Butter's High-Tech Twin: Is It Worth the Hype?

A new kind of butter is on the horizon, but it's not your typical dairy product. This butter is made in a lab using carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and glycerol. The process involves high-pressure reactors and special catalysts to create something that looks and tastes like butter but isn't from a cow or a plant. The company behind this invention, Savor, has received funding from Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures. They plan to start selling this lab-made butter in 2027, if everything goes as planned. The facility where this butter is made looks more like an oil refinery than a butter factory. The company calls it "butter made from carbon" or "animal- and plant-free butter. " In blind taste tests, this lab-made butter scored a nine out of 10 for authenticity. Bill Gates himself said it tastes really good and is chemically similar to real butter. However, some people might not be convinced that this is a step forward. The process of making this butter is quite complex. It involves capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, splitting water into hydrogen, and using special catalysts to create fatty acids. These acids are then turned into triglycerides, which are the building blocks of butter. The final product is blended, crystallized, and extruded into sticks. While the technology behind this butter is impressive, some people wonder if it's necessary. After all, real butter has been around for centuries and is loved by many. The high-tech process and the use of specialized reactors and catalysts raise questions about the environmental impact and the cost of this new product. The idea of lab-made butter might seem strange, but it's part of a broader trend towards creating sustainable and alternative food sources. As the world's population grows and resources become scarcer, finding new ways to produce food is becoming increasingly important.