Over the past few decades, as the global population has grown and consumption habits have changed, food production has faced considerable pressure. As more and more people pay attention to the sustainability and ethics of food, traditional methods of producing protein from animal sources are gradually showing their limitations.
In this context, with the rapid development of biotechnology, alternative proteins have emerged, providing a new solution that will even change our eating habits while having profound implications for our health and the future of the planet. Influence.
Advertisement
Foods rich in protein (Source: Generated by the author using AI)
Alternative proteins, as the name suggests, are foods that can replace traditional animal proteins. It comes from a variety of sources, including plants, insects and lab-grown meat.
These new protein sources are designed to mimic the taste and nutrition of meat while reducing their environmental burden. Today, we will take you to understand how these innovative foods are developed from the laboratory to our tables, and how they can potentially reshape our understanding of food and consumption behavior.
Among the four alternative proteins, plant meat has the most promising development
Advertisement
Among the four current alternative proteins, plant-based proteins have the most significant development. Compared with other categories that have not yet penetrated the market or have low audience acceptance, plant-based proteins are in a leading position due to their mature production technology and wide market acceptance. The following is a classification of alternative proteins:
1. Plant protein
Plant protein is the most mature alternative protein source, including beans, cereals, potatoes and nuts, among which soy protein content can reach 40%.
Plant protein has low production costs, high safety, is easy to digest and absorb, has little negative impact on the environment and animal welfare (and probably has the least psychological burden on consumers), and has been widely used in the market.
Plant protein has low overall cost, strong safety, easy digestion and little side effects on animal welfare and the environment. It is now widely used and is the best alternative protein so far. Plant-based protein has become the most promising alternative protein category not only because of its economic benefits and production efficiency advantages, but also because of its importance in environmental protection and sustainable development.
2. Insect protein
Insects are a highly efficient source of protein, including proteins extracted from eggs, larvae, adults, pupae, etc. at all stages of growth.
Although insects reproduce quickly and are nutritious, most mainstream consumers have reservations about eating them and find them difficult to swallow. However, some delicious insect proteins are still common on our tables, such as silkworm pupae, bee pupae, etc. Although insect protein has a reasonable nutritional structure, low meat fiber, and is easy to absorb, large-scale production technology is not yet mature.
3. Microbial protein
Microbial proteins, especially those produced through precision fermentation techniques, are receiving considerable attention. This technology relies on gene editing and biotechnology to create customized microorganisms to produce specific proteins and nutrients.
For example, precision fermentation is used to produce casein, yeast proteins, etc., which can meet protein needs without relying on traditional animal sources. Microorganisms have fast growth rates, high production efficiency, and wide sources of raw materials, but their consumer acceptance remains a challenge.
Concept diagram of protein produced by precision fermentation technology (source: generated by the author using AI)
4. Cell proteins
A revolutionary method of directly utilizing cell culture technology to produce food.
By culturing and multiplying animal cells in the laboratory, we can produce food similar to traditional meat without the need for farming and slaughtering processes. Imagine we could get the beef we need simply by culturing and multiplying muscle and fat cells.
Through cellular agriculture technology, there is no need to raise the whole animal, only the part we eat is enough. For example, when we only want to eat steak, there is no need to work hard to cultivate tissues or organs including bones, horns, hooves, etc. This approach not only reduces the consumption of natural resources but also reduces environmental impact.
What should I do if the alternative protein tastes bad?
Some friends said that it’s not that alternative proteins are bad, but they taste and taste terrible! Someone actually tried to challenge this problem and achieved good results.
There is a company called Impossible Foods, which mainly develops plant-based protein burgers. The company's founder, Pat Brown, a Stanford professor of biochemistry, assembled a team of top scientists to recreate the entire sensory experience of meat, dairy and fish using plants .
During Pat’s entrepreneurial journey, Dr. Brown realized that if people were to reduce their reliance on animal meat, it was not enough to simply offer alternatives with comparable nutritional value; the key was to replicate the taste and feel of meat.
He and his team found that heme is the key ingredient that gives meat its distinctive metallic, bloody taste. However, heme is primarily found in the muscles of animals, which poses a challenge for developing completely plant-based meat alternatives.
Schematic diagram of heme (Source: Wikipedia)
After research, the team found that a plant protein called soybean nodule globulin contains heme similar to animal heme.
However, the cost of directly extracting heme from soybeans is too high and is not suitable for commercial production. The solution is to genetically engineer soybean heme genes into yeast and then mass-produce the protein through a fermentation process. This innovation not only gives their “beef” burgers a flavor close to that of real beef, it also significantly reduces their environmental impact.
Once launched, burgers using this technology not only aroused great interest among consumers, but also triggered extensive discussions in the food industry and biotechnology fields, marking a major breakthrough in the field of alternative proteins. The success of this technology provides a good example of how to solve complex global problems through innovation and interdisciplinary cooperation.
summary:
Resource consumption and environmental pollution caused by traditional livestock and poultry breeding, as well as the continued growth of the global population and higher human health needs, have given rise to people's motivation to tap new food resources, promoting plant protein, algae protein, insect protein, microbial protein, Innovation and development of alternative proteins such as cell culture proteins.
Overall, although alternative proteins currently face many challenges, they have great potential and are expected to become an important way of food production in the future.
Planning and production
Author丨Denovo popular science author
Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center
Planning丨Ding Ao
Editor丨Ding Er
Reviewer丨Xu Lai Linlin