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A Bill Gates-backed startup Savor says its synthetic “vegan” fat, made without livestock or the crops needed for margarine, could cut carbon emissions and save rainforests.  However, no information is given on the nutritional value of or unwanted chemicals contained within the fake fat.  They seem to be missing the point, perhaps deliberately so, that food is supposed to be nutritious.

A new type of dietary fat could soon be on sale in the US as researchers and entrepreneurs race to develop the first synthetic “foods.”

According to New Scientist, US startup Savor has created a “butter” product made from carbon, in a thermochemical system closer to fossil fuel processing than food production. “There is no biology involved in our specific process,” says Kathleen Alexander from the company.

In a Substack article published in December 2023, Alexander wrote: “The fats we make at Savor can be produced from fossil fuels like natural gas or from captured CO₂ and green hydrogen … We could not be more excited to bring these new fats to the world.”

Savor calls them “zero carbon fats” and “carbon neutral fats.”  They don’t get the irony.

How Does Savor Make Zero Carbon Fats?

“The Californian startup has gone to the basics of chemistry to build its product. According to its website, like any molecule, fat also has a fixed chemical formula. It uses carbon dioxide as a starting point to build fat molecules using heat and hydrogen,”  Interesting Engineering explained without giving further details, which is not surprising as Savor’s website doesn’t seem to have any. 

However, we were able to find some details about their process in a presentation given at the Good Food Institute conference held in September 2023.  In a session titled ‘Commercial innovation of alternative fat ingredients’, Savor’s Director of Business Development Chiara Cecchini presented the diagram below to show the process they use to make the synthetic fats that they want us to eat.

Notice the input begins with paraffin wax and CO₂.  Cecchini explained: “We start from an input which is basically CO₂ and green hydrogen in the form of paraffin and then we take those paraffin waxes and we basically oxidise them.”

Yummy, vegans’ mouths must be watering.

Interesting Engineering continued:

Savor is confident that its technology can be used to make butter and multiple other animal-derived fats, such as milk and cheese. The company also plans to use this approach to make ice cream and edible oils. 

Another highlight of this tech is that it is highly scalable and could rapidly be deployed to replace animal-derived fats. The only hurdle would be convincing people to adopt a product made using revolutionary tech into their daily lives. 

This is where Gates is hopeful he can make a difference. “The idea of switching to lab-made fats and oils may seem strange at first,” Gates wrote in a blog post earlier this year. “But their potential to significantly reduce our carbon footprint is immense. By harnessing proven technologies and processes, we get one step closer to achieving our climate goals.“

‘Eat fossil fuels’: Bill Gates-backed company makes butter out of thin air, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2024

Who Has Invested in Savor?

Bill Gates for one.

In a blog post that reads like a love letter to “the greasy, oily sizzle” that makes cheeseburgers so tasty, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft described why his venture capital company, Breakthrough Energy Ventures (“BEV”), invested in Savor.

“The process doesn’t release any greenhouse gases, and it uses no farmland and less than a thousandth of the water that traditional agriculture does. And most important, it tastes really good–like the real thing, because chemically it is,” he wrote.

According to Pitchbook, Savor has raised more than $33 million to date from BEV and other venture capital companies including Climate Capital and CPT Capital.

Read more: This Bill Gates-Backed Startup Is Making ‘Butter’ From CO₂ Instead of Cows, Inc., 9 July 2024

What Are the Health Impacts?

Savor’s sole focus is on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, animal suffering and environmental impact.  We weren’t able to find the nutritional values contained in their products nor an assessment of their health impacts.

In his blog, Gates acknowledges that animal fats are nutritious and in the same sentence attempts to downplay their value by likening them to a craving or a “sugar kick”:

Our plan can’t be to simply hope that people give up foods they crave. After all, humans are wired to want animal fats for a reason – because they’re the most nutrient-rich and calorie-dense macronutrient – in the same way we’re wired to crave sugar for an instant energy kick.

Greasy – and good for the planet, Gates Notes, 13 February 2024

For the rest of his blog, Gates completely ignores the nutritional value of natural fats and bangs on about “climate change.”

[Savor] developed a process that involves taking carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen from water, heating them up, and oxidising them to trigger the separation of fatty acids and then the formulation of fat … The process doesn’t release any greenhouse gases, and it uses no farmland and less than a thousandth of the water that traditional agriculture does.

The focus on animal fats is a priority because they have an outsized impact on climate – and play an outsized role in many beloved foods. But even if we could eliminate emissions from the production of all animal fats overnight, we’d still have a challenge: Even some plant-based fats and oils can be a problem for climate change. The worst culprit is palm oil. [blah, blah, blah]

… companies like C16 Biosciences are working hard on alternatives to palm oil. Since 2017, C16 (which I’m invested in) has been developing a product from a wild yeast microbe using a fermentation process that doesn’t produce any emissions … I’m betting that C16 will succeed.

