A California-based biotechnology startup has officially launched the world’s first commercially available butter made entirely from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and oxygen, eliminating the need for traditional agriculture or animal farming. Savor, backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates through his Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund, announced the commercial release of its animal- and plant-free butter after three years of development.

The revolutionary product uses a proprietary thermochemical process that transforms carbon dioxide captured from the air, hydrogen from water, and methane into fat molecules chemically identical to those found in dairy butter. According to the company, the process creates fatty acids by heating these gases under controlled temperature and pressure conditions, then combining them with glycerol to form triglycerides.

  • guillem@aussie.zone
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    6 days ago

    Bill Gates will eat the real thing anyway.

    Edit: this comment is not about Bill Gates. It’s not even about butter.

      • REDACTED@infosec.pub
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        6 days ago

        I don’t either. Carbon based butter sounds like a healthier alternative to traditional butter.

        I’m having a hard time imagining that tho

        • Eheran@lemmy.world
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          6 days ago

          If it is exactly the same compounds, how should it be more or less healthy?

          • Dr. Moose@lemmy.worldOP
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            6 days ago

            less harmful errors from the animal industry like residue antibiotics and hormones.

            • Junkers_Klunker@feddit.dk
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              5 days ago

              If it is exactly the same compounds, it isn’t less of something. If it is less of something it won’t taste like butter.

                • Junkers_Klunker@feddit.dk
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                  5 days ago

                  It doesn’t, I have yet to taste any cheese alternatives that can substitute parmigiano reggiano and pecorino romano for my Carbonara or salads, likewise with red meat and butter there’s really aren’t any alternatives at the moment (haven’t tried labgrown meat yet, that might be an actual alternative). I have tried almost all commercially available alternatives in danish grocery stores and none do what they promise.

                  Just to be clear, I don’t hate on alternatives. I hate products that don’t live up to their promise. Plus I try to avoid heavily processed products and that includes many alternatives.

                  • REDACTED@infosec.pub
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                    4 days ago

                    How do you even read deleted replies? I myself did not agree with what I wrote since I know vegan cheese can only replace generic cheap cheese, but not the good one. I’m a cheese lover myself who also experiments with healthier alternatives, so far my experience has been non-life changing.