As the global population continues growing, so does the demand for food, with estimates of an increase of up to around 50 percent between 2010 and 2050, according to a 2021 Nature study. Not only do we face a threat of global hunger, but plastic pollution is also getting increasingly worse worldwide.
A team from Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale has found a way that could potentially address two issues at once. The researchers developed a technology using reprogrammed yeasts to turn plastic compounds and agricultural waste into proteins, vitamins, and flavorings, all packed into an edible cookie. The method, presented at the annual American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting, could help produce sustenance in disaster zones or on human deep-space missions.
“Microbes are very clever. So, we are using their traits to solve the problems we created,” said Lahiru Jayakody, member of the research team and professor at SIU, in a statement.
The Power of Microbes
Two seemingly unrelated problems may actually be each other’s solution. One is the growing burden of plastic pollution, and the other is the issue of increasing global food insecurity. As part of NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge, a team of microbiologists and fermentation experts from SIU wanted to know if microbes could be programmed to transform plastic waste into edible compounds for humans.
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Cookie made using waste plant materials and plastic.
(Image Credit: SIU Carbondale Communications)
“We were trying to develop technologies for plastic upcycling to make more valuable products. We thought, why not focus on making food? Because plastic is carbon and food is carbon,” explained Jayakody.
The researchers describe how one of the most common forms of plastic, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), contains a lot of carbon, which also builds the backbone of protein, one of the most important macronutrients for human nutrition.
Yeast Digests Plastic and Biomaterials Into Edible Ingredients
One way to transform plastic-derived carbon into something like a protein would involve complex chemical solvents and reactions in a laboratory setting, but the research team was aiming for a more eco-friendly strategy involving microbes.
Similar to other biotechnological processes, like the large-scale production of insulin using yeast, which made the previously established extraction from animal pancreases obsolete, the scientists programmed a variety of yeasts. This included baker’s yeast, to convert plastic molecules into not just proteins but also vitamins and flavorings.
Using an in-house-made process of oxidative hydrothermal dissolution, a process that, according to SIU, breaks down solid organic compounds into smaller fragments, they transformed a mixture of PET, corn stalks and leaves, and other biomaterials into microbe-bite-sized pieces.
Next, the programmed yeast metabolizes these smaller bits into food ingredients that, combined with fiber, starch and sweeteners, are shaped into protein-rich cookies the team named “µBites” (pronounced “microbites”).
Making a Consumer-Friendly Eco-Cookie
Further analysis confirmed the safety of µBites for consumption, but institutional approval is still pending before official taste tests. Meanwhile, most participants involved in the cookie-making process complimented the cookies’ smell and voiced their interest in eating the cookies when in a dire situation.
How the cookies are perceived was really important to the research team. The programmed baker’s yeast, for example, can create vanilla flavoring from plant biomass, and other strains can produce beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, from PET compounds.
“We’re using microbes to develop the cookie into a more attractive, consumer-friendly product,” added Jayasekara.
The next steps are optimizing the technology so that the microbe-produced ingredients are the main component of the µBite cookie. Used as a backup in extreme environments on Earth or during human deep-space exploration, the team hopes their engineered cookie will be ready for production in the coming years.
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from a study published in Nature: A meta-analysis of projected global food demand and population at risk of hunger for the period 2010–2050
- This article references information from research presented at the annual American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting:4532754 - Engineered yeast consortia for converting plastic and biomass-derived compounds into valuable food additives | Poster Board #1081
- This article references information from Southern Illinois University: THE APPLICATION OF OXIDATIVE HYDROTHERMAL DISSOLUTION (OHD) TO ORGANIC-RICH SHALES
