#Synbio

Biotechnology is changing the lens through which we understand biology, and in doing so is transforming our approach to health and nutrition. Here we explore four companies and innovative applications of this rapid developing field.

How can making milk without cows benefit Australian dairy farmers?

Australian diners will soon have the option to tuck into a piece of meat grown from animal cells in a laboratory rather than a paddock. Synthetic biology, or SynBio, is also helping to engineer ingredients for plant-based proteins, design crops for fuel production, and the development of insecticides with the help of bespoke microbes.

Where they once went head-to-head at the negotiation table, Michael Hampson and Jim Fader are now combining forces to bring a lab-brewed, dairy-free milk to market. The pair say ‘Eden Brew’ could be a billion-dollar company – and they want dairy farmers to have a slice of the pie.

We’re excited to share our Humans of Agriculture x evoke^AG. podcast collaboration episode with Oli Le Lievre and Mike Lee.

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident,” once shared by German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer. Here Mike Lee, global food innovation expert explores the future possibilities of cellular agriculture and what it means for farmers.

Canberra-based food tech company, Nourish Ingredients is pushing the needle on how alternative proteins are made, using synthetic biology to create tailored, animal-free fats and oils. With seed funding from industry heavyweights, Main Sequence Ventures and Horizon Ventures, Nourish believe their specialty fats will have a massive impact on taste in the next generation of alternative proteins.

Australia could develop an industry worth up to $27 billion a year and create 44,000 jobs by 2040 by building its synthetic biology ecosystem, according to a new report released today by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO.