...I'm getting flashbacks to all the dystopian and grim sci-fi stories where "real food" is rare and reserved for the wealthiest people. So this is both cool, and honestly kinda freaky to me.
...I'm getting flashbacks to all the dystopian and grim sci-fi stories where "real food" is rare and reserved for the wealthiest people. So this is both cool, and honestly kinda freaky to me.
Why are they 3D printing it? If I understand this correctly, they used a bunch of modified bacteria to create some of the ingredients, then added starch, sugar, etc. to create the "slurry"... and...
Why are they 3D printing it? If I understand this correctly, they used a bunch of modified bacteria to create some of the ingredients, then added starch, sugar, etc. to create the "slurry"... and then are 3D printing it for whatever reason? Why not just bake the resulting slurry?
Costing around $60 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) to produce, they’re far from an economical solution to world hunger. However, the SIU Carbondale researchers believe they can improve the yeast’s efficiency and, with scale, reduce costs.
I don't get it. If they want to bring the price down, why are they adding 3d printing to the process?
In any case, I've been seeing articles like this for decades. I doubt anything will come out of it, the price never comes down enough for stuff like this to be viable. Maybe I'm wrong and this one will be the real deal, but I somehow doubt the guys 3d printing cookies will be the ones bucking the trend.
Food is dirt cheap to produce in massive quantities and we already make more than we need to feed anyone on earth. The issue of world hunger is logistical (getting the food to where it's needed) and obviously ideological/political.
Probably because of space. Fluid behaves weird in space and so it probably needs to be deposited a bit at a time in order for it to form properly. As far as I'm concerned, the real failure is that...
Probably because of space. Fluid behaves weird in space and so it probably needs to be deposited a bit at a time in order for it to form properly.
“µBites” (pronounced “microbites”)
As far as I'm concerned, the real failure is that it's not pronounced "moobites" ("mu-bites").
At this point, the cookie is theoretically ready to eat. However, Jayakody told The Guardian that the team hasn’t yet actually tasted the cookies and is still “awaiting approval for testing on humans,” but that they “receive high marks on aroma.”
It doesn’t sound safe to me. —- The first time I encountered a 3D printer in real life was at a con. They had (hopefully) cleaned it out and somehow loaded it with frosting. They were printing...
It doesn’t sound safe to me.
—-
The first time I encountered a 3D printer in real life was at a con. They had (hopefully) cleaned it out and somehow loaded it with frosting. They were printing spider on graham crackers and handing them out, which I thought was a great way to introduce them, especially to kids. I think that was a pretty good use of a 3D printer.
The process starts with one of the most common forms of single-use plastic, polyethylene terephthalate, or PET — what most single-use water and soda bottles are made of — which is mixed with plant waste biomass such as corn stalks and leaves. Hot, high-pressure water and oxygen break the mixture down into carbon-rich molecules, which are then fed to a mix of genetically reprogrammed, safe-to-eat yeast strains.
The feasting yeast converts plastics and agricultural waste into proteins, fats and flavor. An engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae converts ferulic acid to vanillin, the compound responsible for vanilla flavor and aroma, while a modified strain of Rhodosporidium toruloides produces beta-carotene, a source of vitamin A.
I don’t like to shoot down really creative ideas, but I also can’t imagine it being a good idea to eat plastic; as far as I know digested plastic is still plastic, possibly microplastics. Feeding compost (agricultural waste) to yeast? Yes. I’m completely on board with messing with yeast to make food in general. But we know plastic can take thousands of years to break down and that we already have it floating around inside us. Unless I’m completely misunderstanding, this is adding more in the name of recycling and waste reduction.
What are plastics? A processed form of hydrocarbons. Where do hydrocarbons come from? Compressed and heated plant material (from the Mesozaic era). It's plants all the way down. I don't see any...
I don’t like to shoot down really creative ideas, but I also can’t imagine it being a good idea to eat plastic; as far as I know digested plastic is still plastic, possibly microplastics.
What are plastics? A processed form of hydrocarbons. Where do hydrocarbons come from? Compressed and heated plant material (from the Mesozaic era).
