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Over the past few years, the Good Food Institute (GFI) has created dedicated reports for each category, or “pillar,” in the alternative protein market: plant-based, precision fermentation, and cultivated meat/seafood. This week, however, GFI teased what it sees as a possible fourth pillar for alternative protein pillar in the form of molecular farming.
Molecular farming, which GFI refers to as “plant molecular farming,” is a concept that readers of The Spoon may be familiar with. It involves producing animal protein using seed crops. Genetic engineers introduce animal DNA directly into the seeds, transforming the resulting crops into protein factories. Once the genetically engineered seeds are planted, traditional farming management techniques can be employed to grow the crops until they are ready for harvest.
The technique has been picking up momentum in recent years, in part because of the cost savings it promises to introduce. After all, there really is no more efficient way to produce calories for human consumption than by sprouting them from the ground, and by transforming plants into small bioreactors, molecular farming companies can take advantage of the scalability and cost-effectiveness of leveraging traditional row crops as protein production engines.
The addition of a fourth pillar to the alternative protein market comes as molecular farming is gaining traction. Earlier this month, molecular farming pioneer Moolec announced that their safflower plants had been cleared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the USDA, posing no greater plant pest risk than non-genetically engineered safflower plants. Through its former parent company, Bioceres, Moolec has the capability to produce proteins such as chymosin (an enzyme used in cheese) using safflower plants. The USDA approval comes just months after Moolec became the first molecular farming company to go public in early 2023 through a SPAC vehicle offering.
Bioengineered ingredients specialist Motif Foodworks announced earlier this year that they were diversifying into molecular farming through a partnership with IngredientWerks. IngredientWerks will help Motif produce its Hemami ingredient, an ingredient identical to myoglobin in beef, through corn crops. Previously, Motif had been using precision fermentation techniques to produce Hemami.
According to GFI, there are currently 12 companies worldwide using this technology to grow various products, including casein and lactoferrin (Forte Protein and Greenovation Protein), animal-free dairy proteins for cheese, ice cream, and yogurt (Miruku, Mozza, and Nobell Foods), growth factors for cultivated meat (Tiamet Sciences and Bright Biotech), and more.
Interestingly, GFI notes that there are currently no alternative protein startups in the Asia-Pacific region using molecular farming, with only one startup (Miruku) in the broader APAC region (New Zealand). Given the focus on alternative proteins in many Asian countries, this situation is likely to change soon (one can almost hear the frantic typing of PowerPoint pitch decks while reading this post).
You can find the GFI state of the industry reports – including the molecular farming fact sheet – on this page free for download after registration.
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