‘NASA worked out how to make food out of thin air – and it could feed billions’ ∞

August 13, 2019

Via Kottke:

A company from Finland, Solar Foods, is planning to bring to market a new protein powder, Solein, made out of CO₂, water and electricity. It’s a high-protein, flour-like ingredient that contains 50 percent protein content, 5–10 percent fat, and 20–25 percent carbs. It reportedly looks and tastes like wheat flour, and could become an ingredient in a wide variety of food products after its initial launch in 2021.

It’s likely to first appear on grocery shelves in protein shakes and yogurt. It could be an exciting development: Solein’s manufacturing process is carbon neutral and the potential for scalability seems unlimited[.]

[…]

When the company claims its single-celled protein is “free from agricultural limitations,” they’re not kidding. Being produced indoors means Solar Foods is not dependent on arable land, water (i.e., rain), or favorable weather.

Gimme! (But also, a prayer: please don’t let it be gritty. Please please please.)

‘Cooking Mama Has Gone Vegetarian’ ∞

August 12, 2019

There’s a new Cooking Mama game coming to the Nintendo Switch via publishers Planet Digital Partners, pitched as a reboot for the series. […] [The] most interesting part is that there’s now a new vegetarian mode to go alongside regular recipes that include meat.

“New to Cooking Mama will be a ‘Vegetarian Mode’ where players who do not wish to prepare meals with meat ingredients will be able to cook creative, alternate meatless recipes”, the release says. “Players will be able to cook in both ‘Traditional Mode’ and ‘Vegetarian Mode’ and blend motion gestures from the Nintendo Switch with traditional controls for an immersive meal prep and cooking experience through each minigame played.”

I’ve never been more excited to digitally sprinkle mustard seed on my saffron-seeped, pixel-based tempeh.

A Zero-Waste Restaurant ∞

August 12, 2019

Via Kottke:

At Nolla there is no waste bin in the kitchen nor can you find any single use plastic in the restaurant either. No produce wrapped in plastic, no cling film, no vacuum bags. Every detail from staff clothing and napkins to tableware has been thought of. Even the gift cards are made of compostable paper that has poppy seeds in them.
 
We don’t produce waste nor do we cook from waste.
 
We work directly with suppliers to rethink, reject and control packaging while at the same time sourcing local and organic produce, which are the core of our menus. Our approach to sustainability goes far beyond food and we work closely with designers, engineers and architects to rethink waste.

I hope this is the beginning of a trend. I imagine it’s a very difficult transition, but I hope advisors pop-up and lists of resources (like Trash Plastic) grow. Every step could make this easier— and if given enough focus, this seems like a fairly possible ambition.

Vegan Gold Rush ∞

August 8, 2019

A quick one from Emily Chasan at Bloomberg:

There’s a gold rush for vegan investors as faux meat grabs the headlines and plant-based food is considered one of the best solutions to climate change. Beyond Meat’s meteoric IPO gave public market investors one of their first real chances to hold shares of a vegan company. While shares tumbled last week after an unexpected secondary offering, the stock is still up about 600% this year. It seems like investor fans of a plant-based diet will have even more choices soon, as long as vegans also like tech stocks.

For years, I was interested in any stocks that reflected vegan interests. It was a godsend when Beyond Meat IPO-ed earlier this year. (Disclosure: I bought shares.) I was able to my money where my mouth was—literally and figuratively. I hope we see more vegan companies make this move.

A vegan ETF based on Beyond Advisors’ Vegan Climate index, VEGAN, is expected to launch next month with a plan to avoid companies that profit from animal cruelty. But, it looks mostly like a large cap tech fund with big allocations to Microsoft and Apple and no shares of Beyond Meat, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said.

This speaks mostly to the lack of stocks available that represent vegan interests. Though it’s baffling that Beyond Advisors wouldn’t have a stake in Beyond Meat.

‘Cauliflower Steaks Are an Abomination’ ∞

August 7, 2019

Jack Shepherd speaking the truth:

Cauliflower steaks were invented by the same devious villains who saddled us with Portobello mushrooms. It’s a fucking mushroom. It is nice with other things or in a sauce! It is not the food itself. This cabal is trying to make us eat fruits and vegetables as the main course by making them into shapes like “round and big” and thinking we won’t notice the difference. These evil fuckers haunt weddings, taunting vegan guests with grilled vegetables while everyone else gets to have food for dinner. It’s the same fucking people who are trying to make eggplant burgers happen, and I will not allow it.

Amen.

‘New Things in My Life’ ∞

August 5, 2019

The first paragraph of Lydia Davis’ new beautiful essay:

It takes me so long to get used to new things in my life that when I am tired I call my husband by the name of that other husband I used to have, although it was a long time ago by now, and this new son by the name of that first son I had, who was in my life for ten long years before this one came. But it is worse than that, since when I am even more tired, I remember only the other husband and the first son.

Sometimes food feels this way to me. I feel like I know it by another name, or I know it from somewhere else. Sometimes food feels like a friend that is also a stranger.

Greta Thurnberg Travels ∞

August 5, 2019

From Charlotte Pointing:

Greta Thunberg is traveling to America in the most vegan way possible.

True to her message, the 16-year-old Swedish vegan environmentalist is boycotting carbon-heavy planes and hopping on board the Malizia ll — a 60-foot yacht fitted with solar panels and underwater turbines, which generate zero-carbon electricity.

I think this is a radically fun thought experiment. Essentially, what’s the most environmentally friendly way of traveling? How much does a ticket like this cost?

Thunberg’s method of crossing the Atlantic ocean is environmentally-friendly, but it is undeniably inaccessible to most people. She has emphasized that she doesn’t believe that everyone should stop flying, but that we need to make the process kinder to the planet.

I think this is something we’ll be talking about a lot more in the future—not only in air travel but also cars, bikes, clothes, et cetera. How far things have to travel to get to us, or how far we have to travel to get to something. It’s all relative and has an effect.

Morningstar Farms is going full vegan soon and it can’t wait to tell everyone ∞

August 5, 2019

Roughly 50% of its portfolio of products have already made the switch to full vegan, and that should increase to about 65% by the end of 2019 and come 2021 all Morningstar Farms foods will be completely plant-based.

This is a Hallelujah moment for everyone who lives in small towns with access to only one grocery store.

‘New 100- and 200-Euro Notes Are Safer, Sturdier and Vegan Friendly’ ∞

August 4, 2019

From Iliana Magra for the New York Times:

The new notes — worth about $112 and $224 — have a shinier finish and more security features, and are more durable than their predecessors, the central bank said. They are also vegan friendly[.]

Goodness. Glad to hear it. Let’s hope all countries move this direction. There are plenty more to go.

✏️ by C. W. Moss