PIK and lead author
of the study. That is because more and more forests that store a lot of
carbon are cleared for cattle grazing or growing its feed, and because
of further greenhouse-gas emissions from animal agriculture. Part of the solution could be existing biotechnology: Nutritious protein-rich biomass
with meat-like texture produced from microbes like fungi via fermentation,
what scientists call "microbial protein." "The substitution of ruminant
meat with microbial protein in the future could considerably reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of the food system," says Humpeno"der. "The
good news is that people do not need to be afraid they can eat only
greens in the future. They can continue eating burgers and the like,
it's just that those burger patties will be produced in a different way." Sustainable burgers: replacing minced red meat with microbial protein The
team of researchers from Germany and Sweden included microbial protein
in a computer simulation model to detect the environmental effects in the context of the whole food and agriculture system, as opposed to previous studies at the level of single products. Their forward-looking scenarios
run until 2050 and account for future population growth, food demand,
dietary patterns as well as dynamics in land use and agriculture. As meat consumption will likely continue to rise in the future, more and more
forests and non-forest natural vegetation may be doomed to extinction
for pastures and cropland.

"We found that if we substituted 20 per cent of ruminant meat per
capita by 2050, annual deforestation and CO2 emissions from land-use
change would be halved compared to a business-as-usual scenario. The
reduced numbers of cattle do not only reduce the pressure on land but
also reduce methane emissions from the rumen of cattle and nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizing feed or manure management," says Humpeno"der
"So replacing minced red meat with microbial protein would be a great
start to reduce the detrimental impacts of present-day beef production." Microbial protein can be decoupled from agricultural production "There
are broadly three groups of meat analogues," Isabelle Weindl, co-author
and also researcher at PIK, explains. "There are plant-based ones like
soybean burger patties, and animal cells grown in a petri dish also known
as cultured meat, which is so far very expensive but got a lot of public attention recently. And there's fermentation-derived microbial protein,
which we consider most interesting. It is available in a large variety
already today in supermarkets, for example in the UK or in Switzerland,
and, importantly, it can be largely decoupled from agricultural
production. Our results show that even accounting for the sugar as
feedstock, microbial protein requires much less agricultural land compared
to ruminant meat for the same protein supply." Microbial protein is made
in specific cultures, just like beer or bread. The microbes are living
on sugar and a steady temperature, and getting out a very protein-rich
product that can taste like, feel like and be as nutritious as red
meat. Based on the centuries-old method of fermentation, it was developed
in the 1980s. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) greenlighted a microbial protein meat alternative (mycoprotein) as safe in 2002.

Green biotechnology needs to be fuelled by green energy "Biotechnology
offers a promising toolbox for a number of land-related challenges from ecosystems preservation through improving food security," says co-author Alexander Popp, leader of the Land Use Management group at PIK.

"Alternatives to animal proteins, including substitutes for dairy
products, can massively benefit animal welfare, save water and avert
pressure from carbon- rich and biodiverse ecosystems." However, there
are crucial questions attached to shifting more and more production from livestock to fermentation tanks - - most importantly the energy supply
for the production process.

"A large-scale transformation towards biotech food requires a large-scale decarbonisation of electricity generation so that the climate protection potential can be fully developed," Popp adds. "Yet if we do this properly, microbial protein can help meat-lovers embrace the change. It can really
make a difference."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Potsdam_Institute_for_Climate_Impact_Research_(PIK).

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Humpeno"der, F., Bodirsky, B.L., Weindl, I. et al. Projected
environmental benefits of replacing beef with microbial
protein. Nature, 2022 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04629-w ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220504110405.htm

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