Upstart is a series about companies that are using new science and technology to solve problems.
The push to make animals obsolete in the food industry has already resulted in the creation of a variety of meat products. Geltor, a seven-year-old company based in the Bay Area, is usingbacteria cells to make animal products.
They say that the forms ofCollagen produced by Geltor are the same as the ones found in skin and bones. There are high-end skin care creams that contain vegan Collagens. As the company grows, it is looking at ingredients that are not normally associated with animal farming, such as the elastin in your hair, the collagen in your smoothie, and even your marshmallows. The co- founder and chief executive of Geltor likes to talk about how the company has a lighter impact on the environment than the meat industry. The challenge is how the company gets to the scale needed to make a difference.
The invention of Crispr changed the field of bio-design doctorates when it was invented by Dr. Lorestani and co- founder Nick Ouzounov. Dr. Lorestani talked to his labmates about biodesign medicine. We can bio-design everything.
In typical Bay Area techspeak, a platform is a method for genetically modifyingbacteria cells to reproduce a wide variety of animals. Two scientists formed a company. The new company was accepted into a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that has invested in a number of companies that use cow and chicken cells to make meat.
In order to sell a product, Geltor needed to be more than a platform. Americans often find it in food-grade gelatin, vitamins, and hair and skin care products. There is a growing demand for luxury skin-care products in Asia.
Geltor introduced itself to the world with a series of experiments. Dr. Lorestani and Dr. Ouzounov ate gummies made from mastodon bones. The jiggly sheets they tanned were used to make a bio engineered book cover.
The majority of the products on the market come from animals that have been slaughtered. Geltor wanted to convince potential clients that they could make products that the current supply chain couldn't. If you didn't have to worry about what kind of animal was available to get your collagen, what would you do? The doctor remembered asking. Geltor's first creation was HumaColl21, which the company says is a virtually odorless and colorless solution.
Daily business updates The latest coverage of business, markets and the economy, sent by email each weekday.AHC released an eye cream in 2019. The Orora Skin Science is based in Canada. In the past two years, Geltor has released biologically similar marine collagen and human elastin, as well as a poultry-like collagen intended for use in nutrition supplements. Microbes grow in giant ferments and express each of these collagens. The original source of theprotein is the same as it is today. There was no genetic material found in the final product.
The investment round in 2020 allowed Geltor to increase production from 35,000 liters to 2.2 million liters in two years. There are small bottles of eye creams and large bottles of hair products. It would take a lot of growth to supply the Midwest with vegan salad dressings.
Limits have determined the company's path. The volume of product required for beauty and personal care customers is different from the amount required for food and nutrition customers.
Skeptics are still skeptical despite all that investment. Julie Guthman, a geography professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is interested in Silicon Valley's attempts to get into agriculture and food.
She said that there is an idea that if you produce meat from cells in a lab it will remove us from land-based meat production. Since their patented processes are closely guarded secrets, there isn't much transparency into their environmental claims.
There is a desire for eco-conscious and ethical alternatives that could lead to the creation of a market for bio-designed ingredients. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, raising livestock for food contributes to global warming. A third-party study that Geltor commissioned in 2020 estimated that it requires 73 percent less water to produce and resulted in 49 percent less greenhouse gas emissions. Most of the company's products are kosher and vegan.
Replacing a commodity ingredient derived from animals with an identical commodity derived from microbes seems like a less disruptive swap.
Andrew Gravelle, a food chemist at the University of California, Davis, saidCollagen is very functional and can be dissolved in water. It is possible to clarify juices and stabilizers with the help of gelatin. Carrageenan and agar are animal-derived gelling agents that don't offer the same texture and range of uses as seaweed-derived ones.
It's easier to talk about growth in terms of investment than it is about impact. The Plant-Based Foods Association says that plant-based meats accounted for 1% of the total meat market in 2011. According to a report from the Good Food Institute, since 2020, investors worldwide have poured $8 billion into alternative-protein manufacturers. According to G.F.I., in the year 2021, $1.69 billion went to companies that used precision fermentation.
Geltor's growth could be challenged by regulators. The F.D.A. doesn't have a process for approving novel ingredients. The U.S.D.A. and F.D have not approved other ingredients produced through bioengineering.
Is Geltor's future going to include food production? Growing Geltor's capacity isn't just about making skin care vegan or Kosher. It's about using their technology to make other things. He said they wanted to make the appeal of Geltor's bio-designed products so obvious from a performance and sustainable standpoint that they wouldn't choose anything else.
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