It's plants all the way down. I don't see any issue with then processing it back into organic material and then consuming it. It's a longer journey, but it's no different than a yam that grows from the nutrients of dead leaves.
Hydrocarbons aren't like magic alien dust, it's just good ol' dead plants. We can turn it back from whence it came.
I'd also add that a lot of the microplastic is bad science from overeager scientists. In recent years, a lot of research has come in that most of those findings are from the plastic gloves they wear contaminating the results. In particular, there's no evidence that microplastics can pass the blood-brain barrier.
Could you pass along a source where I could learn more about this?
I'd also add that a lot of the microplastic is bad science from overeager scientists. In recent years, a lot of research has come in that most of those findings are from the plastic gloves they wear contaminating the results. In particular, there's no evidence that microplastics can pass the blood-brain barrier.
Could you pass along a source where I could learn more about this?
In terms of affirmative research on the our inability to test for plastics, see https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-04045-3. Where more action is happening is in rebuttals to existing...
I've seen a few presentations of biodegradable plastic (truly biodegradable plastics vs it actually just breaks into smaller and smaller plastic pieces and just looks broken down), and the thing...
I've seen a few presentations of biodegradable plastic (truly biodegradable plastics vs it actually just breaks into smaller and smaller plastic pieces and just looks broken down), and the thing that stuck out to me is that the problem with plastic is that the hydrocarbon molecules are just REALLY stable and nothing in nature that tends to find any part of the molecules biochemically available for bacteria or other organisms to grab onto to break apart the long hydrocarbons into simpler molecules and eventually CO2 and Water. But at the end of the day, plastic is primarily just organized Cabron and Hydrogen (which is why it burns so well). So as far as I can tell the yeast has been engineered to be able to digest/breakdown the plastic polymer chains into other types of hydrocarbons that are more readily digestible by other organisms like people. Hydrogen and Carbon are the basic building blocks of most of what we eat anyway, it just matters how the molecules are organized really.
I only had a chance to skim this, so if I overlooked something, someone please correct me. But to address u/tanglisha 's original concern, I think the point of the yeast is to concert the plastic to something else that is digestible. In theory there shouldn't actually be any plastic left at the end of the process.
This was my understanding as well. The article states the plastic gets converted (though I suppose it doesn't specify all of the plastic gets converted).
I think the point of the yeast is to concert the plastic to something else that is digestible. In theory there shouldn't actually be any plastic left at the end of the process.
This was my understanding as well. The article states the plastic gets converted (though I suppose it doesn't specify all of the plastic gets converted).
you know, i keep getting promised weird food, and yet, i still havent been able to eat the bug burgers or the air meat or even the forbidden plastic cookie. :(((
you know, i keep getting promised weird food, and yet, i still havent been able to eat the bug burgers or the air meat or even the forbidden plastic cookie. :(((
I was able to eat a cricket burger (patty made out of cricket flour) some years ago. A little too dry to my taste (some avocado mixed in would have done the trick IMO), but otherwise quite...
i still havent been able to eat the bug burgers
I was able to eat a cricket burger (patty made out of cricket flour) some years ago. A little too dry to my taste (some avocado mixed in would have done the trick IMO), but otherwise quite serviceable.
Uhm... I do not want to sound strange or anything but a part from the common flashbacks à la soylent green / snowpiercer... Are we 100% sure these cookies cannot contain micro plastics. It's odd...
Uhm... I do not want to sound strange or anything but a part from the common flashbacks à la soylent green / snowpiercer... Are we 100% sure these cookies cannot contain micro plastics. It's odd...
...I'm getting flashbacks to all the dystopian and grim sci-fi stories where "real food" is rare and reserved for the wealthiest people. So this is both cool, and honestly kinda freaky to me.
Yea, I've also just recently read a short story about one slum tribe living off eating plastic (thanks to bioengineered gut flora I think)
Why are they 3D printing it? If I understand this correctly, they used a bunch of modified bacteria to create some of the ingredients, then added starch, sugar, etc. to create the "slurry"... and then are 3D printing it for whatever reason? Why not just bake the resulting slurry?
I don't get it. If they want to bring the price down, why are they adding 3d printing to the process?
