←back to thread

CRISPR fungus: Protein-packed, sustainable, and tastes like meat

(www.isaaa.org)
285 points rguiscard | 1 comments | 12 Dec 25 00:59 UTC | HN request time: 0.244s | source
Show context
SapporoChris ◴[12 Dec 25 03:23 UTC] No.46240533[source]▶
They've altered Fusarium venenatum which is currently what Quorn utilizes in its products. "The production process of gene-edited MP is more environmentally friendly than chicken meat and cell-cultured meat." That's good news, if they get to the point where it is more economically friendly than chicken meat it will be great news.
replies(5): >>46241584 #>>46241830 #>>46242175 #>>46242217 #>>46243401 #
jcfrei ◴[12 Dec 25 12:12 UTC] No.46243401[source]▶
The farming lobby will try to ban it as soon as it becomes a viable alternative to poultry. I hope consumers will have the awareness to fight back.
replies(2): >>46244367 #>>46245552 #
YurgenJurgensen ◴[12 Dec 25 14:19 UTC] No.46244367[source]▶
The feedstock has to come from somewhere, right? I’m assuming many farmers would prefer feeding it into stable vats of algae or fungus than dealing with the risks of another epidemic-induced chicken cull.
replies(4): >>46244870 #>>46245538 #>>46247463 #>>46248164 #
lm28469 ◴[12 Dec 25 16:15 UTC] No.46245538[source]▶
> I’m assuming many farmers would prefer feeding it into stable vats of algae or fungus than dealing with the risks of another epidemic-induced chicken cull.

Many farmers don't have the financial means to redesign their entire pipeline to move from birds to fungus. "farming" is in the name but I also suspect there is nothing in common between raising chicken in cages and mushrooms in sterile containers in term of know-how, maintenance, &c.

replies(1): >>46246059 #
1. YurgenJurgensen ◴[12 Dec 25 17:04 UTC] No.46246059[source]▶
Factory farms consume far more feed than they can grow on site though, so the real power isn’t in the chicken farmers, it’s the ones growing chicken feed, and they’re probably used to switching crops to suit market demands.

And the farmers who do grow their own feed are probably smaller operations targeting higher quality meat than factory-farmed chicken, so they’re not the ones that vat-grown meat-substitutes would be competing with.