PARIS: What if, instead of eating crickets or genetically engineered meat, people rely on everyday ingredients to put food on our plates?
This material is wood, or rather waste from the manufacture of paper. Researchers in Italy began work on extracting amino acids, the main nutrients, from a synthetic material called lignin, with the aim of creating a new type of meat.
The name of the project “Plants” leaves no doubt about its purpose. At first glance, the idea seems futuristic, the idea is to create meat from plants.
But instead of using more forests to put food on our plates in the future, the goal is to put the waste from the paper industry to better use. Specifically, this work focuses on lignin, which is a paper product that manufacturers do not know what to do with. In fact, this is often called fire. The paper is the main part of the research sponsored by the Ministry of Universities and Research, reports the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica. A team of researchers was formed, led by Marco Vanon, professor at the University of Milan-Bicocca. The scientific objective, in which the Protein Factory 2.0 laboratory of the University of Insubria also collaborates, consists in the development of a new biotechnological process to obtain amino acids – the main component of protein – from this waste, which comes from an economic point of view. look because they are not expensive.
In addition to lignin, researchers are also working on wheat, which is obtained when the grain is “cleaned” during flour production. La Repubblica explains: “[S]cientists want to create bacterial cells that have all the necessary enzymes to behave like the ‘industrial’ form of vanillin obtained from lignin or Wheat is converted into amino acids,” explains La Repubblica, citing Elena Rosini. from Protein Factory 2.0.
From precise fermentation in bovine cell cultures in vitro or imitations of pork meat products, the food industry is exploring all kinds of ways when it comes to other proteins, this Italian research can provide a new way.
In addition, if scientists manage to achieve it, the system can have many benefits. By recovering and sustaining products from the paper industry and wheat bran, it can also be useful in the production of cosmetics, pharmaceutical products and even medicine.
According to researcher Elena Rosini, new additives and flavor enhancers can be developed. Nevertheless, this work continues to surprise, not only from the origin of its equipment, but also from the fact that the research is carried out in Italy.
In the land of pasta and pizza, the development of new technologies for food production that goes beyond animal agriculture is not considered. A year ago, the Italian government already had a negative opinion about the research of animals grown in laboratories.
Italy’s parliament finally approved the announcement in November of a law banning the production, sale or import of cultured meat, although the EU itself has not authorized the consumption of laboratory animals.
