Emily Chan
A startup based in California called Savor has created an animal-free butter from carbon dioxide. It might be a hard sell for people who love their dairy products, but it’s supposed to taste just like real butter.
The reason that humans tend to prefer animal products over plant-based alternatives is due to their fat content. It’s what gives so many foods their rich, juicy flavor.
Savor’s version of butter contains fat as well. But, the startup’s team doesn’t need any livestock to obtain the fat.
Instead, they developed a thermochemical process that involves pulling carbon dioxide from the air and combining it with oxygen and hydrogen to create synthetic fat.
Then, water, an emulsifier, beta-carotene for color, and rosemary oil for flavor are added to turn the fat into butter.
The process does not use farmland or unleash any greenhouse gases, which wreak havoc on the climate.
It also uses significantly less water than traditional agricultural practices. Every year, approximately 51 billion tons of greenhouse gases are emitted from various sources—seven percent of that figure comes from the production of fats and oils from animals and plants.
The new “butter” offers a potential way to combat climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the environmental footprint of agricultural systems.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock industry is responsible for 11.1 to 19.6 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
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