2 - Synbio vanillin & cultured meat: A brave new world for consumers, food manufacturers, and legislators?
Next we thought we’d take a look at something that could move onto the radar in 2015.
‘Synthetic biology’ pioneers such as Evolva are blazing a trail when it comes to producing high value ingredients in more efficient - and arguably, more sustainable - ways by growing food not in fields but in fermentation tanks using everything from genetically engineered baker’s yeast to microalgae.
Modern Meadow, meanwhile, is applying tissue engineering and 3-D bioprinting techniques originally developed for medical applications to grow 'leather' and 'meat' from animal cells in a kitchen, without slaughtering any animals or generating as much greenhouse gas.
But opponents worry that regulators have not caught up, that consumers will be duped if such ingredients are labeled as ‘natural’, and that we don’t know what the long term health effects might be.
Expect more heated debate in 2015…
