New Delhi, July 18, 2024: A California-based company has invented a unique method of preparing butter without milk. Backed by billionaire businessman Bill Gates, the startup was opened with the goal of finding dairy-free alternatives to milk, cheese and ice cream. According to several media reports, the company named Savor has introduced a way of producing butter by using carbon dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen. They build fat molecules from these gases using a thermochemical process. The company doesn’t require any firm to run the business as their experimental animal-free products can be processed in the laboratory.
Despite the involvement of carbon dioxide, Savor claims that their newly invented butter will not cause any harm to nature. Instead, it produces less than 0.8g carbon dioxide equivalent per kg while one kg of unsalted traditional butter generates 16.9kg CO2. In terms of taste, the startup claims that this dairy-free butter is exactly the same as the authentic one according to the reports published in news18.com.
Bill Gates has also shown a thumbs-up to the concept. “The idea of switching to lab-made fats and oils may seem strange at first. But their potential to significantly reduce our carbon footprint is immense. By harnessing proven technologies and processes, we get one step closer to achieving our climate goals,” the Microsoft co-founder shared in an online blog, reported The Indian Express.
“The process doesn’t release any greenhouse gases, and it uses no farmland and less than a thousandth of the water that traditional agriculture does. And most important, it tastes really good – like the real thing, because chemically it is,” he added.
According to Kathleen Alexander, the Chief Executive of Savor, the company is currently at the pre-commercial stage. Their newly invented butter will now navigate through regulatory approval processes. Once this procedure is done, Savor will start selling its animal-free products. Alexander believes they will be able to commence sales by the next year.
A study by Nature Sustainability suggests that this unique method may significantly reduce the impact that food systems normally have on the environment. Research conducted by The Breakthrough Institute found that the livestock sector currently contributes to nearly 19.6 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the use of animal products will therefore aid in lowering the damaging effects of human activity on mother nature.