I hope they do. The idea of switching to lab-made fats and oils may seem strange at first. But their potential to significantly reduce our carbon footprint is immense. By harnessing proven technologies and processes, we get one step closer to achieving our climate goals.

Greasy – and good for the planet, Gates Notes, 13 February 2024

All we’ve been told is that Savor’s lab-made fats contain carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.  However, in Alexander’s Substack article, she made a note under an image of Savor’s fake butter: “Butter made from fossil fuels. I swear it tastes really good. The colour is from beta carotene that we add because we have found that people like to see yellow-ish butter; the synthetic fats themselves are white.”

Beta carotene is a plant pigment that gives red, orange and yellow vegetables their vibrant colour. It is considered a provitamin A carotenoid, meaning that the body can convert it into vitamin A (retinol).  Beta carotene has antioxidant properties. So, although it’s not Savor’s intention, there is at least one ingredient with nutritional value in their lab-made concoction to smear on bread, although how much beta carotene and whether it is enough to be of benefit is not known.

No other mention has been made of any nutrients that are added in Savor’s process or whether any unwanted chemicals, compounds or contaminants are in the finished products. 

How does the “fossil fuel butter” compare to naturally sourced fat? Below are nutrients contained in butter and margarine extracted from AI-generated answers to the queries as shown in the section titles.  As with all things AI, it is always important to check the information given is correct and accurate.  Although we haven’t done so, we have included the sources the AI-generated answer provided so our readers can research for themselves.

What Nutrients Does Butter Have?

Butter is a rich source of several nutrients, including:

• Fat-soluble vitamins: Butter is an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin E. These vitamins are important for maintaining healthy skin, hair and eyes, as well as supporting immune function.
• Conjugated linoleic acid: Butter contains a type of fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid (“CLA”), which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
• Calcium: Butter is a good source of calcium, which is essential for maintaining strong bones and teeth.
• Protein: Butter contains a small amount of protein, which can help support muscle growth and maintenance.
• Vitamin B12: Butter is a good source of vitamin B12, which is important for energy production, nerve function and the formation of red blood cells.
• Vitamin A: Butter contains a small amount of vitamin A, which is important for maintaining healthy vision, immune function and skin health.
• Fatty acids: Butter contains a mix of fatty acids, including saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. While saturated fats have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, some research suggests that the fatty acids in butter may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
• Minerals: Butter contains small amounts of minerals like potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus, which are important for maintaining healthy blood pressure, nerve function, and bone health.

Here is a breakdown of the nutritional content of butter per 100g serving:

• Energy: 3036 kcal
• Fat: 81.5g
• Carbohydrates: 0g
• Protein: 1.1g
• Calcium: 776mg
• Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA): 0.5g
• Vitamin A: 0.5mg
• Vitamin D: 0.1mg
• Vitamin E: 1.5mg
• Vitamin B12: 0.5mcg
• Fatty acids: 67% saturated, 29% monounsaturated, 4% polyunsaturated

It’s worth noting that the nutritional content of butter can vary depending on the type of milk used to produce it (e.g., grass-fed, grain-fed or organic) and the processing methods used.

Sources:

What Nutrients Does Margarine Have?

Margarine is a spread made from vegetable oils and often contains a variety of nutrients. Here are some of the nutrients that margarine typically contains:

• Fat: Margarine is primarily composed of fat, which is why it is often used as a substitute for butter. The fat content of margarine can vary depending on the type and brand, but it is typically high in unsaturated fats, such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
• Vitamin A: Many commercial brands of margarine are fortified with vitamin A, which is an essential nutrient that helps to promote healthy vision, immune function, and skin health.
• Vitamin D: Some margarine brands may also be fortified with vitamin D, which is important for bone health and immune function.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Some margarine brands may contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for heart health and brain function.
• Plant sterols: Some margarine brands may contain plant sterols, which are natural compounds that can help to lower cholesterol levels.
• Calcium: Margarine may also contain calcium, which is important for bone health.
• Iron: Margarine may contain iron, which is important for healthy red blood cells.
• Magnesium: Margarine may contain magnesium, which is important for muscle function and bone health.
• Potassium: Margarine may contain potassium, which is important for healthy blood pressure and heart function.

The exact nutrient content of margarine varies depending on the brand and type of margarine you purchase. You can check the nutrition label to get an accurate idea of the nutrients in the margarine you use.

Sources:

Featured image: Butter made from fossil fuels (main).  Can’t we just eat the fossil fuels? (insert).  Both taken from ‘Behind the Scenes of our Article in Nature Sustainability’ by Kathleen Alexander