A techno-economic model of mycoprotein production: achieving price parity with beef protein

Predicted famines due to population increase created an interest in the development of protein alternatives during the 1950s. Currently, a renewed interest in protein alternatives has developed as a potential strategy to decrease the environmental impact of protein production and meet the global demand for protein as the population increases. Fusarium venenatum A3/5/3, the organism used for mycoprotein production has been commercially available since the 1980s, however new fungal protein companies are currently interested in scaling up production. To aid guide efforts in this domain, we created an economic model with over 340 inputs that examines the continuous production of mycoprotein utilizing airlift bioreactors. Utilizing a sensitivity analysis, we identified critical processing inputs and then developed a user-friendly Excel model that allows for the exploration of customized production scenarios for interested stakeholders. Our findings indicate that mycoprotein can be cost competitive with beef on a price per protein basis. The findings also indicate that mycoprotein may not be an economically competitive alternative for other types of commodity meats (chicken) or for inexpensive meat-derived products (pet food) that utilize offal or meat byproducts not traditionally consumed in the modern western diet

Estimating the Blue Water Footprint of In-Field Crop Losses: A Case Study of U.S. Potato Cultivation

Given the high proportion of water consumption for agriculture, as well as the relatively common occurrence of crop losses in the field, we estimate the amount of water embedded in crops left on the farm. We are particularly interested in understanding losses associated with fruits and vegetables, having a higher level of harvesting selectivity and perishability (and thus, losses) than grain crops. We further refined the study to focus on potatoes, as they represent the largest acreage under cultivation of all fruit and vegetable crops in the U.S. We attempt to get the most complete understanding of pre-harvest and harvest loss data for potatoes by leveraging three centralized data sets collected and managed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). By integrating these three distinct data sets for the five-year period 2012–2016, we are able to estimate water consumption for potato cultivation for total in-field losses by production stage and driver of loss for seven major potato-producing states (representing 77% of total U.S. potato production). Our results suggest that 3.6%–17.9% of potatoes are lost in the field with a total estimated blue water footprint of approximately 84.6 million cubic meters. We also find that the leading driver for crop loss for in-field potato production is harvest sorting and grading, accounting for 84% of total lost production at the farm. We conclude with a discussion of opportunities for improved national level data collection to provide a better understanding of in-field crop losses over time and the resource footprints of these losses

Estimating the Blue Water Footprint of In-Field Crop Losses: A Case Study of U.S. Potato Cultivation

Given the high proportion of water consumption for agriculture, as well as the relatively common occurrence of crop losses in the field, we estimate the amount of water embedded in crops left on the farm. We are particularly interested in understanding losses associated with fruits and vegetables, having a higher level of harvesting selectivity and perishability (and thus, losses) than grain crops. We further refined the study to focus on potatoes, as they represent the largest acreage under cultivation of all fruit and vegetable crops in the U.S. We attempt to get the most complete understanding of pre-harvest and harvest loss data for potatoes by leveraging three centralized data sets collected and managed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). By integrating these three distinct data sets for the five-year period 2012–2016, we are able to estimate water consumption for potato cultivation for total in-field losses by production stage and driver of loss for seven major potato-producing states (representing 77% of total U.S. potato production). Our results suggest that 3.6%–17.9% of potatoes are lost in the field with a total estimated blue water footprint of approximately 84.6 million cubic meters. We also find that the leading driver for crop loss for in-field potato production is harvest sorting and grading, accounting for 84% of total lost production at the farm. We conclude with a discussion of opportunities for improved national level data collection to provide a better understanding of in-field crop losses over time and the resource footprints of these losses

Food banks show resilience in face of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented spikes in food insecurity. In California, food banks, which were already facing high demand for emergency food assistance, rallied federal, state and local resources to help meet the challenges of the pandemic. Our study draws on interviews with food banks and their partners approximately one year into the pandemic to learn how they responded to enormous challenges in staffing, procurement, distribution and infrastructure. These interviews captured lessons for resilience planning and food security policy that might otherwise have been lost. We found an encouraging story of resilience, and a story of how government agencies and community networks can work together to create and strengthen food security policies, even under the most dire circumstances

(Un)Affordability of Informal Water Systems: Disparities in a Comparative Case Study in Beirut, Lebanon

