Three experts give their reactions.
Dr Rob Burton, Research Professor, Ruralis - Institute for Rural and Regional Research.
Dr Rob Burton is a New Zealander working in Norway. He said at the moment, the scale of production meant precision fermentation didn’t represent a challenge to agriculture.
However, he said efforts to increase production volume and decrease costs were ongoing and that with an abundant supply of renewable energy, New Zealand had the potential to become a supplier of precision fermented protein.
“Bioreactors require significant amounts of energy and, if the climate benefits are to be realised, renewable energy must be used,” Burton said.
“A scaled-up precision fermentation industry may also offer a strong challenge to New Zealand’s current dairy sector – however, some believe it will simply address supply issues associated with a growing global population and climate change.”
He also said the proteins could be beneficial to the environment.
“Life-cycle assessments of precision fermented proteins suggest significant environmental benefits to using the technology.”
Burton said start-ups in the food sector were now developing technologies to produce animal proteins including myoglobin, whey, casein, collagen and animal fat.
He used Californian start-up, Perfect Day, as an example.
“Perfect Day claims its whey protein is between 91 per cent and 97 per cent lower in greenhouse gas emissions than that of total protein in milk, while it requires between 28.9 per cent and 59.7 per cent less primary energy and 96 per cent to 99 per cent less water.
“Other analyses are less optimistic, but nevertheless still show some environmental and greenhouse gas benefits.”
Burton said a few countries, such as the US, Israel and Singapore, had already approved precision fermented foods for consumption and that, on a global level, the public appeared “relatively willing to accept the final product”.
Dr Scott Knowles, senior research scientist, AgResearch
Dr Scott Knowles said that while interest and investment in precision fermentation was strong, the industry was still in the start-up phase.
Knowles said the Environmental Protection Authority’s decision allowed a substantial scale-up of precision fermentation methods that use genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
He said the yeasts being cultivated were common, low-risk organisms with a long history in research, and all proposed work remained confined within certified laboratories.
“This is a welcome advance in capability that will grow our understanding of the opportunities with this technology in a New Zealand context.
“It adds to research already being carried out safely and securely with GMOs in facilities around the country.”
Knowles said that although there may be fewer environmental impacts without animals, issues such as total energy consumption still needed to be considered.
“Thus far, contribution to the world’s food supply from precision fermentation is tiny [but] there is exciting potential for these new generation methods to enrich and diversify food production in New Zealand.”
He thought there was a risk to traditional agriculture if some products “sidestep the farm” and were eventually produced in large quantities from the equivalent of “stainless-steel cows”.
Overall though, Knowles said he thought the most likely scenario was “not competitive but complementary, integrating our primary and high-technology sectors”.
“An early target for New Zealand participation in precision fermentation could be making and exporting premium high-value proteins that are scarce in fresh dairy milk and absent in recent market challengers like plant-based milks.”
Dr Alec Foster, portfolio lead bioproducts and packaging - Scion
Dr Alec Foster said he was encouraged by the Environmental Protection Authority’s decision to approve Daisy Lab’s application.
“Precision fermentation is analogous to brewing beer, but instead of producing alcohol, genetically engineered micro-organisms like yeast generate specific proteins and other products through fermentation.”
Foster said Daisy Lab had already demonstrated the ability to produce dairy proteins using this method, which complemented and added value to New Zealand’s dairy industry.
He said the decision provided an example for other companies to follow suit across multiple sectors, including food, pharmaceuticals, and biomaterials.
“There are currently more than a dozen companies in New Zealand exploring the vast potential of precision fermentation across diverse applications.
“With potential changes in legislation on the horizon, I believe we will see more and more of these companies not simply performing research, but taking that crucial next step of scaling up and commercialising these innovative processes and products.”
Foster said New Zealand was well-positioned to embrace and benefit from precision fermentation technology.
“Our country possesses unique advantages with readily available biomass feedstocks from our agricultural, dairy, and forestry industries.
“Furthermore, we have deep expertise across these primary sectors, as well as a comprehensive understanding of end-product applications, markets, and customer needs.”
Foster said these ”established strengths” served as a solid foundation for fostering biotechnology innovation and successfully commercialising novel products and processes through precision fermentation technologies.
