As much as we’d like there to be, there probably isn’t a miracle cure out there to solve the problem of Climate Change. Certainly a technological solution isn’t just going to materialize out of thin air. Or will it? Because as outlandish as it sounds, it may soon be possible to create food out of thin air in a sustainable way that would significantly reduce our carbon emissions.
As CNN reports:
“Feeding an ever-growing population is putting a huge strain on the Earth’s resources. Agriculture is one of the world’s largest sources of greenhouse gases, with animal farming in particular responsible for 14.5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from beef and dairy cattle.
On top of that, farming uses vast areas of land that might otherwise be home to carbon-storing forests; it also guzzles huge amounts of water — up to 70% of water-use worldwide, according to the OECD.
But a Helsinki-based company is trying to change that.
‘In order to save the planet from climate change, we need to disconnect food production from agriculture,’ says Pasi Vainikka, CEO of Solar Foods.”
I couldn’t agree more. Our current way of doing things isn’t sustainable. We’re running out of land, accelerating Climate Change, eating ourselves into oblivion. We need a better method of food production. A cleaner method. And stat. But how exactly would we i.e. Solar Foods go about doing that?
According to Vice
“To produce the powder, Solar Foods first creates hydrogen through electrolysis (splitting water cells in a bioreactor using electricity). It then adds the hydrogen to carbon dioxide, as well as nutrients such as potassium, sodium, and phosphorus, and feeds this into microbes derived from soil.
The entire process results in cells that Vainikka estimates are 50 percent protein, 25 percent carbohydrates, and 5 to 10 percent fat.
According to Vainikka, the powder could be consumed in three ways: as a protein supplement to existing foods, such as breads or drinks; as an ingredient in plant-based meat alternatives, such as veggie burgers; or as a sustainable source of amino acids needed to create lab-grown meat products.”
This protein would be known as Solein and it would change everything. The way we eat, the way we live, the way we think about agriculture and sustainability. Perhaps a technological solution for Climate Change was within reach after all. Just waiting for us to pull it out of thin air.
Is Solar Foods the Greatest Idea Ever?
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