Saving the Planet is Not Impossible

by Georgia McKirgan

In an earlier Portsmouth Point article I talked about the importance of investing in cheaper and more efficient renewable energy sources rather than subsidising the current expensive and inefficient technologies. At the end of the article, I said:

“If  you are concerned about the future of the planet there are two simple policies you could adopt in your life that would make a huge difference. Stop eating beef and stop buying single-use plastic drink bottles. You won’t get the same psychic Income that you get when you drive past a wind turbine but you will actually be doing something that will make a difference.”

Recognising the environmental challenges posed by meat production, I decided to look into taking this approach of investing in cheaper technology rather than relying on taxes, subsidies and education to the environmental challenges posed by meat production in food supply. Currently, about 24% of the world’s landmass is used for either raising animals for food or growing crops that are used to feed animals that are used for food and that doesn’t include the water these animals and crops require or the gases that the animals produce. The Impossible Food Company was set up in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, a biology professor at Stanford University with the aim of taking animals out of food production by 2035. Professor Brown had conducted research into a molecule called heme and he believes that heme is a key factor in understanding how meat behaves when it is being cooked and eaten. Heme is abundant in animal muscle but is found naturally in all living organisms and the heme molecule in plant-based heme is identical to the heme molecule found in meat.

To produce heme protein from non-animal sources, Impossible Foods selected the Leghemoglobin found naturally in the roots of soy plants.To make plant-based heme in large quantities, Impossible Foods' scientists then genetically engineered a yeast and used a fermentation process very similar to the brewing process used to make some types of beer. In 2016, Impossible Foods launched its first meat-like product, The Impossible Burger. Rather than trying to recreate the texture of steak, the company focused on a ground beef-type product that cooks and tastes exactly like meat. To replicate the fat in burgers, The Impossible Burger uses coconut fat mixed with ground wheat and potato protein.

The finished product is stunning. It looks and tastes just like a regular burger but there are other advantages. The plant-based burger has more protein, less fat, no cholesterol and fewer calories than a regular burger. The company says producing meat in this way uses 95% less land, 74% less water and produces 87% less greenhouse gases than regular meat production. The Impossible Burger was originally only available in a number of Californian burger chains but the company is now gearing up to sell the product in supermarkets and other retail outlets. Apart from the environmental benefits described above, there is one other big advantage...it is cheaper than regular ground beef.

The Impossible Burger is a great example of the approach I have been talking about. If the environmental problem we face is that meat production has too big an environmental footprint, there are a number of different solutions. Governments could tax meat production to encourage people to switch to other kinds of food, they could launch an educational campaign to highlight the environmental impact of meat production or they could subsidise less-damaging meat products like lamb. While some of these might make an impact, they  would all require public spending and time. Professor Brown is convinced that because his product tastes as good as beef, has more health benefits and most importantly, is cheaper, it will naturally and quickly replace meat in the marketplace before his stated target date of 2035.

While no government campaigns or spending have been required, this product wasn’t developed for free. The company has raised around $250 million from investors like Bill Gates, Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing, Google and a number of Silicon Valley VC firms butis a great example of investing to create cheaper, better technology to solve the big environmental problems we face. There are other meat substitute products available like Quorn, but these products focus on finding naturally occurring plant proteins and mixing them with egg albumen but while they are an acceptable food source, nobody would claim they taste like the real thing. People who like the taste of meat view these as inferior products. The work of Professor Brown and his team on this one molecule could change the world. They have used science to understand how the process of cooking and tasting meat can be replicated much more efficiently.

Is this the only environmental challenge that can be addressed in this way? Not at all. Focus on producing a product that is better and cheaper and the market will take care of the rest. While the environmental damage caused by burning fossil fuels is a huge challenge, taking animals out of food production will not only be hugely beneficial for the environment but thanks to the pioneering work of Professor Brown, the solution is already here. Imagine if we took the same approach to energy generation and storage battery technology. The heme molecule shows us that saving the planet is not impossible if we try and address our problems in a smart way.