from the first-they-took-the-eggs,-then-they-took-the-bacon dept.
From MIT Technology Review:
Most tech startups are silent spaces where earbud-clad engineers peer into monitors. Not Hampton Creek Foods. The two-year-old company's office-a filled-to-bursting space in San Francisco's South of Market tech hotbed -grinds, clatters, and whirs like a laundromat run amok. That's the sound of industrial-strength mixers, grinders, and centrifuges churning out what the company hopes is a key ingredient in food 2.0: an animal-free replacement for the chicken egg.
Silicon Valley venture capitalists have funded several food-related startups in the past year, but Hampton Creek has gathered the most momentum. It has A-list investors including Founders Fund, Horizon Ventures, and Khosla Ventures, and two undisclosed industrial food companies are experimenting with its plant-based egg substitute. The prepared-food counter at Whole Foods began using the startup's egg-free Just Mayo mayonnaise in September 2013, with four other mainstream grocery chains lined up for the first half of this year. And, thanks to a recent investment round that boosted Hampton Creek's funding to $30 million and drew in Li Ka-shing, the wealthiest person in Asia, Just Mayo soon will be sold by a large online grocer in Hong Kong.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 10 2014, @07:32AM
Food 3.0 will be animal-free and plant-free. Nothing but minerals!
(Score: 3, Funny) by bradley13 on Saturday May 10 2014, @07:59AM
The poor rocks, being all ground up - its inhumane! Um...I mean, inmineral! We should subsist only on vacuum and quantum energy.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 10 2014, @08:28AM
Those liquid Changelings from the Dominion are so lucky that they never eat. No wonder the Solids were envious.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bradley13 on Saturday May 10 2014, @08:07AM
There are lots of possible snarky comments, but in the end just this: We have the self-righteous "eat local, eat natural" movement. Pretty much a subset of this group are the few-but-very-vocal vegetarians/vegans. So here we have a manufactured product - it doesn't get more processed than this - being celebrated? Seems to me that their heads should explode from the contradictions.
Really, they could just eat Soylent and be done with it...
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 10 2014, @08:15AM
I buy my most heavily processed food at Whole Foods, they sell protein bars in bulk for cheap. Ironically, I get my fresh-squeezed not-from-concentrate fruit juices from the local supermarket instead.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Saturday May 10 2014, @09:56AM
I don't know about the whole self-righteous part, but the Just Mayo is awesome. If anything, it's a healthy alternative to an allergic reaction from eggs, if you suffer from it.
I'm literally 3 sandwiches into the jar, but I had no idea it wasn't real mayo. I was sitting here slack jawed wondering why the hell Soylent was talking about the mayo on my chipotle chicken sandwich I made for dinner. Not something I could have predicted, that's for sure.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by Angry Jesus on Saturday May 10 2014, @05:20PM
Try vegenaise [slate.com] it isn't as good as real mayo, it actually tastes better.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday May 10 2014, @10:40AM
No, the next thing will be manufacturing food products from local, natural suppliers. If your artificial eggs are made from soybeans grown in the urban core renewal street gardens, what could be more.... um.... righteous than that?
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by redneckmother on Saturday May 10 2014, @07:37PM
More righteous? How's about fertilizing said soybeans with locally produced manure (feel free to pick your source, including press releases from local gubmit)?
Mas cerveza por favor.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 10 2014, @12:21PM
I say stick to the facts. If local is more efficient, eat local. If processed food can be healthy and efficient, eat it. What we really want is vertical hydroponics/aquaponics.
(Score: 1) by elgrantrolo on Saturday May 10 2014, @10:08AM
If I were the wealthiest person in Asia, I'd change name to Li Ka-Ching! just for the lulz.
(Score: 2) by jimshatt on Saturday May 10 2014, @11:31AM