Lab-grown Palm Oil, CropOne's New Farm, and Plant-based Honey

We've all heard of cultivated meat. One of the biggest advantages to growing meat is the reduced carbon emissions, but another side effect is the improved ethics of producing slaughter-less meat based protein products.

One of the most unethically produced food products in the world is palm oil. According to the WWF, 50% of supermarket products contain palm oil. 85% of the world's palm oil is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia, with both countries having issues with labor law enforcement. In indonesia alone there are over one million children forcefully harvesting palm kernels for the production of palm oil.

Enter: cultivated palm oil. Using a strain of yeast commonly found on the surface of wine grapes, scientists were able to create a fermentation process that creates an extractable oil that is biologically equivalent to palm oil.

Many will argue against the production of anything made in a lab, but the truth of the matter is that if we want to continue living life on Earth, more ethical means of food production need to be put in place, regardless of how "natural" they may be.

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The Influx of CEA Investment: Where has the money gone?

Light Science Technologies supply issues hit margins

Crop One Expands U.S. Operations With New Vertical Farm in Pennsylvania

Plant-based ‘honey without bees’ prepares to create a buzz in Europe

The latest Vertical Farming Podcast

Nadun Hennayaka is the Founder and CEO at GAIA Project Australia, an organization with a vision to combine the most developed technologies to produce sustainable food & electricity to every human on this planet. Nadun has over twenty years of experience in engineering and technology and is well-versed in the global technology arena. Today, he and Harry discuss the current offerings of GAIA Project Australia, their recent partnership with NASA, and the ways in which Nadun is shining a light on hydroponics and vertical farming.

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