Nature opens up new food: fungus-based meat substitute

The food system is responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, with ruminant meat production being the largest single source

"In the future, replacing ruminant meat with microbial proteins could significantly reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of the food system," the authors said

Sustainable Burgers: Replacing Ground Red Meat with Microbial Protein

The research team from Germany and Sweden added microbial proteins to computer simulation models to examine environmental impacts in the context of whole food and agricultural systems, in contrast to previous studies at the single product level

"We found that if we replaced 20 percent of ruminant meat per capita by 2050, annual CO2 emissions from deforestation and land-use change would be cut in half compared to business-as-usual.

Microproteins can be decoupled from agricultural production

"There are roughly three groups of meat analogs," explains co-author Isabelle Weindl, a researcher at PIK

Microproteins are produced in a specific medium, just like beer or bread

Green biotechnology requires green energy as fuel

"Biotechnology provides a promising toolbox for many land-related challenges by improving food security," said study co-author Alexander Popp, leader of PIK's Land Use Management Group

Popp added: “The massive transition to biotech food requires massive decarbonisation of electricity generation to fully exploit the climate protection potential

Humpenöder, F.