Food Made From Electricity: A Solution For World Hunger?
Is there a new solution to help fight world hunger?
A team of Finnish researchers has developed a protein-rich powder that is nutritious enough to serve as food for humans or livestock.
The powder is created from just a handful of ingredients, using renewable energy.
Although it's not quite "real food", it could help fight the hunger crisis in remote areas where people suffer from malnutrition.
The synthetic single-cell protein was developed by the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, during the Food From Electricity project.
This project was set up as a collaboration to help fight world hunger, as well as develop a solution for the growing agriculture problem.
How does it work?
The ingredients needed for this process are electricity, water, carbon dioxide, and microbes.
In a specific bioreactor, an electric current triggers electrolysis of the water which produces hydrogen. The microbes then add oxygen to the created hydrogen, creating a chemical reaction.
The result is then dried out into a fine powder that consists of more than 50 percent protein and 25 percent carbohydrates.
"In the long term, protein created with electricity is meant to be used in cooking and products as it is. The mixture is very nutritious, with more than 50 per cent protein and 25 percent carbohydrates. The rest is fats and nucleic acids. The consistency of the final product can be modified by changing the organisms used in the production."-Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, Principal Scientist at VTT
How far is the development?
The technology has proven to work - but there is still a long way to go.
Currently, a small bioreactor (the size of a coffee cup) would take 2 weeks to produce one gram of said protein powder.
The researchers are now working on scaling up the whole system, to make it 10 times more energy efficient than photosynthesis.
The process is very energy efficient and there are only few resources needed for production.
"Compared to traditional agriculture, the production method currently under development does not require a location with the conditions for agriculture, such as the right temperature, humidity or a certain soil type. This allows us to use a completely automatized process to produce the animal feed required in a shipping container facility built on the farm. The method requires no pest-control substances. Only the required amount of fertilizer-like nutrients is used in the closed process. This allows us to avoid any environmental impacts, such as runoffs into water systems or the formation of powerful greenhouse gases."-Jero Ahola, a Professor at LUT
The only downside is that it might take up to a decade until we can see this technology being used on a commercial scale.
Not only does the technology need to be improved, but you also need to consider legal issues and everything that is needed to allow such a revolutionary new system to be used on a large scale.
“We are currently focusing on developing the technology: reactor concepts, technology, improving efficiency, and controlling the process. Maybe 10 years is a realistic timeframe for reaching commercial capacity, in terms of the necessary legislation and process technology.”-Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, Principal Scientist at VTT
Of course, the major use case for this technology would be to feed starving people.
Either in areas not suitable for food production, or in cases where crops have been destroyed and whole villages are affected by famine.
Although this is not "real food", it is nutritious enough for cooking and could dramatically increase the chance of survival for starving people.
The machine could run consistently, and independently from any environmental factors.
But secondly, it could also be a solution for the growing demand for livestock and the problem to feed them.
As population density increases on earth, the demand for livestock grows as well.
The meat industry is currently accountable for 14-18% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. This project could decrease unsustainable farming and offer a cheaper, renewable method of getting nutritious food for livestock.
© Sirwinchester
I think solving world hunger could be one of the greatest accomplishments in history. I would imagine it would reduce wars as well. Here's to hoping the scientists find a way to scale the project efficiency by 10x or more! Thanks @sirwinchester for another great article.
Thank you!
Yes, world hunger is one of the biggest problems of our society - without a doubt.
While this powder doesn't solve it completely, it's at least a good start!
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." The problem is governments in some countries f.e. Venezuela - it should be one of the richest countries in the region with fertile land amazing climate for agriculture and it potencially could feed half of South America. But there is lack of food and they.... importing food !! The same in African counties like Zimbabwe - they are perfect for agriculture but....
So true, you have a point!
i think this would be a correct solution to solve hunger
Yes! Let's hope the process gets sped up and commercialized soon!
This would be a great step in eliminating food hunger in the world @sirwinchester! Now we just hope it does not cost thousands of dollars in the end! It should be accessible to the poor mainly!
Thanks for this great piece of info!
You rock!
@progressivechef
Yes, you're right! But it will probably be used for charity organizations anyway, which will give it out for free.
By the way, my new foodie post is one for you - Mr gourmet has finally returned!
That would be great then @sirwinchester!
I just enjoy all your posts mate and your foodie ones are so great!
Thank you
@progressivechef
It reminds me of soylent, which used algae oil with the hope that algae can be produced in bioreactors to produce protein and fat. The algae successfully created algae oil (fat) but unfortunately a few people got diarrhoea from it, so soylent got rid of algae oil in the next version. As for protein, currently the most efficient form of protein is soy protein. Global hunger is the result of animal agriculture because meat is inefficient. It takes about 10 kg of feed to produce about 1 kg of beef. There is a huge loss of energy thanks to the energy needed to keep the cow alive (e.g. keep its blood warm). There is more than enough food to feed the world but because most of the food grown is fed to livestock, this is what contributes to world hunger. The answer to transition to a vegan diet.
Very true. Meat does so much more to our planet than just killing animals.
But actually, I read that even if we didn't go vegan there would STILL be enough food produced to end world hunger! The problem is just that all this food is created (and then wasted) in our western countries, instead if distributing the excess!
...and by the way, with this you can harvest some vegetables: https://steemit.com/life/@adrai/the-self-sustaining-aquarium-exists ;-)
but bigger systems ;-)
nice one!
I read about this yesterday and it seems it's getting more attention. Fantastic technology that I can only hope is used in the right way as we all know nothing is free in this world from the one's who want to collect.
The technology is still in its infancy so I also hope it will be used on a larger scale shortly!
Awesome which improvements technology can bring to the people, when we use it the right way.
So true.
It's possible to solve many of the world's biggest problems if we only use our resources the right way.
Amazing method to produce protein. Even better that one ingredient is Carbon dioxide. This invention could make the world to a better place.
Followed you for more valuable content @sirwinchester
Will resteem this post :)
Thank you,
Greetings @ddot
Thank you for the support! Appreciate it!
And yes, this invention really has a lot of potential. I hope it will become commercial soon.
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Awesome thank you!