Meet the Oxford based company revolutionising food in aid of the climate crisis
Oxford based company Fermtech produce nutritious, sustainable, and low-carbon protein for foods to help tackle the climate crisis.
Based in the BioInnovation centre at Oxford Brookes University, Fermtech was set up by Andy Clayton, an experienced biologist and entrepreneur in order to help tackle the climate crisis.
Andy told us about how more and more people are choosing non-animal foods because of the impact of animal farming on the environment, the climate, and the animals.
Fermtech uses a natural process using microorganisms used in fermentation since ancient times, to grow protein on grains left over from from brewing.
This process yields a nutritious, non-GMO, great-tasting protein product that is perfect for use in plant-based foods, like meats, confectionery, and vegan cheese.
One of the big challenges in food production is the impact on the environment and in particular carbon emissions.
Animal food accounts for over 80% of agricultural land in use, but produces fewer than 20% of the calories we eat.
Speaking about his work so far Andy said: "We have figured out how to produce protein ingredients in a low-cost, carbon friendly way to reduce the impact on the environment.
"Our approach is we take the organisms that are most efficient and we recreate them in a natural environment by using a sub straight that's readily available and would otherwise be wasted.
"In order to create a new generation of food we have to produce proteins in ways that taste really good are nutritious and are affordable and we've cracked the code for that."
One way in which Fermtech is reducing waste is by taking the leftover grains from local brewery tap social.
The grains would normally be thrown away or used as a fertiliser, but the grains are perfect for Fermtech to grow organisms on.
The organisms can eat the grains and grow before eventually having protein extracted from them.
Fermtech are working on a number of different projects, but perhaps most intriguingly is their Vegan cheese which they expect to be ready in about a months time.
"We've isolated the organisms that are used on the rinds of camembert and the blue bit of stilton, so we are now developing cheese products which we expect to be ready to test in the next couple of months."
Speaking about the company going forward Andy said: "It's a really exciting journey and we've dedicated ourselves to helping this cause.