What are alternative proteins?

 

Alternative proteins are designed to substitute or imitate animal-based ingredients without using actual animals at any step in the production process. There are three main types of alt proteins:

1) Plant-based meat and dairy products, the most famous being Impossible and Beyond burgers, soy milk, almond milk, etc. These foods have grown explosively in popularity over the past decade thanks to dedicated scientists and specially biophysicists! 

2) Cultivated meat is grown from the stem cells of nonhuman animals, which are proliferated in bioreactors and then scaffolded onto 3D structures for consumption. This nascent industry is comprised of academic labs or startups that are still doing research and other companies that are preparing for large-scale production. Biophysics and computational modeling are crucial to advancing bioprocess efficiency in cultivated meat production.

3) Fermentation is an enabling technology that uses microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria for the production of standalone protein sources or functional ingredients. Using recombinant expression and other biophysical methods, we can produce products that are identical in taste and properties to egg and dairy, without contributing to climate change, zoonotic diseases, and antibiotic resistance!

Want to know more and get involved? 

Go to Good Food Institute's booth, it's a nonprofit that supports scientists and industries to accelerate the transition to a sustainable and just food system!

GFI offers grants to academic labs and has a career database to help scientists, students, and everyone who wants to use their expertise to challenge pressing global issues, from climate change, to antibiotic resistance and pandemics!