A San Francisco-based startup called Hampton Creek is in the process of making synthetic eggs, which look and taste just like real chicken eggs. The company’s first product a mayonnaise that uses proteins from a particular species of Canadian yellow pea instead of egg is already being sold around the U.S. The start up has found multi millions in investments from the likes of Bill Gates and Chinese billionaire Li Ka Shing with the former selecting it as one of three companies shaping the future of our food. Scientists at the firm are looking for plants that can satisfy the criteria for one of eggs 22 functionalities. According to Wired, while yellow pea worked well for their mayo, a particular grain of sorghum was used to make the company’s eggless dough. To make this egg, the team working on it comprises traditional food scientists, biochemists and molecular engineers. Hampton Creek recently managed to lead a $23 million investment fund through Li Ka Shang to enter the Asian market. These eggs are 48 per cent cheaper than natural eggs and according to the creators, these eggs are also safer and healthier as 99 per cent of the world’s eggs are produced under poor conditions where chickens are kept in dirty coups and forced to lay eggs to the point of exhaustion.
In their website, the CEO and founder of the company, Josh Tetrick writes, “We live in a time where the unhealthy choice is dirt cheap and convenient. And the healthy choice is pricey and inconvenient. When my dad walks the grocery aisles to buy mayo or chocolate-chip cookies or eggs, the inputs that make them possible often come from bizarrely unhealthy places. Solving a problem means actually solving the problem for most people not just the folks that can afford to pay $5.99 for organic eggs. We’re thrilled to have such world-class investors joining forces with us.”
