Solving the Protein Problem: MicroHarvest’s Sustainable Solution

At the Greentech.LIVE conference in Hamburg, Jonathan Roberz, founder of Micro Harvest, talks about one of the biggest challenges facing the modern food industry: solving the protein problem.

MicroHarvest: Sustainable Protein Production with Microorganisms

With MicroHarvest, the mechanical engineer and greentech entrepreneur has developed an innovative solution that uses microorganisms to produce proteins sustainably – and in an incredibly efficient process. They offer a way to produce proteins with significantly lower emissions and resource consumption.

MicroHarvest uses a bioreactor process that uses microorganisms to produce proteins quickly and efficiently. The process works in a similar way to beer brewing, except that protein is produced instead of beer.

A Sustainable Alternative: 98% Lower Carbon Footprint Compared to Meat Production

Micro Harvest’s process has an extremely low carbon footprint – 98% less than meat production – and uses significantly less water and land. This provides a scalable, sustainable alternative to traditional protein sources.

At Greentech.LIVE in Hamburg, Jonathan outlines that his solution could play a crucial role in the fight against climate change: The company has set itself the task of not only drastically reducing CO2 emissions in the food industry through the production of microbe-based proteins, but also offering a sustainable alternative to traditional protein sources such as meat.

Addressing CO2 Emissions in the Food Industry

The food industry is responsible for around 25% of global CO2 emissions – a huge lever that Micro Harvest is addressing. Jonathan Roberz explains that the vast majority of emissions come from protein production, particularly from animal products.

To reduce the CO2 emissions of the entire industry, we need to start with protein production, because proteins account for more than half of the emissions in food production. Microorganisms, which have been used in the food industry for years, are a potential solution.