Churning traditional butter from cow's milk has a significant impact on the environment. Savor, a company backed by Bill Gates, aims to change this. They have developed a method to make butter using captured carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen. This process is entirely plant-based and avoids the environmental issues linked to both dairy and some plant-based alternatives.
According to the company, this butter will help reduce environmental impact, potentially lower emissions, and meet the needs of those looking for dairy-free options. It's important to note that Savor's butter is still being developed and awaits regulatory approval. They have not yet launched a commercial product, but their innovation could revolutionise the butter industry.
According to The Guardian, reducing meat and dairy consumption is crucial for lowering our environmental impact because livestock production releases a lot of greenhouse gases. Savor claims its products will have a much smaller carbon footprint compared to animal-based ones. Their "butter" could have less than 0.8 g of CO2 equivalent per calorie, whereas regular unsalted butter with 80% fat typically has around 2.4 g of CO2 equivalent per calorie.
Kathleen Alexander, Savor's chief executive, said: "We are currently pre-commercial and working through regulatory approval to be able to sell our butter. We are not expecting to be able to move forward with any kind of sales until at least 2025."
Advocating for the initiative in an online blog post, Gates wrote: "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.
"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."
