{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Balancing The Future","title":"The Bioreactor Breakthrough: Crafting Coffee and Cocoa in the Lab ","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1239,"description":"Around 2 billion people enjoy chocolate and coffee every single day. But growing enough of these crops uses a huge number of resources. For example, making just one cup of coffee takes about 140 litres of water. In West Africa, an estimated 70% of illegal deforestation is linked to cocoa farming. And with demand only expected to rise, the question is: what can we do to stop the environmental impact of these crops? \n\nIn this episode of Balancing the Future, Micah and Chai talk to Dr. Steven Lang, Vice President of Science and Technology at California Cultured, a US startup that makes chocolate and coffee using bioreactors. \n \nSteven explains that the team starts by taking a small sample from a plant. They then grow this sample in a bioreactor to create a plant cell culture. Because they have more control over the plant’s genetics, they can make it healthier or give it new traits. Right now, Steven’s team is working on cocoa that’s rich in flavanols, powerful compounds that act as antioxidants. \n \nCalifornia Cultured has also developed a new plastic bioreactor that could bring costs down compared to the stainless-steel systems used for cultivated meat. Steven expects that by around 2028, their coffee and cocoa will cost roughly the same as conventional products. \nAs with cultivated meat, though, these new products will need to win over consumers before they can really take off. To help with this, Steven’s team has worked with analytical chemists to fine-tune flavors, so they’re essentially interchangeable with traditional coffee and cocoa. \n \nSteven was the first-ever guest on Balancing the Future. Back then, he worked in cultivated meat, which remains one of the most visible -- and most debated -- areas of lab-grown food. Today, he believes cultivated plants may have greater potential for faster progress and easier consumer acceptance, especially in areas where cultivated meat still faces big hurdles. \nLINKS: \nCalifornia Cultured Website \nSteven Lang on LinkedIn ...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/Pdz75J9vcHeJ4yds5tmYwMJQx0rFGsRV7sZb9oJezxg/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9iNzMy/ZmNiNGYyNDFmODQ1/NjdhZWY5YzlkYWEx/NzNmYi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}