In any case, I've been seeing articles like this for decades. I doubt anything will come out of it, the price never comes down enough for stuff like this to be viable. Maybe I'm wrong and this one will be the real deal, but I somehow doubt the guys 3d printing cookies will be the ones bucking the trend.
Food is dirt cheap to produce in massive quantities and we already make more than we need to feed anyone on earth. The issue of world hunger is logistical (getting the food to where it's needed) and obviously ideological/political.
Probably because of space. Fluid behaves weird in space and so it probably needs to be deposited a bit at a time in order for it to form properly.
As far as I'm concerned, the real failure is that it's not pronounced "moobites" ("mu-bites").
It doesn’t sound safe to me.
—-
The first time I encountered a 3D printer in real life was at a con. They had (hopefully) cleaned it out and somehow loaded it with frosting. They were printing spider on graham crackers and handing them out, which I thought was a great way to introduce them, especially to kids. I think that was a pretty good use of a 3D printer.
I don’t like to shoot down really creative ideas, but I also can’t imagine it being a good idea to eat plastic; as far as I know digested plastic is still plastic, possibly microplastics. Feeding compost (agricultural waste) to yeast? Yes. I’m completely on board with messing with yeast to make food in general. But we know plastic can take thousands of years to break down and that we already have it floating around inside us. Unless I’m completely misunderstanding, this is adding more in the name of recycling and waste reduction.
What are plastics? A processed form of hydrocarbons. Where do hydrocarbons come from? Compressed and heated plant material (from the Mesozaic era).
It's plants all the way down. I don't see any issue with then processing it back into organic material and then consuming it. It's a longer journey, but it's no different than a yam that grows from the nutrients of dead leaves.
Hydrocarbons aren't like magic alien dust, it's just good ol' dead plants. We can turn it back from whence it came.
I'd also add that a lot of the microplastic is bad science from overeager scientists. In recent years, a lot of research has come in that most of those findings are from the plastic gloves they wear contaminating the results. In particular, there's no evidence that microplastics can pass the blood-brain barrier.
Could you pass along a source where I could learn more about this?
In terms of affirmative research on the our inability to test for plastics, see https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-04045-3.
Where more action is happening is in rebuttals to existing papers. This Guardian article is a good overview: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/13/microplastics-human-body-doubt
Due to serious experimental issues, many of the papers were withdrawn, including the (in)famous "Don't Use Black Plastic In Kitchen Paper".
https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/12/journal-that-published-faulty-black-plastic-study-removed-from-science-index/
I've seen a few presentations of biodegradable plastic (truly biodegradable plastics vs it actually just breaks into smaller and smaller plastic pieces and just looks broken down), and the thing that stuck out to me is that the problem with plastic is that the hydrocarbon molecules are just REALLY stable and nothing in nature that tends to find any part of the molecules biochemically available for bacteria or other organisms to grab onto to break apart the long hydrocarbons into simpler molecules and eventually CO2 and Water. But at the end of the day, plastic is primarily just organized Cabron and Hydrogen (which is why it burns so well). So as far as I can tell the yeast has been engineered to be able to digest/breakdown the plastic polymer chains into other types of hydrocarbons that are more readily digestible by other organisms like people. Hydrogen and Carbon are the basic building blocks of most of what we eat anyway, it just matters how the molecules are organized really.
I only had a chance to skim this, so if I overlooked something, someone please correct me. But to address u/tanglisha 's original concern, I think the point of the yeast is to concert the plastic to something else that is digestible. In theory there shouldn't actually be any plastic left at the end of the process.
This was my understanding as well. The article states the plastic gets converted (though I suppose it doesn't specify all of the plastic gets converted).
you know, i keep getting promised weird food, and yet, i still havent been able to eat the bug burgers or the air meat or even the forbidden plastic cookie. :(((
I was able to eat a cricket burger (patty made out of cricket flour) some years ago. A little too dry to my taste (some avocado mixed in would have done the trick IMO), but otherwise quite serviceable.
I remember reading about this. They sounded gross. Anyway, we'll see who enjoys eating them.
Uhm... I do not want to sound strange or anything but a part from the common flashbacks à la soylent green / snowpiercer... Are we 100% sure these cookies cannot contain micro plastics. It's odd...