Butter as we know it could soon be joined by a rather eccentric alternative. A US company has created a synthetic fat that promises to revolutionize the concept of food sustainability. No cows, no pastures, no deforestation: just CO2, water and a pinch of science. What is it about?
The birth of synthetic butter
The American start-up Savor has developed a product that it calls "butter", but which has nothing to do with traditional agriculture. This synthetic fat is created using carbon as a feedstock, in a process that is closer to fossil fuel processing than conventional food production.
Kathleen Alexander, representative of Savor, explains that their process does not involve any biological elements. Synthetic butter is derived from the carbon found in coal, methane or carbon dioxide. The process is based on technology used in the petrochemical industry to create the syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
From chemistry to the plate
The production process is divided into five phases:
- Creation of long-chain hydrocarbons through the Fischer-Tropsch process
- Oxygenation of hydrocarbons to obtain fatty acids
- Addition of glycerol to form triglycerides
- Incorporation of water and an emulsifier
- Added beta-carotene for color and rosemary oil for a “herbaceous” flavor
70 years ago Alberto Sordi would have said "damn, what filth". According to Alexander, however, synthetic fats could revolutionize the food system by providing calories without requiring large areas of land for agriculture.
Potential applications
In addition to butter, Savor's technology could be used to replace other ingredients with a high environmental impact, such as palm oil and coconut oil, known to cause deforestation in tropical countries.
A study published last year in Nature, co-authored by Kathleen Alexander, suggests that synthetic fats might have less than half the carbon footprint of those produced through traditional agricultural systems.
Are they healthy? Are they nutritious?
Steven Davis of Stanford University, lead author of the study, believes that synthetic foods could offer significant climate benefits. While it is unlikely that all of our food will become synthetic, replacing greenhouse gas-intensive crops like palm oil and soy could significantly reduce the amount of land needed for our food production.
Yes, ok, but the success of the product (no matter what anyone says) will largely depend on its flavor. You simply have to produce food that tastes really good. And healthy, nutritious. On this, you'll forgive me, I haven't seen any objective certainties.
The role of investments
Savor is supported by investments from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the investment vehicle for climate companies from Bill Gates. Gates himself pointed out in an article on his blog that Savor is producing “real fat molecules like we get from milk, cheese, meat and vegetable oils.”
Ultimately, Savor synthetic butter represents a bold step towards greater food sustainability. Can chemistry and technology come together to create sustainable alternatives to traditional products? We'll see, and if necessary, taste it. At the moment (but it's just a personal opinion), how for other similar proposalsI'm not convinced at all.
