SLU news
Food production without photosynthesis
Published: 31 October 2019
Edible microorganisms have become a hot topic within alternative sources of food and feed. SLU researcher Tomas Linder from the Department of Molecular Sciences was recently interviewed in the online journal OneZero about the benefits of edible microorganisms as a food source.
In the article Tomas Linder says that edible microorganisms as a food source “has the potential to prevent climate change … but it also has the potential to feed humanity.”
The key to the great potential of microbial sources of food and feed is the ability of microorganisms to grow on simple organic compounds, which in turn can be synthesized directly from carbon dioxide in the air. This means that food and feed can be produced without photosynthesis, which in theory would make food production independent of arable land and local climate conditions that normally would be required for growing crops.
At the end of the interview, Tomas Linder predicts that humanity “now can transition to a post-photosynthetic food production system, and we can completely revolutionize human society.”
Read the entire article here:
https://onezero.medium.com/microbe-scientists-are-preparing-us-to-eat-in-a-post-plant-world-245677693379
Contact:
Tomas Linder, Associated Professor, SLU tomas.linder@slu.se
Links:
OneZero article:
Edible microorganisms make it possible to produce food without photosynthesis