The global food system is responsible for approximately 25-35 percent of humanity’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with a significant portion attributed to animal agriculture. Various meal sources could help feed the world while reducing local climate pollution.
As the impacts of shifting local weather patterns intensify climate-related crises, Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, warns that crafting sustainable food systems will become increasingly challenging. The corporation’s primary expertise lies in capturing waste gases and converting them into ethanol, a process commonly employed in settings such as metal processing facilities and landfills to date.
The corporation employs a microorganism derived from rabbit gut flora in its ethanol production process. LanzaTech cultivates microbes within reactors, nourishing them with a specially formulated feedstock comprising gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen. As microorganisms grow and thrive, they generate ethanol, which is subsequently channeled into various processes that transform it into valuable chemical compounds such as ethylene or biofuels.
A byproduct of that process is a vast excess of microorganisms. In LanzaTech’s existing operations where ethanol is a primary product, personnel typically seek to harvest microbes from reactors due to their exponential growth over time. When excess microbial matter is harvested and processed into a powder, the resulting product is remarkably high in protein content. In China, certain vegetation leveraging LanzaTech’s expertise have begun marketing a protein-rich product for use as feedstock in aquaculture, agriculture, and swine farming.
With renewed momentum, LanzaTech is intensifying its endeavors. The corporation has officially acknowledged a newly discovered microbe, one that holds promise as the main attraction in forthcoming agricultural endeavors. Present in both soil and water, DNA acts as a crucial protein-making machinery. According to the corporation, the microbial product resulting from the process of cultivation, harvesting, and drying yields a powder with a protein content exceeding 85%, making it a viable additive for various food products, applicable to both human and animal consumption.
