Fungal fermentation for upcycling waste into climate-smart, nutrient-dense, and delicious foods

Food and Agriculture Flagship

Team: Vayu Hill-Maini, Justin Sonnenburg, Steven Davis, Taylor Hanh Nguyen, Braydon Black, Franklin Peace Lurie

A serving of fungal food. Image Credit: *Hill-Maini team*

As much as 40% of food is wasted, contributing gigatons of unnecessary emissions to the atmosphere. At the same time, animal agriculture produces emissions many times that of other forms of food production. This project aims to address each of these impact areas through the upcycling of abundant food production byproducts (side streams) into a new generation of climate-smart foods. The project will harness fungal solid-state fermentation to create new foods that deliver on cost, flavor, nutrition, and sustainability.