{"id":148358,"date":"2024-02-23T07:22:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T06:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=148358"},"modified":"2024-07-16T11:51:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T09:51:53","slug":"bill-gates-greasy-and-good-for-the-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/bill-gates-greasy-and-good-for-the-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Gates: Greasy &#8211; and good for the planet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"481\" src=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/07\/20240130-PalmOil-TGN_Assets-001-article-hero_1200x564-1024x481.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-148365\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2.128898128898129;width:790px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/07\/20240130-PalmOil-TGN_Assets-001-article-hero_1200x564-1024x481.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/07\/20240130-PalmOil-TGN_Assets-001-article-hero_1200x564-300x141.jpg 300w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/07\/20240130-PalmOil-TGN_Assets-001-article-hero_1200x564-150x71.jpg 150w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/07\/20240130-PalmOil-TGN_Assets-001-article-hero_1200x564-768x361.jpg 768w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/07\/20240130-PalmOil-TGN_Assets-001-article-hero_1200x564-400x188.jpg 400w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/07\/20240130-PalmOil-TGN_Assets-001-article-hero_1200x564.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:8px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cheeseburgers are my favorite food. But I wish they weren\u2019t, given the impact they have on the environment. I\u2019ve tried many of the best meat and dairy replacements out there, and while I\u2019ve had some great ones, nothing currently on the market would fool a burger lover completely. Even when the taste is close, there\u2019s still something missing: the greasy, oily sizzle that brings the\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/lifestyle\/bill-gates-favorite-sandwich-cheeseburger-140402863.html\" target=\"_blank\">ideal sandwich<\/a>\u00a0together and makes it so delicious &#8211; and difficult to replicate.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The secret ingredient is animal fat. It\u2019s what gives so many foods their richness, juiciness, meltability, unique \u201cmouthfeel,\u201d and overall flavor. It\u2019s what distinguishes butter from margarine, dairy ice cream from a plant-based frozen dessert, and a great burger from one made of soy protein or peas. Unfortunately, it\u2019s also a disaster for the climate. Each year, the world emits 51 billion tons of greenhouse gases &#8211; and the production of fats and oils from animals and plants makes up seven percent of that. To combat climate change, we need to get the number to zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our plan can\u2019t be to simply hope that people give up foods they crave. After all, humans are wired to want animal fats for a reason\u2014because they\u2019re the most nutrient-rich and calorie-dense macronutrient &#8211; in the same way we\u2019re wired to crave sugar for an instant energy kick. What we need are new ways of generating the same fat molecules found in animal products, but without greenhouse gas emissions, animal suffering, or dangerous chemicals. And they have to be affordable for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"BorlabsCookie _brlbs-cb-youtube\"><div class=\"_brlbs-content-blocker\"> <div class=\"_brlbs-embed _brlbs-video-youtube\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"_brlbs-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/borlabs-cookie\/assets\/images\/cb-no-thumbnail.png\" alt=\"YouTube\"> <div class=\"_brlbs-caption\"> <p>By loading the video, you agree to YouTube&#8217;s privacy policy.