Session 3
Fermentation-based Proteins
Fermentation-based Proteins
Microbes have long been a part of food production. Whether in the brewing of beer or the leavening of bread, yeast has been part of our food system for millennia. More recently, the production of rennet (used to coagulate milk in cheese making) has been achieved by inserting the chymosin gene into yeast, so we no longer need to harvest this protein from the stomach lining of young calves.
This session aims to introduce you to fermentation for alternative protein applications and highlight the immense potential for microbes in this field. We will cover traditional fermentation, biomass fermentation, and precision fermentation alongside the relative roles that they can each play in replacing proteins from animals.
Core Material
You are required to read/watch these and think about discussion prompts ahead of the session. We expect that you will need ~2 hr to go through these resources.
Policy
Fermentation: The New Game-Changer For Alternative Proteins?
Kateman (2021) - Article (10min)
Commercial fermentation: Opportunities and bottlenecks
Warner (2021) - Talk (30 min - Q&A optional)
Exercise
Read the following article from AgriFood Networks:
World of Meat: The Rise of Fermentation Technology - Protein of the Future
The article discusses novel value streams originating from fermentation technology. Take some time to research online and note 3 up-and-coming fermentation technology-based value chains and discuss those with your cohort.
Core Discussion Prompts
General
Define traditional, biomass, and precision fermentation in your own words. In what ways are they similar to each other, and in what ways are they different?
Fermentation is described as an "enabling technology" for the alternative protein industry. What does this mean?
Last week we discussed some properties that consumers might value in meat (cost, nutrition, texture, appearance, taste, and smell). To what extent could fermentation technologies be used to improve each of these?
To what extent do you agree that fermentation technologies are enablers rather than providing standalone products?
Hybrid products combine different alternative protein technologies. Imagining how these technologies could develop in the future, what would your ideal hybrid product be composed of? Think big!
To what extent do you think the long history of fermentation to produce food makes modern fermentation-derived alternative proteins more acceptable to consumers?
Debate
Your facilitator will pick groups of participants to argue for and against. You will have ~10 mins in breakout rooms in your teams to prepare your arguments before beginning the debate. This week's debate will be in support of/against the following statement:
"Is fermentation technology the most viable solution for addressing the environmental, health, and ethical concerns associated with traditional animal agriculture?"
Further Resources
These are not mandatory, but they provide some additional context/information if you would like to find out more:
General
Fermentation - Good Food Institute [Webpage, 5 mins]
The science of fermentation - Good Food Institute [25 mins]
The Microbial Reasons Why the Impossible Burger Tastes So Good - American Society for Microbiology (2019) [Article, 10 mins]
Coming Soon: A Post-Cow World - Precision Fermentation - The Flexitarian Times (2020) [Video, 9 mins]
Fermentation: The New Game-Changer For Alternative Proteins? - Kateman (2021) [Article, 10mins]
A forgotten Space Age technology could change how we grow food - Lisa Dyson, CEO of Air Protein (2016) [Ted Talk]
Understanding the scale-up of fermentation processes from the viewpoint of the flow field in bioreactors and the physiological response of strains - Xia et al. (2021)
Regulation
Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) - US Food & Drug Administration [Webpage]
Alternative proteins and EU food law - Lähteenmäki-Uutela et al. (2021) [Paper]
Safety of Alternative Protein - Singapore Food Agency [Webpage]
Novel foods authorisation guidance - UK Food Standards Agency [Webpage]
Commercial
GFI State of the Industry: Fermentation for alternative proteins video, slides or report [1hr]
Scale-up of industrial microbial processes - Crater and Lievense (2018) [Paper, 15 mins]
Commercial fermentation: Opportunities and bottlenecks - Warner (2021) [Talk, 30 mins - Q&A optional]
Successfully Commercializing Alternative Proteins – Bench to Plate - Mark Warner (2020)
Debt Financing for Alternative Protein Companies - Jordan Kanis (2020)