I think George Monbiot recently ate a pancake made from this stuff https://twitter.com/Solar_Foods/status/1520023732122750976
Solein – Protein out of thin air
41–50 of 160 posts
Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Out of thin air" is a common idiom[0]. Probably not needed, but not an unusual thing to say in this context either. [0] https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/out+of+thin+air
On the other hand, "heavy water" is a molecule different than "usual" water. One shouldn't drink heavy water. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water
Actually according to that article it’s perfectly safe to drink in moderate quantities, as long as it doesn’t make up a large portion of your
Total intake over an extended period. It isn’t radioactive
Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air
#43Most vegetation is made out of air and water. Mostly air. C, O, and N come from air. H comes from water, and some of that comes from water in air. The inputs from dirt are under 5% of plant mass. They have to be, or farms would dig holes in the ground. Feynman talk on this.[1] So, with that out of the way, what does this company actually have? * They have a cool web site with no useful info. * They have another web s…
Not to be incredibly nit-picky, but the costs of the product right now don’t matter nearly as much as the ability to scale production and variable unit costs. As a ‘hard tech’, they need to work themselves through the technology readiness framework before the cost of a particular material even tells you anything of value.
Sure it does. The competition is growing soybeans, which are really cheap. Are they going to beat that?
Most of the high-tech food schemes produce some high-value product. This produces a very low value product. It's Hamburger Helper. Cost dominates.
Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air
#44Sounds way too dystopian to be trustworthy, and there's no explanation why I would even WANT to eat this.
In what way does this sound dystopian? Ideally this is a protein source without the nasty externalities of intensive agriculture and it can exist in places and spaces that aren't typically conducive to food production.
Ideally, yes, plant based diets would dominate, but the idea of turning renewable energy into supplemental foodstuff sounds like a huge win to me.
Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
If it's a more sustainable, cruelty-free source of protein than is currently available, and if it's safe, why not? There are multiple big "if" statements there, but should they all pass, I'd be all for it.
By using the term cruelty-free, are you describing dense, commercial feedlot animal production only, or are you including all types of animal husbandry and meat acquisition, including hunting?
Doesn’t really matter since it doesn’t involve slaughter at all.
Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air
#46Most vegetation is made out of air and water. Mostly air. C, O, and N come from air. H comes from water, and some of that comes from water in air. The inputs from dirt are under 5% of plant mass. They have to be, or farms would dig holes in the ground. Feynman talk on this.[1] So, with that out of the way, what does this company actually have? * They have a cool web site with no useful info. * They have another web s…
The 'holes' created by industrial farming aren't missing dirt, it's missing water.
https://blogs.agu.org/geospace/files/2019/03/Subsidence.jpg
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/sci...
Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
If it's a more sustainable, cruelty-free source of protein than is currently available, and if it's safe, why not? There are multiple big "if" statements there, but should they all pass, I'd be all for it.
By using the term cruelty-free, are you describing dense, commercial feedlot animal production only, or are you including all types of animal husbandry and meat acquisition, including hunting?
> all types of animal husbandry and meat acquisition, including hunting?
Clearly it’s cruel to kill an animal even through hunting. The animal doesn’t want to be shot/stabbed/etc…
Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air
#48I need more details than that, but looks very interesting: “HOW SOLEIN IS MADE Solein® is made from natural single-cell organisms, which are grown in a fermentation process. Water is split from the air with renewable electricity into hydrogen and oxygen. The cells are fed CO2 from the air, hydrogen and mineral nutrients. These microorganisms are then able to make amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids (fats), and vitamin…
> These microorganisms are then able to make amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids (fats), and vitamins. * Carbohydrates are easy. (It's actually very difficult to "transform" light into sugar, but there are plenty of plants and bacteria that can do that. They are using Hydrogen instead of light, but so let's say it's "easy".) * Lipids are even easier. (I can't remember any technical problem here.) * Amino acids are dif…
The nitrogen source is effectively in the nutrients (so not air/nitrogen fixation by their organism), and is provided as ammonia, according to this video by Solar Foods[0]. I agree this is cheating considering what is needed to produce ammonia from N2.
Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not to be incredibly nit-picky, but the costs of the product right now don’t matter nearly as much as the ability to scale production and variable unit costs. As a ‘hard tech’, they need to work themselves through the technology readiness framework before the cost of a particular material even tells you anything of value.
Sure it does. The competition is growing soybeans, which are really cheap. Are they going to beat that? Most of the high-tech food schemes produce some high-value product. This produces a very low value product. It's Hamburger Helper. Cost dominates.
The competition would be carbon neutral pesticide free soybeans, which I'm not sure are readily available? Soybeans also typically use energy intensive nitrogen fertilizers, which I'm not sure this process requires. (It might, not sure.)
Also, soybeans need to be shipped from fertile areas. This could be produced in situ in infertile areas.
I'm not saying it's a panacea, but it has some benefits over traditional intensive agriculture.
Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hmm, obviously cyanobacteria like Spirulina[1] "utilize CO2 captured from air" along with "water and some minerals" and sunlight to make sugars and proteins which people can eat. Not sure I'd describe that as 'fermentation' though if you do anything in a big vat it's a bioreactor and not just... a big vat, apparently. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirulina_(dietary_supplement)
Also Spirulina in large doses is not kind to your stomach or your bathroom...
Spirulina is a staple foodstuff in some places, is it plausible that the side effects you are suggesting are from someone not adjusted to eating it or contaminations from other cyanobacteria that are known to cause digestion issues?