science
Some companies now brew real milk proteins like whey using engineered microbes in tanks, making dairy products that contain no cow's milk at all.
Precision fermentation is the method used to brew real milk proteins like whey using engineered microbes rather than cows: scientists insert the genetic instructions for a specific protein into microorganisms, then grow them in tanks where they secrete that exact protein as part of normal metabolism. The result is molecularly identical to what a cow would produce, just made without any animal involved.
Pasteurization is a heat treatment that kills harmful bacteria in already-existing milk or other liquids, a food-safety step rather than a method of manufacturing new proteins from scratch. Homogenization mechanically breaks up fat globules in milk so they do not separate, a physical processing step applied to conventional dairy, not a microbial production method.
This same fermentation approach has quietly been used for decades to produce rennet for cheesemaking and insulin for diabetes treatment, meaning the underlying technology behind these new animal-free dairy products is far from brand new.
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