<br><a href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/privacy?hl=en&amp;gl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Learn more<\/a><\/p> <p><a class=\"_brlbs-btn _brlbs-icon-play-white\" href=\"#\" data-borlabs-cookie-unblock role=\"button\">Load video<\/a><\/p> <p><label><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"unblockAll\" value=\"1\" checked> <small>Always unblock YouTube<\/small><\/label><\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div><div class=\"borlabs-hide\" data-borlabs-cookie-type=\"content-blocker\" data-borlabs-cookie-id=\"youtube\"><script type=\"text\/template\">PGlmcmFtZSB0aXRsZT0i4oCcSSBjb3VsZG7igJl0IGJlbGlldmUgdGhhdCB3YXNu4oCZdCBidXR0ZXLigJ0iIHdpZHRoPSI1MDAiIGhlaWdodD0iMjgxIiBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnlvdXR1YmUtbm9jb29raWUuY29tL2VtYmVkL09KcEFzSURMLTNNP2ZlYXR1cmU9b2VtYmVkIiBmcmFtZWJvcmRlcj0iMCIgYWxsb3c9ImFjY2VsZXJvbWV0ZXI7IGF1dG9wbGF5OyBjbGlwYm9hcmQtd3JpdGU7IGVuY3J5cHRlZC1tZWRpYTsgZ3lyb3Njb3BlOyBwaWN0dXJlLWluLXBpY3R1cmU7IHdlYi1zaGFyZSIgcmVmZXJyZXJwb2xpY3k9InN0cmljdC1vcmlnaW4td2hlbi1jcm9zcy1vcmlnaW4iIGFsbG93ZnVsbHNjcmVlbj48L2lmcmFtZT4=<\/script><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It might sound like a pipe dream, but a company called\u00a0Savor\u00a0(which I\u2019m invested in) is in the process of doing it. They started with the fact that all fats are made of varying chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Then they set out to make those same carbon and hydrogen chains &#8211; without involving animals or plants. They ultimately developed a process that involves taking carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen from water, heating them up, and oxidizing them to trigger the separation of fatty acids and then the formulation of fat. The result is real fat molecules like the ones we get from milk, cheese, beef, and vegetable oils. The process doesn\u2019t release any greenhouse gases, and it uses no farmland and less than a thousandth of the water that traditional agriculture does. And most important, it tastes really good &#8211; like the real thing, because chemically it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve tasted Savor\u2019s products, and I couldn\u2019t believe I wasn\u2019t eating real butter. (The burger came close, too.) The big challenge is to drive down the price so that products like Savor\u2019s become affordable to the masses &#8211; either the same cost as animal fats or less. Savor has a good chance of success here, because the key steps of their fat-production process already work in other industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The focus on animal fats is a priority because they have an outsized impact on climate &#8211; and play an outsized role in many beloved foods. But even if we could eliminate emissions from the production of all animal fats overnight, we\u2019d still have a challenge: Even some plant-based fats and oils can be a problem for climate change. The worst culprit is palm oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, it\u2019s the most widely consumed plant-based fat in the world. It\u2019s found in half of all packaged goods &#8211; everything from peanut butter, cookies, instant ramen, coffee creamer, and frozen dinners to makeup, body wash, toothpaste, laundry detergent, and deodorant to candles, cat food, baby formula, and so much more. It\u2019s even used as a biofuel for diesel engines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The issue with palm oil isn\u2019t necessarily how we use it but how we get it. That\u2019s because the oil palm tree, a variety of palm that\u2019s native to Central and West Africa, doesn\u2019t grow everywhere. The opposite, actually &#8211; the tree will only grow well within five to ten degrees of the equator. That has led to slash-and-burn deforestation of rainforests in equatorial regions around the world, which are then converted to oil palm plantations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This process has been bad for biodiversity, putting entire ecosystems at risk. It\u2019s also a one-two punch for climate change: The combustion involved in burning forests emits tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and as the wetlands they sit on are destroyed, the carbon they\u2019ve been storing gets released too. In 2018, the devastation in Malaysia and Indonesia alone was bad enough to account for 1.4 percent of global emissions &#8211; more than the entire state of California and nearly as much as the aviation industry worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, palm oil is hard to replace. It\u2019s cheap, odorless, and abundant. While most plant oils are liquid at room temperature, palm oil is semi-solid, creamy, and easily spreadable. Since it acts as a natural preservative, it has an extremely long shelf-life. (It actually raises the melting point of ice cream.) It\u2019s also the only plant oil with a