Precision Fermenting Our Way Out of the Environmental Crisis?

George Monbiot is enthusiastic about the Reboot Food project (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/24/green-technology-precision-fermentation-farming). Reboot Food advocates using precision fermentation. Here microbes in vats replace much of food production by traditional agriculture. Monbiot is especially keen on processes, where bacteria 'feed' on hydrogen or methanol. Both these substrates can be made, using electricity generated by solar panels. The only materials used, are water, carbon dioxide and tiny amounts of fertiliser (it's, in some ways ,comparable to plant photosynthesis). The generated 'flour' product is 60% protein. This is a value higher than that for any plant source (e.g. soya). Precision fermenting requires only a tiny fraction of the land needed for any agricultural process. For example, 150,000 times less land is needed than is required for beef or lamb production. This technology also uses much less water and generates a fraction of the carbon dioxide, typical of traditional agriculture. There is also no danger of spillover of waste into the environment, as is seen from intensive pig and poultry farms. Widely adopting precision fermenting, would consequently free up vast tracts of agricultural land. Here, natural biogeochemical cycles could be restored and biodiversity maintained. As precision fermenting can be done anywhere, adopting this food production technology, could also break the current extreme dependence of many nations on food shipped from distant lands. Shipping generates lots of 'greenhouse gases'. These currently food-dependent nations (in the Middle East; North Africa; Horn of Africa and Central America), have lots of sunlight to power precision fermenting. Monbiot points out a number of potential objections to this food production technology. These include the 'yuk factor', at the thought of feeding on microbial products. Humans, however, already do this for wine, beer, cheese and yoghourt. There is also a danger of the technology being used to produce unhealthy ultraprocessed foods. Gene editing can be used to counter this 'need' to copy existing foods. Perhaps the most difficult issue to overcome is simnple neophobia (worries about the new). Monbiot, however, sees Reboot Food as a real chance for humans to save 'their' planet. Lots of vested interests seem likely, however, to resist its introduction.