Achieving affordable and equitable access to water for all remains a challenge worldwide. In areas suffering from chronic water shortages, communities pay high costs for alternative informal water sources (such as tanker trucks, bottled water, and wells) to meet their daily water needs. This study examines water costs of informal sources and overall affordability disparities for two communities of different socioeconomic status in Beirut, Lebanon. Water is often unaffordable for both of these communities. Overall, 6% of household income is spent on purchasing water (compared to an average global percentages of 3% to 5%). There are also significant disparities between the communities: lower income residents pay 2.2 times more of their income to secure water, and more than half of these residents (55% of households) spend more than 5% of their income on water. To overcome water shortages, these residents turn to informal water sources, but at significant additional cost. These costs and impacts on lower income residents are high and inequitable. We propose strategies to address cost, quality and quantity issues for informal sources

The Potential Production of the Bioactive Compound Pinene Using Whey Permeate

Pinene is a secondary plant metabolite that has functional properties as a flavor additive as well as potential cognitive health benefits. Although pinene is present in low concentrations in several plants, it is possible to engineer microorganisms to produce pinene. However, feedstock cost is currently limiting the industrial scale-up of microbial pinene production. One potential solution is to leverage waste streams such as whey permeate as an alternative to expensive feedstocks. Whey permeate is a sterile-filtered dairy effluent that contains 4.5% weight/weight lactose, and it must be processed or disposed of due its high biochemical oxygen demand, often at significant cost to the producer. Approximately 180 million m3 of whey is produced annually in the U.S., and only half of this quantity receives additional processing for the recovery of lactose. Given that organisms such as recombinant Escherichia coli grow on untreated whey permeate, there is an opportunity for dairy producers to microbially produce pinene and reduce the biological oxygen demand of whey permeate via microbial lactose consumption. The process would convert a waste stream into a valuable coproduct. This review examines the current approaches for microbial pinene production, and the suitability of whey permeate as a medium for microbial pinene production

Data_Sheet_1_A techno-economic model of mycoprotein production: achieving price parity with beef protein.pdf

Predicted famines due to population increase created an interest in the development of protein alternatives during the 1950s. Currently, a renewed interest in protein alternatives has developed as a potential strategy to decrease the environmental impact of protein production and meet the global demand for protein as the population increases. Fusarium venenatum A3/5/3, the organism used for mycoprotein production has been commercially available since the 1980s, however new fungal protein companies are currently interested in scaling up production. To aid guide efforts in this domain, we created an economic model with over 340 inputs that examines the continuous production of mycoprotein utilizing airlift bioreactors. Utilizing a sensitivity analysis, we identified critical processing inputs and then developed a user-friendly Excel model that allows for the exploration of customized production scenarios for interested stakeholders. Our findings indicate that mycoprotein can be cost competitive with beef on a price per protein basis. The findings also indicate that mycoprotein may not be an economically competitive alternative for other types of commodity meats (chicken) or for inexpensive meat-derived products (pet food) that utilize offal or meat byproducts not traditionally consumed in the modern western diet.</p

Table_1_A techno-economic model of mycoprotein production: achieving price parity with beef protein.XLSX

Predicted famines due to population increase created an interest in the development of protein alternatives during the 1950s. Currently, a renewed interest in protein alternatives has developed as a potential strategy to decrease the environmental impact of protein production and meet the global demand for protein as the population increases. Fusarium venenatum A3/5/3, the organism used for mycoprotein production has been commercially available since the 1980s, however new fungal protein companies are currently interested in scaling up production. To aid guide efforts in this domain, we created an economic model with over 340 inputs that examines the continuous production of mycoprotein utilizing airlift bioreactors. Utilizing a sensitivity analysis, we identified critical processing inputs and then developed a user-friendly Excel model that allows for the exploration of customized production scenarios for interested stakeholders. Our findings indicate that mycoprotein can be cost competitive with beef on a price per protein basis. The findings also indicate that mycoprotein may not be an economically competitive alternative for other types of commodity meats (chicken) or for inexpensive meat-derived products (pet food) that utilize offal or meat byproducts not traditionally consumed in the modern western diet.</p

Segmentation analysis of hourly water and electricity use in Southern California to support demand-side management programs

ISSN:1029-7006ISSN:1607-796