NPR

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For ... Lab-Grown Animal Proteins!

Some startups are making synthetic versions of animal proteins for use in foods from smoothies to baked goods. The goal: to reshape the food supply without the environmental footprint of livestock.
Two scoops of Perfect Day's vegan ice cream, made with synthetic whey proteins. Protein from whey, a byproduct of cheese-making, is often used to give frozen desserts a creamy texture. Perfect Day makes its whey proteins using microbes.

Earlier today, I ate a scoop of chocolate ice cream – creamy and pleasantly fatty feeling in my mouth. This would hardly seem newsworthy, except for the high-tech ingredient that made my frozen treat go down so smoothly: dairy proteins produced in a lab, no cows needed.

The realm of plant-based meat substitutes has gotten a lot of buzz lately. Think the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat – companies that use biochemistry to mimic the taste and texture of meat using plant-based ingredients. There's another frontier along these lines – start-ups that use microbes to create

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