Free Republic

In the ongoing search for sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to meat and other animal proteins, researchers have settled on a new product that only solidifies our descent into a dystopian science fiction story. Published in Nature Communications, this could be humanity’s new favorite food; genetically engineered mold. The study, led by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, demonstrates how the edible fungus, Aspergillus oryzae, can be bioengineered to enhance its nutritional value and sensory appeal as a meat substitute. By modifying the fungus’s genome using cutting-edge synthetic biology tools, the researchers were able to elevate the production of key...

The world’s leading meat producer, Tyson Foods Inc., announced the closure of its largest pork packing plant in Iowa this week as the company transitions towards insect farming to produce “meat alternatives.” The meat giant also indicated that four additional plants would close by mid-fiscal 2024, just days after announcing the closure of two major chicken plants.

Shares of meat alternatives soared when Beyond Meat, the California-based producer that's come to epitomize the sector, went public four years ago, but a fall in stock prices suggests that venture capital investments may have gotten ahead of market realities. These types of investment cycles are not new to the agricultural and food markets, but meat alternatives have been widely covered in the media because they are part of the larger conversation about climate change and food insecurity. But existing meat substitutes are not as affordable as real meat and not similar enough in taste. And they have not been...