🔎 What’s going on?
Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a fund set up by Bill Gates, invests in synthetic palm oil which is made by fermenting microbes. The fund is leading a $20 million series A investment round, that has now closed.
🌴 Cool, tell me more!
A three-year-old start-up called C16 Biosciences is growing palm oil in a lab using a fermentation process very similar to making beer. The start-up uses a proprietary yeast (a microbe) and feeds it food waste and industrial by-products (such as glycerol from biofuels production) to make synthetic oil. Currently, C16 is making about 10 kg of synthetic palm oil each week - after the funding round, it aims to increase production to 1,000 kg. This would allow the business to market their product to large businesses within the food and cosmetic sectors.
The University of Bath has been experimenting with a yeast known within the South African wine industry, called Metschnikowia pulcherrima. M.Pulcherrima is not a baker’s or brewer’s yeast - it grows on grapes, cherries, flowers and spoiled food. Other startups are also exploring this concept - Kiverdi in California, Biteback in Indonesia and Revive Eco in Scotland.
❓Why should I care?
Palm oil production contributes to deforestation (i.e. cutting down of biodiverse virgin forests to make way for growing palm trees). Where precious wildlife habitats are destroyed. Removing forests, a natural carbon sink worsens the climate crisis. Wastewater generated by the palm oil refineries also release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Palm oil is now the world’s most-produced and consumed vegetable oil. In 2018, the global market was valued at $40.2 billion (or $40,200 million). The oil is found in 50% of supermarket products, mainly in food, personal care, and biodiesel. Tropical countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia produce 91% of global palm oil, closely followed by Thailand and Colombia. In terms of top consuming countries - India dominates the imported volume of palm oil, followed by Indonesia, EU, China, and Malaysia.
🚦 Where do we need to be?
We need to completely stop deforestation related to palm oil production.
👤What can I do about it?
- Educate yourself by learning more and check this website out to find which everyday products have palm oil and why they have them. You will be enlightened we promise! 😇
- Identify - check the back ingredients for Palm Oil or Palm Oil derivatives. It usually has the prefix Palm in there somewhere! Here’s a short list to get you started:
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INGREDIENTS: Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol
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CONTAINS: Palm oil
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- Reduce demand - try to avoid buying the product if you can find an alternative product that doesn’t contain any palm oil.
- Raise your voice - let your supermarket know that you would prefer to buy an alternative product due to environmental concerns.