A handful of startups are trying to reinvent one of the most ubiquitous, but also environmentally destructive, ingredients in our diets: palm oil.
Palm oil is in bread, instant noodles, Girl Scout cookies, lipstick, Nutella and ice cream, to name a few.
But to make all of that oil, endless miles of rainforests worldwide — regions along the Equator vital to biodiversity and the fight against climate change — have been flattened and burned and turned into palm oil plantations.
The new companies are taking their tech out of the lab and into real products.
The material is made by fermentation (think breweries producing oils rather than beer) and isn’t approved for food yet.
Locations:
Indonesia