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Solein – Protein out of thin air

solein.com

111–120 of 160 posts

Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air

#111

Earlier 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?

There's a definite spectrum of cruelty, with factory farming near one extreme and many forms of hunting near the other. How much cruelty one can stomach (literally, in this case) is up to the individual, of course.

Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air

#113

> 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. There is no nitrogen mentioned in this explanation. You cannot make amino acids or proteins without nitrogen. These organism either have to be able to do nitrogen-fixation fr…

I think I've heard something similar in a science fiction movie... "It's a single celled protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals. Everything the body needs." ... "If you close your eyes, it almost feels like you're eating runny eggs." "Yeah, or a bowl of snot."

You have to wonder why they didn't just jack into their local instance of the Matrix to eat lunch, while the goop goes in through a food tube or whatever.

Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air

#114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I've heard something similar in a science fiction movie... "It's a single celled protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals. Everything the body needs." ... "If you close your eyes, it almost feels like you're eating runny eggs." "Yeah, or a bowl of snot."

"It's not 'everything the body needs'..." (eyeroll)

I always took it as a list....

It has A, B, C, D... (Without the "and" before D, it is arguable -- especially for those that like clarity of language -- but people do sometimes drop the "and" in casual speech)

Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air

#115
post #35
post #24

Most 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.

The only thing I think that matters is the cost. To sell at scale and displace other foods, it is going to have to be as cheap as chicken. There is no point building a large factory that can produce this stuff at quantity at the price of wagu beef, because there is no market for that product. Even to vegans you are competing with tofu. Cost is why Quorn remains a niche product.

Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air

#116
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I've heard something similar in a science fiction movie... "It's a single celled protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals. Everything the body needs." ... "If you close your eyes, it almost feels like you're eating runny eggs." "Yeah, or a bowl of snot."

You have to wonder why they didn't just jack into their local instance of the Matrix to eat lunch, while the goop goes in through a food tube or whatever.

Yes! That's long been my biggest criticism of The Matrix, much more than the whole "but humans would make terrible batteries" thing.

The whole motivation of Cypher is because he wants to be plugged back in, and the movie presents it as him being sick and tired and the drab life aboard the ship. But they literally have a VR env that is completely realistic, and can give them any experience they want. The best food, the best entertainment, the "Lady in Red", etc.

Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air

#117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It's not 'everything the body needs'..." (eyeroll)

I always took it as a list.... It has A, B, C, D... (Without the "and" before D, it is arguable -- especially for those that like clarity of language -- but people do sometimes drop the "and" in casual speech)

Slightly confused as to what you guys disagree about, but I think it is a list where the listed elements provide the main examples and the final is a catch-all.

Like if a mechanic said "We service Fords, Toyotas, Hondas, all the well known brands" it wouldn't imply that those three were the only major brands.

Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would be... Nobel Prize worthy at scale.

it was in 1918 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haber_process

nowadays there is a lot of interest[1] in the older and less-efficient Birkeland–Eyde process because you can scale it to the size of a trailer and deploy it on-site to farms: https://www.nitricity.co/

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8133363/

Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I've heard something similar in a science fiction movie... "It's a single celled protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals. Everything the body needs." ... "If you close your eyes, it almost feels like you're eating runny eggs." "Yeah, or a bowl of snot."

"It's not 'everything the body needs'..." (eyeroll)

It's got everything plants need!

Re: Solein – Protein out of thin air

#120
post #116
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to wonder why they didn't just jack into their local instance of the Matrix to eat lunch, while the goop goes in through a food tube or whatever.

Yes! That's long been my biggest criticism of The Matrix, much more than the whole "but humans would make terrible batteries" thing. The whole motivation of Cypher is because he wants to be plugged back in, and the movie presents it as him being sick and tired and the drab life aboard the ship. But they literally have a VR env that is completely realistic, and can give them any experience they want . The best food, t…

Because it wasn't real. Cypher says ignorance is bliss but that's the opposite that everyone else feels. They'd rather eat slop they know is real. Even the suggestion of trying to go back to the Matrix willingly was seen as a betrayal. Mouse offers to set up a private meeting between Neo and the Lady in Red but he doesn't accept and we never heard of anyone else accepting.
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