Witness the transformation: Precision fermentation

Milk, our first food, besides being a base material of curd, paneer, cheese, buttermilk, ice-creams, and sweets, etc, casein protein from milk is also used as bodybuilding protein, apart from pharma, cosmetics, and some other industries. Lactose is another milk product used in most drugs (tablets) and homeopathy globules. Interestingly, AMUL-Indian dairy brand is rated the world’s strongest brand exporting its milk and milk products to over 40 countries!!

Fact sheet– India is ranked 1st in milk production contributing 23 percent of global milk production and there are 50 well-defined breeds of cattle and 17 breeds of buffaloes. (1) In 1970, the per capita milk available to Indians was just 107ml. In 2022-23, it had increased to 453ml. In the same period, our population was just 55 crores which increased to about 139 crores by 2022-23. (2)

Imagine the increase in number of animals required for meat and milk (and their products) in the future to feed the people of the earth in future. Meeting demands for milk and special milk products is not sustainable for existing dairy infrastructure attributable to increasing population in India

Greenhouse gases (GHG) are an issue of concern related to dairy enterprises with their allied farms (animal fodder and chicken feed) and industries connected to them. The United Nations and almost all countries have agreed on the issues of greenhouse gases (GHG) and their role in global warming and climate change. Polar ice and mountain glaciers are melting. Sea levels are expected to rise. if the GHG is not controlled, its consequences may include the disappearance of small islands and coastal cities may go underwater in this century itself.

Tribals of hilly areas, where availability of milk varies according to seasons, practice special techniques of preservation of milk products for use during periods of lesser availability of milk, which is followed by them since years and years. During my visit to Jammu and Kashmir, I got to know an interesting fact about its tribal population. Those tribals who owned the cattle migrated with their herd to the mountains in summers and in winters they came down to the plains due to snowfall in the mountains. For similar reasons, a cheese from yak milk called the Chhurpi is made by people of higher areas of Sikkim. Humans learned to ‘preserve’ milk by making cheese and butter oil, also called desi ghee in India. Fermentation has been known to humans for the last 10,000 years, as per archaeological records. (3)

Apart from these years-old techniques being practiced in parts of our country to cope with periods of shortage of milk and milk products, for vegans, we already have soya milk and almond milk as an alternative.  To meet increasing demand, artificial milk is being manufactured unethically by using harmful chemicals like detergent or soap urea etc. Hormones are being used by animal milk producers to increase the milk supply. The consumers are at high risk due to all such activities. The use of growth hormones and antibiotics for animals is an issue of concern. In 2022, for livestock alone, 100,000 tonnes of antibiotics were used which is one of the main causes of microbial resistance to antibiotics which are also meant for human use. (4)

To meet the increasing demand, on the one hand, dairies have become hi-tech, on the other hand, laboratories have been set up to manufacture dairy products by the process of ‘precision fermentation’.

What is Precision fermentation?

It is the process that uses ethical intelligence to create a replacement for naturally available milk. If quality is ensured, synthetic milk has a broad scope. Milk and its products have to be synthesized ethically and economically, keeping environmental concerns in mind.

Already available in the market are whey and casein proteins produced by precision fermentation by a company named Phyx44 in Bengaluru. Another one is the Surat-based Zero Cow Factory. Milk is still awaited. Its usefulness to humans will uncover its long-term use, whether it is useful or not. But yes, it will be ethical and free of the effects of hormones and antibiotics.

Synthetic milk is a potential alternative to cow’s milk that is made in labs using artificially grown proteins. It is produced using a process called precision fermentation, which involves genetically programming microorganisms to produce specific proteins. These proteins are then subjected to filtration and purification. To make its composition as near to animal milk as possible fats, vitamins, minerals, and lactoglobulin are added. It can have the same biochemical makeup as animal milk but does not require cows or other animals.

Traditionally, rennet was obtained by a cruel process in which curdled milk was removed from the stomachs of newborn calves who were still drinking their mother’s milk. The process is still being used for making natural cheese in a few countries. Now with advances in genetic engineering, rennet is made in laboratories, and calves are spared the torture.

Once synthetic milk is available in sufficient quantities, many issues will be resolved which are-

• GHG emissions,
• Deforestation for farms,
• Animal cruelty,
• Exploitation of labour
• Wastage of water (including its pollution)
• Hormones or antibiotics in the milk.

References

1. “Dairy Articles”. India Dairy. Archivedfrom the original on 9 March 2023.
2. India: From a milk-deficit nation to a milk-products exporter. The Journey of India’s Dairy Sector. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying. Pib.gov.in.07 SEP 2022
3. Taveira C L, Nogueira K, Oliveira D, Silva R. Fermentation: Humanity’s Oldest Biotechnological Tool. Frontiers for Young Minds DOI:3389/frym.2021.568656October 18, 2021
4. Ranya Mulchandani , Yu Wang , Marius Gilbert , Thomas P Van Boeckel . Global trends in antimicrobial use in food-producing animals: 2020 to 2030. PLOS Glob Public Health 2023 Feb 1;3(2):e0001305. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001305