The Department of Defense has awarded nine grants under the Bio-Industrial Manufacturing Program intended to increase the production of protein ingredients using fungi and other technologies centered on bio-fermentation. According to Heidi Shyu, Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the “Distributed Bio-Industrial Manufacturing Program of the Department of Defense involves investment in a diverse set of companies to help transition U.S. bio-industrial manufacturing from the laboratory to a network of large-scale production facilities able to fortify defense-supply chains”. Ms. Shyu, missiles we can accept but lab-grown meat?
Awards include: -
- $1.4 million to Nature’s Fynd for development of fungal-based proteins.
- Liberation Labs received $1.4 million for precision-fermented bioproducts with potential defense application.
- The Every Company received $2 million to ascertain whether the manufacture of products currently undertaken in Europe and Asia (really?) could be relocated to the U.S.
Demonstration of success from the initial grants would make companies eligible to receive more substantial awards of up to $100 million for the implementation of production facilities.
The DBMI program has awarded $60 million to 34 companies since inception. It is questioned whether the Department of Defense should be involved in funding speculative projects that may enhance food production. Surely, this is an area to be evaluated by the Department of Agriculture with a complement of experienced scientists in the areas of food technology and microbiology.