Making Eggs Without the Chicken

ARTURO ELIZONDO — FOUNDER AND CEO, THE EVERY COMPANY

Ninety-nine percent of farmed animals in the U.S. are raised on factory farms—and most never see the sun or walk on grass. As a young intern at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Elizondo learned that more than one million animals are slaughtered per hour at USDA facilities, and that animal agriculture is the number one contributor to deforestation and species extinction. “I knew there had to be a way to make protein without destroying the planet in the process,” he says.

After more than six years of research, the startup he founded to devise a solution is finally coming out of its shell: This October, The EVERY Company launched the first animal-free egg protein, made by infusing a 3D-printed DNA sequence of chicken egg protein into yeast and then fermenting it, similar to the way brewers make beer. The end result is a protein that food and beverage makers can add to their products for nutrition, without the obvious taste of traditional alternate proteins. The process doesn’t require animals and uses less water, land and energy than factory farms do. Says Elizondo: “The only way to truly transform our food system was to meet people egg-xactly where they’re at.”