Beyond Agriculture─How Microorganisms Can Revolutionize Global Food Production

Abstract

The global food production system has, until now, been absolutely dependent on photosynthesis. Using microbial biomass as a source of food rather than plant- or animal-derived biomass circumvents many of the biophysical constraints and vulnerabilities of the global food system. Microbial foods in the form of either bulk cellular biomass or recombinant food proteins (typically of animal origin) can be produced in the absence of sunlight, soil, favorable climate conditions, and in some cases without freshwater. This Review looks at some of the most recent developments in the field of microbial foods and discusses some of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for this technology.

Keywords

alternative protein; cellular agriculture; food security; microorganisms; precision fermentation; single-cell protein

Published in

ACS food science & technology
2023, volume: 3, number: 7, pages: 1144-1152

SLU Authors

• Linder, Tomas

  • Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Global goals (SDG)

SDG2 Zero hunger

UKÄ Subject classification

Food Science
Microbiology

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.3c00099

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/122946