Bezos Fund gives NC State $30M to develop ‘sustainable protein,’ fight climate change
NC State researchers will try to develop technology that provides meat alternatives from plants, fermentation and cultivated animal cells. The Bezos Earth Fund has awarded $30 million to North Carolina State University to establish a biomanufacturing hub focused on developing alternative proteins. The Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein will focus on plant-based protein options, using precision fermentation to produce protein and growing meat from cells taken from animals. The fund sees this as a crucial step in combating climate change, particularly as the world's population is projected to add billions more people by 2050. The project involves researchers from Duke University, N.C. A&T State University, and UNC-Pembroke, as well as industry giants like Cargill and start-ups with North Carolina footprints.
Publié : il y a 11 mois par Adam Wagner dans Environment
N.C. State University is receiving a $30 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund to establish a biomanufacturing hub focused on developing alternative proteins.
The Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at N.C. State will focus on plant-based protein options, using precision fermentation to produce protein and growing meat from cells taken from animals.
“Ultimately, it’s our communities and consumers that will be purchasing and consuming sustainable proteins. The task ahead will be to make healthy and tasty products that are affordable and accessible,” said Bill Aimutis, the co-director of the new center and executive director of the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab.
Bezos Fund leaders see helping scale sustainable protein production technology and reducing the price of the food as a key step in fighting climate change, particularly with the world’s population projected to add billions more people by 2050.
“For too long on the climate side, the assumption has been it’s only about energy.... Food and nature have been ignored. That is changing radically now, and we want to be part of that,” said Andrew Steer, the president and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund and a former World Bank special envoy for climate change.
In 2019, agriculture and forestry combined for 22% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That’s the third-largest contribution from a sector, behind energy and industry.
After deciding to invest in sustainable proteins, the Bezos Fund identified 40 universities worldwide that could house research centers. After further screening, 14 were asked to submit proposals and undergo hour-long interviews.
“This is complicated stuff and it’s getting the combination between world-class science and then incubation of (small- and medium-size enterprises). You need, actually, a portfolio of strengths,” Steer said, pointing to N.C. State’s ability to incubate businesses as a key selling point.
Bezos Fund and N.C. State researchers were both careful to say they’re not trying to replace animal agriculture.
Rather, they say, they are trying to provide an alternative that is affordable and that uses less land and water than traditional protein options like cattle, chickens and hogs.
“We need to come up with technologies that can supplement the current food technologies,” said Rohan Shirwaiker, the Bezos Center’s co-director and an N.C. State industrial engineering professor.
That’s key in North Carolina, where N.C. Department of Agriculture statistics show hog sales netted $3.1 billion in 2022 and cattle brought in $307 million. Farmers in the state also grew chickens and turkeys worth about $8 billion combined.
The N.C. State team is working with researchers from Duke University, N.C. A&T State University and UNC-Pembroke, as well as Forsyth Technical Community College. The project also has more than 20 industry partners, including industry giants like Cargill and start-ups with North Carolina footprints like Believer Meats and Sable Fermentation.
The Bezos Earth Fund was established in 2020, when Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion to address issues with the climate and in nature over the ensuing decade.
In March, the fund announced that it was committing $60 million to developing protein options other than livestock, making them appealing to consumers and bringing their prices to a point where they are competitive with traditional sources.
The fund announced an additional $40 commitment Friday, bringing its investment in sustainable proteins to $100 million.
This story was produced with financial support from the Hartfield Foundation and Green South Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. If you would like to help support local journalism, please consider signing up for a digital subscription, which you can do here.
Les sujets: Climate Change, ESG