'Air pie and windy pudding’
US company creates world’s first air-based meat
For some children, the question 'What's for dinner tonight?' is met with the droll, Victorian- era retort: ' Air pie and windy pudding!' — that is, 'Nothing!'
For the next generation, however, air pie may actually become a tangible dish, thanks to a Berkeley, California- based firm making the first ever ' air- based' meat. Using an approach first proposed by NASA, the Air Protein firm claims to have produced meat substitutes from the components of air using special microbes. Dubbing their creation ' the most sustainable protein', they claim the faux meats are rich in vitamins and nutrients and have a protein profile similar to the real thing. Not only can the microbe-derived fare be used in burgers, tacos and sausages but they could be also be used to make protein-enriched cereals, pastas and drinks.
It may be some time before these airbased meats blow in to a supermarket near you, however, with the firm still working towards a commercially-viable offering. The inspiration for Air Protein's faux-meat production process came from a NASA project dating back to the 1960s.
Tasked with potentially having to produce food for astronauts on year- long missions in cramped, resource-limited space craft, researchers discovered special microbes — dubbed ' hydrogenotrophs' — that, like plants, can turn carbon dioxide into food. As they imagined it, the carbon dioxide breathed out by astronauts would be captured by these microbes which — adding in some water and energy — would in turn produce food to sustain the space travellers.
The new approach puts a slight spin on this concept, using microbes to transform the basic components in the air — carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxygen — into a nutritious protein flour from which ' meatless meats' can be made. Similar to the NASA proposal, water, mineral nutrients and energy are added to produce the flour — with Air Protein using renewable sources for the latter.
The process works in a similar fashion to how beer and yoghurt are made — and, unlike real meat, can be produced in hours rather than months, requires a relatively tiny portion of land and is totally unimpeded by weather or the seasons. According to Air Protein, the finished meat-like products are 'rich in vitamins and minerals' and have an amino acid profile that is similar to that of real meat proteins.
The air-based meat's inclusion of crucial B- vitamins would be of benefit to vegans and vegetarians, who often find these — especially B12 — limited in their diets.
'The statistics are clear. Our current resources are under extreme strain as evidenced by the burning Amazon due to deforestation and steadily increasing droughts,' said Air Protein CEO Lisa Dyson.
'We need to produce more food with a reduced dependency on land and water resources. Air- based meat addresses these resource issues and more.'
'We believe air-based meat is the next evolution of the sustainably- produced food movement that will serve as one of the solutions to feeding a growing population without putting a strain on natural resources.'
Experts anticipate that the global population will reach 10 billion by 2050, increasing the demand for food production by 70 per cent. The air-derived protein flours can reportedly be made to resemble assorted familiar meats for use in a wide range of dishes.
'Our favourite meat dishes from chick
Experts anticipate that the global population will reach 10 billion by 2050, increasing the demand for food production by 70 per cent. The air-derived protein flours can reportedly be made to resemble assorted familiar meats for use in a wide range of dishes.
en, carne asada, bacon, burgers, tacos, and meatballs could be enjoyed knowing they would be made free of animals,' Air Protein propose on their website.
All this, they add, could come 'without the conventional needs of land and water that are currently depleting our natural resources.'
Air Protein has been developed by the larger company Kiverdi, which specialises in similarly using microbes to turn carbon dioxide into industrial goods, items of clothing and other products.
- ©Daily Mail, London