Green and Ethical Food 15 October 2020 at 10:14AM in Green & ethical MoneySaving 54 replies 955 views

NigeWick

Martyn1981 said:

UN backed report on food choices:

Who backs the information offered? Follow the money.
Protein and fat don't make us obese, sugar (carbohydrates) is the culprit. Intensive monocrop agriculture destroys soil, regenerative ruminant pasture management sequesters more carbon than trees. The problem is intensive animal husbandry using monocrop agriculture to feed meat animals.

Martyn1981

Startup’s bug idea – to put cricket tortillas and chips on the menu

The farm is one of a growing number of companies in Europe and elsewhere seizing on the protein possibilities of insects. But while others focus on growing insects for pet food or animal feed, the Spanish startup has its antennae trained on the human market.

Over the course of each 35-day cycle, the farm produces three tonnes of crickets – 80% of which are ground into protein-rich flour for culinary use, including pasta, snackbars and crackers.

Martyn1981

Here's an idea for producing protein more efficiently in terms of land use.



Microbes and solar power ‘could produce 10 times more food than plants’

Combining solar power and microbes could produce 10 times more protein than crops such as soya beans, according to a new study.

The system would also have very little impact on the environment, the researchers said, in stark contrast to livestock farming which results in huge amounts of climate-heating gases as well as water pollution.

The concept uses electricity from solar panels and carbon dioxide from the air to create fuel for microbes, which are grown in bioreactor vats and then processed into dry protein powders. The process makes highly efficient use of land, water and fertiliser and could be deployed anywhere, not just in countries with strong sunshine or fertile soils, the scientists said.

The analysis estimated that the solar-microbial process could produce 15 tonnes of protein from each hectare (or per 2.5 acres) a year, enough to feed 520 people, which the scientists said was a conservative estimate. In comparison, a hectare of soya beans could produce 1.1 tonnes of protein, feeding 40 people. Even in countries with relatively low sunlight levels like the UK, microbial protein production was at least five times greater from each hectare than plants.

The microbial protein would cost about the same as current proteins eaten by people, such as whey or pea, the researchers suggested. But it was several times more expensive than current animal feeds, although future technological improvements are expected to lower costs.

All the components of the system exist, but Leger said they now need to be tested together and at scale, in particular the capturing of CO2 from the air and ensuring that used solar panels can be recycled. “For human food, there’s also a lot of regulation that needs to be overcome,” he said.

NigeWick

Martyn1981 said:

Here's an idea for producing protein more efficiently in terms of land use.

I read that scientists are starting to produce actual meat artificially. Allegedly all the protein, vitamins & minerals along with texture and taste of whatever cut one wants. I expect they're at the mince for a £1million burger stage at present. Tony Seba reckons it'll be here within ten years and cheaper than grass fed beef as a for instance.