Biotechnology is science, but Yulin Lu sees it as something deeper.
Yes, it is processes. It is chemistry. It is creation. But he also sees it as a way to push society to a more sustainable method of food production.
这项任务是Lu公司Yali Bio的核心，它以“ Noble”为名。Yali Bio的联合创始人兼首席执行官Lu集中精力创造一种成分，并不总是被视为崇高，而是越来越必要，因为肉类和乳制品替代品成为食物选择的更大部分：脂肪。
Lu, who has worked for biotech companies including plant-based egg titan Eat Just, said the space is limited by available ingredients. And the biggest impediment to making an impressive plant-based product, he said, are the fats currently available. For example, he said, many plant-based meats currently use coconut oil in their products.
他说：“它在嘴里融化的方式不同。”“它的融化非常快，与动物脂肪相比，它在较低的温度下融化。然后，这些植物油的风味也不同。风味属性并不那么复杂，或者您可以与美味的肉类和乳制品相关联。这就是为什么需要通过制作更好的脂肪来创建这些属性的原因。”
心直口快的生物使fats like those naturally occurring in animal meat and dairy through precision fermentation. The company is still in R&D mode, but is making waves in the plant-based ingredients space. Last month, the companyraised $3.9 million in a seed round，这使其总资金达到500万美元。这一轮由Essential Capital领导，并从第三类风险投资，S2G Ventures，CRCM Ventures，FTW Ventures和First In In In In In In。
卢说，这笔资金将用于帮助Yali Bio扩展到可以对其产生的脂肪进行更多测试的量。该公司还希望建立自己的实验室空间 - 目前正在加速器中工作 - 并雇用更多的团队成员。
复制自然界
通过人类对肉类和乳制品的欣赏，延伸了数千年，卢说，Yali Bio首先要仔细副本，对这些动物基于这些动物的食物的自然食品进行仔细的副本。
卢说：“我们知道它们根据使用和消费者的经验的历史。”
在Yali Bio的精确发酵过程中，它将改良的生物体放置在生物反应器中，当它们被喂养不同的糖时，它们会产生脂肪分子。The products of the fermentation are in "high proximity" to what comes from animal products, he said.
由于所有投入均以植物为基础，因此Lu更喜欢说Yali Bio的脂肪是基于植物的 - 尽管其他一些公司以相似的方式使用精确发酵的一些公司来创造自然来自动物的蛋白质，称其产品为“无动物”。
As a startup, Yali Bio is working to figure out different aspects of fat creation. There are a variety of naturally occurring animal fats in both meat and dairy, and Yali Bio is working to produce several of them. It is also doing some research into the plant-based product sector. Two of the more common challenges Lu has heard from manufacturers involve companies working on whole cuts of beef and plant-based cheese development. He said Yali Bio has talked with some of these companies about what they want and is using that information to develop future fat ingredients.
卢说：“这些产品正在等待更好的脂肪 - 我们可以制造。”
Yali Bio is also working to recreate different forms of fats — ranging from the solid fats in meat to lard to dairy fats. Lu said the company is trying to build these different compositions as well as testing them in different applications.
Fermenting for the future
Yali Bio尚未确定其潜在的第一个商业产品，Lu犹豫不决提供任何开发时间表。该公司计划在春季和夏季开发其他原型，以查看最佳作用。他说，一旦确定了最佳选择，Yali Bio将能够设定更多未来的时间表。
Lu said the market need for precision fermented fats is apparent. Not only will these fats help with the performance of plant-based meat and dairy, but they are also more sustainable than alternatives. Coconut and palm oil farming are森林砍伐的常见原因。与动物产品相比，Yali Bio的脂肪也具有较低的碳足迹。根据该公司的统计数据，Yali Bio的脂肪每份脂肪量低于0.5千克二氧化碳，而牛肉为15公斤，猪肉4公斤，黄油为2千克。
In the next five to 10 years, Lu forsees Yali Bio being able to produce a variety of highly functional and differentiated fats at scale. In turn, he said, this can make a big difference in the types of food that people want to eat.
"The functional ability of fats, because they can enable these better, more authentic taste of plant-based meat and dairy products, can [make these products] have broader reach to the consumers," he said.
