Bill Gates Supports Meat Substitute Made From Yellowstone Hot Spring Fungus

Taking out animal products from our meals is affecting a lot of people, whether in terms of health or environmental reasons, so there is a rising hunger for protein sources replacement.

Investors like Bill Gates and NASA have decided to support a company producing food out of a fungus from Yellowstone National Park hot springs.

New Food Source

Mark Kozubal, co-founder of Nature's Fynd - originally Sustainable Bioproducts - who is also the Chief Scientific Officer of the company, was initially a Ph.D. student studying organisms that can inhabit extreme environmental conditions (extremophiles) in Yellowstone National Park.

During this project, specimens of a micro-organism were gotten from a hot spring, and this finally became the origin of this new food source.

This micro-organism is a fungus called Fusarium strain flavolapis - if taking food that is been produced from fungus is gross to you, then you probably shouldn't make research on how so many processed meat is produced.

Nature's Fynd

This is not the first meat alternative that is made from fungus - a company that produces meat substitute products (Quorn) has been selling their mycoprotein for decades - this one is definitely fascinating. Nature's Fynd says that their products comprise all 20 amino acids and 50 percent more protein than tofu.

This is very convenient for individuals on a vegan diet who have to ensure that their meal contains sufficient protein and also comprises all the essential amino acids that is required by the human body. Currently, breakfast patties and cream cheese are the products listed on their website.

2012 was the year this company was founded and since then has raised $158 million in funding. Backer is Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a fund Bill Gates together with investors like Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Michael Bloomberg led. This company has also gotten financial assistance from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), NASA, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

FyTM

The company reveals it has initiated a fermentation method, this is to process the fungus into a food source "without needing sun, rain, or soil." They reveal that in just a few days, the filaments develop and interlace, making a mat with a texture the same that of a muscle fiber.

Following this, the final product, referred to as Fy^TM, can be transformed into a liquid, solid, or powder. Fy^TM also can be made in space, Nature's Fynd said. This explains the reason NASA is interested.

Nature's Fynd also says this product is suitable for the environment, requiring fewer greenhouse gases and water than other sources of protein. The product is also more efficient with land use since it is about 3.6 times more efficient than animals and about 1.4 times more efficient than plants with regards to protein generated per acre - making use of a mind-blowing 99 percent less land than beef production.

Related Article: The Potential of Mycology or Fungi Megascience in Advancing Our Knowledge and Technology

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