Promise for New Proteins
Advancements in the alternative-protein space ignite in the Sacramento area
BY Jennifer Junghans | DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION BY Kelly Barr
n a West Sacramento lab , Kirsten Kehlet , a product developer for The Better Meat Co ., works with a team of microbiologists , chemical engineers , chefs and food scientists to develop plant-based ingredients that blend seamlessly with meat .
Plant proteins such as pea , bamboo and algae are combined with fibers , fats and flavors to create allergen-free , clean label formulas that mimic the characteristics of animal protein , says Kehlet — clean label foods have as few ( and recognizable ) ingredients as possible . Those formulas are designed to be blended with animal meats such as ground beef and sausage up to 50 percent , reducing the number of animals used for food and increasing the nutritional profile .
In Davis , Douglas Cook , cofounder and chief scientific officer of NuCicer , is developing novel varieties of chickpea by breeding the modern-day chickpea with its wild relatives , separated by as much as 100,000 years , to produce various lines of chickpeas that offer a single ingredient to meet nutritional needs , reduce agriculture ’ s environmental footprint and fuel the alternative-meat sector .
The two startups , launched in 2018 and 2019 , respectively , are the first companies to bring the alternative-protein market to the Capital Region . Efforts to advance the emerging food market using science and technology have ignited worldwide to address the global challenge of food access and proper nutrition for a growing population and the unsustainable environmental and ethical practices of industrial animal agriculture as it barrels toward the planet ’ s capacity on land and at sea .
The market is projected to change where our protein comes from and how it ’ s produced , essentially using plants , microbes and animal cells to recapitulate the experience of conventional meat , egg and dairy products , says Amy Huang , who works with universi-
December 2020 | comstocksmag . com 37