54. Mycoprotein v. cell-cultured seafood

Discovery Matters

We know meat is problematic for the environment, and seafood has its own issues with overfishing, so do we have to wave goodbye to the foods we love?

Well, what if we told you that there are substitutes which you can enjoy without sacrificing taste and texture?

We start with mycoprotein, in the form of the well-known meat substitute products of Quorn Foods. Tim Finnigan, Chief Scientific Advisor for Quorn Foods, explains why mycoprotein is such a suitable source of protein, how it is manufactured, the environmental benefits, and how fusarium venenatum, the microfungus, was discovered. And... it's tasty!

In the same episode, we ask Dr Lauran Madden, Chief Technology Officer at BlueNalu, to share with you the engineering process, the health and environmental benefits, and the positive impact on the environment of their cell-cultured seafood. This is hugely critical as the populations of marine species have halved since 1970, battling with overfishing, illegal fishing, and the effects of trawling. This cell-cultured seafood comes first...plaice... *sorry*.

By the end of this episode, we will hopefully have demonstrated the environmental and health benefits of switching meat out of our diets for better alternatives.

Transcript

Keywords: cell-culture, microfungus, filamentous, mycoprotein, environment, meat substitute, protein, seafood, yeast, engineering, technologies, fish, fungi, Quorn, BlueNalu.