near-equal balance of saturated and unsaturated fats, which is why it\u2019s so versatile. If animal fat is the superstar of some meals, then palm oil is the team player that can work to make almost all foods &#8211; and non-edible goods &#8211; even better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"BorlabsCookie _brlbs-cb-youtube\"><div class=\"_brlbs-content-blocker\"> <div class=\"_brlbs-embed _brlbs-video-youtube\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"_brlbs-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/borlabs-cookie\/assets\/images\/cb-no-thumbnail.png\" alt=\"YouTube\"> <div class=\"_brlbs-caption\"> <p>By loading the video, you agree to YouTube&#8217;s privacy policy.<br><a href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/privacy?hl=en&amp;gl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Learn more<\/a><\/p> <p><a class=\"_brlbs-btn _brlbs-icon-play-white\" href=\"#\" data-borlabs-cookie-unblock role=\"button\">Load video<\/a><\/p> <p><label><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"unblockAll\" value=\"1\" checked> <small>Always unblock YouTube<\/small><\/label><\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div><div class=\"borlabs-hide\" data-borlabs-cookie-type=\"content-blocker\" data-borlabs-cookie-id=\"youtube\"><script type=\"text\/template\">PGlmcmFtZSB0aXRsZT0iUGFsbSBvaWwgd2l0aG91dCBwYWxtIHRyZWVzIiB3aWR0aD0iNTAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI4MSIgc3JjPSJodHRwczovL3d3dy55b3V0dWJlLW5vY29va2llLmNvbS9lbWJlZC9MRl9jVjJPRWx4TT9mZWF0dXJlPW9lbWJlZCIgZnJhbWVib3JkZXI9IjAiIGFsbG93PSJhY2NlbGVyb21ldGVyOyBhdXRvcGxheTsgY2xpcGJvYXJkLXdyaXRlOyBlbmNyeXB0ZWQtbWVkaWE7IGd5cm9zY29wZTsgcGljdHVyZS1pbi1waWN0dXJlOyB3ZWItc2hhcmUiIHJlZmVycmVycG9saWN5PSJzdHJpY3Qtb3JpZ2luLXdoZW4tY3Jvc3Mtb3JpZ2luIiBhbGxvd2Z1bGxzY3JlZW4+PC9pZnJhbWU+<\/script><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For these reasons, companies like\u00a0C16 Biosciences\u00a0are working hard on alternatives to palm oil. Since 2017, C16 (which I\u2019m invested in) has been developing a product from a wild yeast microbe using a fermentation process that doesn\u2019t produce any emissions. While it differs from conventional palm oil chemically, C16\u2019s oil contains the same fatty acids, which means it can be used in the same applications. And it\u2019s as \u201cnatural\u201d as palm oil &#8211; it&#8217;s just grown on fungi instead of trees. Like Savor\u2019s, C16\u2019s process is entirely agriculture-free; its \u201cfarm\u201d is a lab in midtown Manhattan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company\u2019s consumer brand launched its first product last year. It plans to roll out more of its own products and work with existing brands &#8211; first in the beauty and personal care sectors and then in food &#8211; to replace the palm oil they\u2019re currently using. Because fermentation is a relatively affordable, scalable, and quick process, especially compared to slash-and-burn deforestation, I\u2019m betting that C16 will succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope they do. The idea of switching to lab-made fats and oils may seem strange at first. But their potential to significantly reduce our carbon footprint is immense. By harnessing proven technologies and processes, we get one step closer to achieving our climate goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cheeseburgers are my favorite food. But I wish they weren\u2019t, given the impact they have on the environment. I\u2019ve tried many of the best meat and dairy replacements out there, and while I\u2019ve had some great ones, nothing currently on the market would fool a burger lover completely. Even when the taste is close, there\u2019s [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":148366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Why I\u2019m making big bets on novel fats and oils","footnotes":""},"categories":[5571],"tags":[10744,15311,16171,13636,12615,10743,13821],"supplier":[12638,15992,24534],"class_list":["post-148358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-co2-based","tag-carboncapture","tag-emissions","tag-fermentation","tag-fungi","tag-microbes","tag-useco2","tag-yeast","supplier-bill-gates","supplier-c16-biosciences","supplier-savor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148358"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=148358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}