Finding a suitable meat alternative has always been the goal for vegetarians or people who are against the slaughtering of animals that corporations do daily to feed the human population. While there are options available that range from something soy-based like tofu or tempeh which is a portion of fermented, high-protein plant food made from soybeans. Basically, many of the alternatives are soy-based. But what if you had a way of sating your meat-less meat cravings with something made from microbes?
This new startup called Nature’s Fynd is doing just that. They’re developing meat-less products from a fermented volcanic microbe that they derived from Yellowstone National Park. Their products include meat-less burgers, dairy-free cheese, chicken-less nuggets. The company is based in Chicago and has already raised about $158 million in funding and surprisingly they have many high-profile people backing them up. Namely Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Al Gore. You can take a look at a video about them below.
You heard it right, big wigs are actually backing Nature’s Fynd so this might be something legit. Though I wouldn’t trust Bill Gates with my diet, you know, considering his expertise are mostly on the computer side. If he was backing up a new operating system then I wouldn’t even think twice about it. The startup aims to release its products into the market this year. Analysts predict that their release will add to the already big meat alternatives market.
The current market is largely monopolized by Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods and it worth $7 billion right now. Nature Fynd’s was founded back in 2012 by Mark Kozubal and Thomas Jonas. The company’s name was Sustainable Bioproducts at first but that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue now does it?
The microbe they discovered was called Fusarium strain flavolapis, discovered in the volcanic hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. The team was able to ferment the microbe into a protein-rich meat alternative that they named “Fy”. All their products are going to be based on Fy. According to them, Fy includes all 20 amino acids whilst having no cholesterol or trans fats. The substance also has a tenth of the fat of ground beef and around 50 percent more protein than tofu.
The meat alternative market will largely depend on the customers. Nature Fynd aiming to push the shift towards alt-meats ahead by a few years. They are already building a 3,251 square meters factory on the site of Chicago’s former Union Stockyards. This has some symbolism to it as well as the Union Stockyards was where most of the real meat was packed back in the 20th century.
Is this a step towards better sustaining the human race and finding more ways to feed it or is this a step towards a full-on zombie apocalypse.
