Jeffrey Weiss’ Post

The linchpin in future of food is “We the People” – consumers like me and you! The greatest technologies will go nowhere, if consumers don’t accept them. And just as important as the first try, often driven by curiosity, is the repeat buy, which relies on a superior experience. In this context Cargill recently co-sponsored a study about the perceptions, attitudes and drivers related to science and technology in food with a focus on the evolving area of precision fermentation. Here are some highlights: - More consumers see science as a necessary solution for global issues: 69% of respondents say “We need to find ways to meet our society’s nutritional needs with fewer resources like energy, water, or carbon” (up 5% compared to 2019) - BUT, environment and social concerns are not enough! Taste is still king and health and nutrition play an increasingly important role - Precision fermentation is well positioned overall, but a little education goes a long way (13% bump in “likelihood of purchase” after a simple description) https://lnkd.in/g-8HtRsi

Will a large percentage of flavors, colors and sweeteners be made in bioreactors by 2050 or are the costs and challenges associated with precision fermentation technology such that it only makes sense to produce a handful of high-value ingredients in this fashion? Can you replicate the complexity of plant extracts or animal products with synthetic biology? Will using cell-free approaches to bio-manufacturing allow for metabolic transformations that are not possible in cellular microbial fermentation systems? How does the GMO factor impact the precision fermentation space? Is it sustainable to divert food crops such as corn to make carbon sources for all these microbes? Fermentation capacity – how are bottlenecks being addressed? We have an amazing line-up of speakers addressing these questions in the opening session of our free-to-attend virtual summit, Futureproofing the Food System (https://lnkd.in/g7mEAjpW)  on Nov 15 including: Nusqe Spanton, founder and CEO at Provectus Algae; Joshua Britton, founder and CEO at Debut Biotech; Dr David Welch, CSO and co-founder at Synthesis Capital; Ricky Cassini, CEO and co-founder at michroma; and Dr Erin Marasco, global biology lead at Cargill To register for this session, click here (it's FREE!): https://lnkd.in/g_EbqQqB #precisionfermentation #foodtech #sustainableagriculture #naturalflavors #naturalsweeteners #naturalcolors #fermentation #cellfree #biomanufacturing #biosynthesis