Science news from Norway in EnglishScience news from Norway in EnglishOpinions, debates and blogs written by researchersOpinions, debates and blogs written by researchersScience news from Norway in EnglishScience news from Norway in EnglishOpinions, debates and blogs written by researchersOpinions, debates and blogs written by researchersYou have probably heard that many more people on earth will need you to eat locusts, larvae or other insects in the future.Now the researchers come up with a message that can make it even worse - or better, depending on the eyes that see: The sustainable foods of the future are made of bacteria.- We can face a green revolution based on cyanobacteria, says Poul Erik Jensen, professor of plant-based foods at the University of Copenhagen.Cyanobacteria contain a lot of proteins, and according to Jensen, they can be grown in large tanks and do not require much more than sun and heat.They can actually live on wastewater from the food industry - and then they absorb a lot of CO2 as they grow.Once harvested, they can be used as a powder substitute for many of the ingredients in the foods you know today.- Cyanobacteria can contribute protein in meat substitutes.In sausages or pastries, one could also imagine using them instead of flour, says Jensen.Thus, we can actually replace some of the protein we get from imported soy.Huge areas of rainforest are being cleared to grow soy, including in South America.Cyanobacteria - also called blue-green algae - are grown in closed systems such as closed glass tubes or pools.This ensures that the production is not a danger to humans or nature.In addition, the species of cyanobacteria that will be used for the production of food ingredients or pharmaceuticals are not among those that produce toxins.There are other species that can accumulate as green paint in water surfaces some summers.To learn more about what cyanobacteria can contribute on the food front, students at the University of Copenhagen have worked with cyanopowder.Among other things, they tried to use it instead of flour when they baked cinnamon buns.- It tasted good, but the bowls turned completely green.The cinnamon could not completely drown out the taste of algae, but it was only a first step, says Poul Erik Jensen, who became a guinea pig for the students' prototype.- Cyanobacteria do not taste bad, but they do not taste particularly good either.But this also applies to, for example, milk, before it is processed at the dairies.Innocent is one of several juice and smoothie manufacturers that have already used cyanobacteria.They add extract from the bacteria to their Blue Spark juice as a natural dye.- We think it is an incredibly interesting ingredient, but we are still very early in that work.We still work with small quantities, says Philip Rahbek, Senior Brand Manager at Innocent.He says that the blue drink has become a bestseller since it came out in 2019.But where and how should the cyanobacteria be produced at all?According to Poul Erik Jensen, production can in principle take place on Danish farms in transparent containers.- Empty greenhouses or stable buildings could be converted so that cyanobacteria could be grown.To get sunlight, you could replace the roof of the building with plastic or glass, and then grow the bacteria in large, transparent containers, Jensen says.Thus, one would be able to grow the bacteria that we produce dairy products.Today, the dairies collect the milk that the cows have produced, and turn it into butter, cheese and ready-to-drink milk.According to Jensen, farmers can use the same model to grow cyanobacteria, which can be collected by specialized bacterial dairies, which can turn the raw material into products such as protein, sugar, fats and maybe even a new generation of biofuels.The UN Food and Agriculture Organization predicts we will be 10 billion people in just 30 years, so there is a great need for nutritious foods.Among other things, we may be able to enrich meat substitutes with protein from the cyanobacteria or create nutritious drinks.The potential of cyanobacteria is actually more extensive than just food.They can, for example, be included in beauty products or as a central component in sunscreens.- They grow in the water surface, so they are exposed to a very high UV dose.Therefore, many of them can also produce very strong sunscreen molecules, explains Ruben Janssen, microbiologist at Micropia in Amsterdam, the world's only museum for bacteria.Cyanobacteria have a huge potential, explains Ruben Janssen, microbiologist at Micropia, the world's only museum for bacteria.(Video: Louise Boe Weis Jensen and Trine Nielsen / videnskab.dk)Cyanobacteria have enormous potential, says Carole Llewellyn, professor of microalgae at Swansea University in Wales.- The industry produces billions of tonnes of sunscreen a year.It will take time before the use of natural cyanobacterial sunscreens becomes widespread.But we're working on it, and it's going to happen.It's just a matter of time, Llewellyn believes.Around the world, researchers are in the process of facilitating the super-crop of the future.Currently, it is quite expensive to grow the bacteria.Carole Llewellyn researches how cyanobacteria are most efficiently harvested.- We use a technique where the microalgae are separated from the liquid by means of a membrane.Many of the techniques are still in the experimental stage, but they will be used on a large scale eventually, Llewellyn believes.Professor Poul Erik Jensen adds:- In the long run, you can imagine that you can have transparent photo-fermenters standing, he says.- There are very large areas in the world where the sun shines, but nothing grows.There you could put in a plastic or glass container with cyanobacteria, says Jensen.Jensen continues the work with cyanobacteria for use in the food industry.He predicts that within the next three to five years we will see many more cyanobacteria in foods, including as a substitute for meat, as we see today, among other things, the cyanobacterial product Spirulina in smoothies.In addition, the professor is starting a project to investigate fast-growing species of cyanobacteria for the production of aromatic amino acids and so-called phenylpropanoids that can be used as antioxidants and dyes.- We expect that fast-growing cyanobacteria will increase productivity.In three to five years, cyanobacteria will be able to compete with current production organisms, such as yeast, he says.© Videnskab.dk.Translated by Lars Nygaard for forskning.no.Read the original case on videnskab.dk here.UNG.forskning.no is news about research for children and young people.Advertisements / job market: Preben Forberg, tel. 413 10 879Sandakerveien 24 C, Building D3 Pb 5 Torshov, 0412 Oslo