Israeli scientists have genetically engineered plants to produce a key dairy protein, effectively allowing them to grow milk in the soil.
Professor Oded Shoseyov and his team at Hebrew University managed to transfer the genes required for dairy production into plant life.
Most notably, they created vegetation that excretes beta-casein, a protein present in traditional dairy products, best known for giving cheese its melting properties and gooey, stringy texture.
This was done using Arabidopsis thaliana, known as thale cress, which also has drought-resistant and oil-producing qualities.
According to Shoseyov, the breakthrough could all but eradicate the need for industrialised livestock farming.
Not only could this cut down on intensive farming methods, but he suggested it could also be key in the fight against climate change and environmental breakdown.
“Milk is not produced sustainably,” he said. “Some 15 per cent of global warming gases are emitted as methane by livestock.
“Today, with genetic modification, you can take the genes coded for milk proteins and transfer them to another organism that’s more efficient, saving a lot in terms of resource input and emissions.”
It would also, according to Shoseyov, be much easier and cheaper to “milk the seeds” than using traditional farming methods.
This is done by placing the seeds in a press to force them to secrete the protein and then using a centrifuge to separate the dairy solids from the “cream”.
It comes after Israeli supermarkets started stocking Remilk, a brand of “cow-free” milk from an eponymous food startup.
The product is grown in a lab from non-animal-derived dairy proteins and is completely free of lactose, cholesterol, antibiotics and growth hormones.
It also has 75 per cent less sugar than cow's milk but is fortified with extra minerals and vitamins during production to otherwise retain the same nutritional value as the genuine article.
Nonetheless, the manufacturer insists that taste tests have shown it to be almost indistinguishable in taste and texture from the real thing.
Three per cent fat and vanilla-flavoured versions will be available in supermarkets early next year.
The protein is developed through a yeast-based fermentation process, the product of which is dried into a powder to use as a base for the milk.
From there, it can be drunk directly or, just like regular milk, be used in other dairy products such as ice cream, custard or cream cheese, while remaining lactose and cholesterol-free.
Not only that, but Remilk has already been approved by rabbis as parev – opening a whole new world of gastronomic opportunities, cheeseburgers among them.
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