How lab-grown sushi could help tackle overfishing
[...] One company trying to produce fish more sustainably is Wildtype. The California-based startup is creating sushi-grade salmon by cultivating cells extracted from salmon eggs. It raised $100 million in February 2022, which included support from actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jeff Bezos' investment firm Bezos Expeditions. Now, the company is hoping to scale and be one of the first to take a lab-cultivated fish product to market, says Wildtype co-founder Justin Kolbeck.
Wildtype cultivates cells in a nutritious solution in steel vessels similar to the fermentation tanks used by breweries. A plant-based mesh known as a "scaffold" is used to help the cells form fibrous or fat-like tissue.
[...] Aryé Elfenbein, co-founder of Wildtype and a molecular biologist, says that with cell-cultured fish, "there are no antibiotics, no heavy metals, no microplastics." There's no waste, as only the edible parts of the fish are grown, and Wildtype says its product takes only four to six weeks to grow, compared to the two to three years required to grow a mature salmon in aquaculture.
The elevated prices that customers generally pay for quality sushi could help make lab grown fish economically viable. This could also reduce the environmental and economic costs involved in shipping fresh seafood long distances. I'd eat it if it were available here (Minneapolis area), and for a similar price to traditional sushi.
See also: https://vegnews.com/2021/6/lab-grown-sushi-bar-san-francisco
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @01:41AM (1 child)
Bet they blow through all their money buying politicians so they can call it wild caught salmon. Or better yet just omit all labels from food and anything remotely resembling food.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Opportunist on Wednesday May 04 2022, @01:30PM
What? Please, what better marketing label could there possibly be than "eco-friendly, co2-neutral, no fish has been harmed for this"?
This is right up the alley of the average food blogger who wants to signal just how much they care about the environment while eating hip food.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @02:51AM
Salmon sushi is the cheapest one that you find in prepackaged ones in super market. Lab-grown, farm-grown, doesn't matter - they suck.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @10:57AM
Just sayin.
cause the savings in environmental impacts will be offset by the demand increase.
Lookup Nirvana or Jevon's Fallacy
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @12:36PM
i wonder if this nobel persuit will in anyway increase "antibiotics, heavy metals, microplastics" until it comes to ..uhmm..err...fruition?
you know, like improving health by transporting "real clean" water in polymerized goo over distances, by burning fossile fuel, cause, well the exploration and usage of said goo is what made your local water unsafe? it's total win-win but onesided, eh?
anyways, quick reminder that may-be (no citation needed) the coming scarcity of fossile fuels fallout is not a increase in retail makeup prices but availability of clean drinking water? maybe emphasize the "solarization" of this (100% decouling of drinking water from availability of fossile fuels?)
(Score: 4, Insightful) by looorg on Wednesday May 04 2022, @12:37PM (2 children)
I'm not a big fan of Sushi. If I eat fish I want it grilled or at least cooked/warm. But then I'm as noted not in the market for cold raw fish. I guess the big thing is will the Japanese eat it? If they won't eat it then this is basically western-truckstop-sushi or at least vending machine Sushi and shouldn't be touched by anything living.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday May 05 2022, @01:25AM
I might eat it. At least once to try it. But I'm not japanese.
(Score: 2) by canopic jug on Thursday May 05 2022, @07:54AM
I guess the big thing is will the Japanese eat it? If they won't eat it then this is basically western-truckstop-sushi or at least vending machine Sushi and shouldn't be touched by anything living.
I'm sure if they need an added level of authenticity, they can seed a small, random promile of the product with mild parasites, the kind treatable with medication. For the hardcore, they could also sell product seeded with parasites requiring surgical intervention or worse.
I'm interested, minus the parasites, but only after it has been properly baked, boiled, or pan fried.
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