Pentagon funds alternative meat protein from fungus for military food to meet sustainability goals
A Fungus Among Us? “America’s enemies are laughing at us talking about fermented fungus burgers, rather than natural, farm-raised” animal protein, the Center for the Environment and Welfare's Jack Hubbard said.
The Pentagon is funding alternatives to meat protein, which includes using fungi for food for U.S. service members as part of the White House’s sustainable bioeconomy agenda.
The Department of Defense is focusing on investments into fungi protein as an alternative to animal protein, after initially seeking to fund lab-grown meat earlier this year in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. Critics have pushed back on such initiatives, arguing that they are negatively affecting the military.
In November, the DOD announced that it had given 34 awards totaling over $60 million to bioindustrial firms under the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP). $1.38 million was given to The Fynder Group “to plan a bioproduction facility for fungi-based proteins that can be incorporated into military ready-to-eat meals.”
The program is part of President Joe Biden's Executive Order 14081, "Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy," which is “aimed at bolstering America's bioeconomic strengths while helping the Department achieve advanced defense capabilities,” according to the DOD.
The projects that were awarded funding from the DOD program “will be eligible to receive follow-on ‘build’ awards providing access to up to $100 million to construct U.S.-based bioindustrial manufacturing facilities,” the DOD announcement added.
Fungi-based proteins
In August, as part of the DBIMP, the DOD awarded nearly $1.5 million to The Better Meat Company, which “harness[es] the amazing power of fermentation to make delicious, clean mycoprotein ingredients for food companies to use as the basis of their hybrid and fully animal-free meats.”
“The Better Meat Company, based in West Sacramento, California, was awarded $1.48 million to plan a bioproduction facility for mycoprotein ingredients that are shelf-stable, have high protein and fiber contents, and can be dehydrated,” according to the DOD.
To make the meat alternatives, the company explains that they “feed starchy foods to microscopic fungi and allow them to naturally turn into the meatiest animal-free protein on the planet.”
The CEO of The Better Meat Company is Paul Shapiro, who has donated to Democratic candidates’ campaigns, according to records from the Federal Election Commission. Most recently, Shapiro donated to Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer’s primary campaign for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District this past February and California Sen. Adam Schiff’s campaign in October and November 2023.
The Better Meat Company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
In June, public-private company BioMADE announced that it was seeking “Innovations in food production that reduce the CO2 footprint of food production at and/or transport to DoD operational environments are solicited.
“These could include, but are not limited to, production of nutrient-dense military rations via fermentation processes, utilizing one carbon molecule (C1) feedstocks for food production, and novel cell culture methods suitable for the production of cultivated meat/protein,” which is lab-grown meat.
BioMADE, which is a Manufacturing Innovation Institute sponsored by the DOD, announced last year that it had received more than $500 million from the Pentagon.
Following the June announcement, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Center for the Environment and Welfare (CEW) pushed back on the DOD funding lab-grown meat experiments for the military, causing the Pentagon to reverse course.
“After weeks of engaging with Congress and speaking out against this plan, we are thrilled to have DoD confirmation that lab-grown protein is not on the menu for our nation’s servicemembers,” NCBA President Mark Eisele said in a statement in July. “These men and women make the greatest sacrifices every day in service to our country and they deserve high-quality, nutritious, and wholesome food like real beef grown by American farmers and ranchers.”
"Fake meat"
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who is a retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General, introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in June that would have prohibited the DOD from funding research and development of lab-grown meat for military rations, often called MRE's. However, the amendment was rejected.
“Last week, I proposed an NDAA amendment to cut all DOD funding for fake meat,” Bacon posted on X in June. “Nebraska is the Beef State, leading in red meat production. Our farmers and ranchers can feed our military, we don’t need this petri dish protein. The military needs to fund weapons not fake meat.”
The DOD didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
CEW Executive Director Jack Hubbard told Just the News on Monday that as the military has said it missed its recruitment goals in the last two years, he “can’t imagine why” when the DOD is “talking about fungi-based food for troops.”
The DOD is “not adopting policies to attract the fiercest fighting force the world has ever seen,” he continued.
Hubbard said that President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has taken “aim at the woke ideology the Biden administration forced on the DOD,” adding that this is “just another example."
“America’s enemies are laughing at us talking about fermented fungus burgers, rather than natural, farm-raised” animal protein, he said. This is “part of a radical, animal-rights enviro worldview,” that claims “farmers are bad, destroying the planet, and the greatest threat is eating a hamburger, but the world is on fire,” Hubbard added.
It is “clear this is a concerted effort by political forces in the White House to pressure the DOD to embrace an anti-farm, eco agenda,” he said. “I’m not sure we should be experimenting with our troops and feeding them anything than the best.”
Cells replicate like a tumor
Also, there is a “growing amount of research that's come out, talking about a lot of these alternative proteins are very highly processed,” and “not necessarily healthy for you, compared to natural, farm-raised meat or vegetables,” Hubbard explained.
He added that the DOD grant program and the executive order it stems from are being “done in the name of reducing ‘climate change,’” but then “when you look at it on lab-grown meat side, the irony is that [it] has up to 25-times worse emissions than farm-raised beef and cattle.”
Hubbard cited a study from the University of California, Davis, which “found that the global warming potential of lab-based meat using these purified media is four to 25 times greater than the average for retail beef.”
He also explained how lab-grown meat is made. Animal cells are “put in a stainless steel bioreactor,” and chemicals and hormones are added as growth factors, allowing the “cells to replicate like a tumor,” Hubbard said.
However, there have been “no long-term health studies because it’s a new product,” he added. The lab-grown meat uses “immortalized cells that replicate over and over again,” which are “not tested for human consumption over a long period of time.”
The Facts Inside Our Reporter's Notebook
Links
- DOD announced
- The Fynder Group
- Executive Order 14081
- according to the DOD
- DOD announcement
- DOD awarded
- The Better Meat Company
- according to the DOD
- company explains
- CEO of The Better Meat Company
- records from the Federal Election Commission
- BioMADE announced
- more than $500 million
- NCBA President Mark Eisele said
- introduced an amendment
- MRE
- Bacon posted on X
- study from the University of California, Davis