Session 3

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.

Technology 

Policy

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 

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

Regulation

Commercial