‘Palmless’: US company comes up with an alternative to palm oil

A New York-based tech firm has created a much-needed lab-grown alternative to palm oil, that has for years been behind the deforestation of some of the world’s most diverse forests and the destruction of the habitat of multiple endangered species.

US Tech firm C16 Biosciences has come up with “Palmless”, an alternative to palm oil that is made from yeast cells. The product was recently released commercially to try and “reduce the world’s reliance on palm oil”, says Shara Ticku, CEO of the company.

Watch | WION Climate Tracker: EU plans to ban products linked to deforestation

The alternative makes use of a unique strain of yeast called metschnikowia pulcherrima, or MP. As per Chris Chuck, professor of bioprocess engineering at the University of Bath, who along with his team is behind the innovation, MP is not fussy and can be fed grass and food waste.

While traditional palm oil production takes around seven years, ‘palmless’ reportedly takes “less than seven days from start to finish”.

Accounting for over 40 per cent of the world’s vegetable oil usage, Palm oil continues to dominate the market. The tasteless, colourless and odourless oil is equally popular with cosmetic makers and food companies. It owes its popularity to the fact that it doesn’t change the taste or look of the product but instead acts as a natural preservative.

What’s problematic about its usage is the widely documented and significant deforestation it leads to. The tree can grow in low-lying, hot, humid areas near the equator, 85 per cent of which is in Indonesia and Malaysia, areas home to endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino.

In 2020, 28.7 million hectares of land were in use for palm oil conservation, a nine-fold increase from 3.3 million hectares in 1970.

As per BBC, Ticku, the person behind C16 Biosciences, got the idea for Palmless back in 2013, when on a visit to Singapore she was forced to wear a mask due to the toxic air because of Indonesia’s burning rainforests.

(With inputs from agencies)

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.