[JustTheNews] The Pentagon is funding alternatives to meat protein, which includes using fungi for food for U.S. service members as part of the White House’s sustainable bioeconomy agenda.
The Department of Defense is focusing on investments into fungi protein as an alternative to animal protein, after initially seeking to fund lab-grown meat earlier this year in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. Critics have pushed back on such initiatives, arguing that they are negatively affecting the military.
In November, the DOD announced that it had given 34 awards totaling over $60 million to bioindustrial firms under the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP). $1.38 million was given to The Fynder Group “to plan a bioproduction facility for fungi-based proteins that can be incorporated into military ready-to-eat meals.”
The program is part of President Joe Biden's Executive Order 14081, "Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy," which is “aimed at bolstering America's bioeconomic strengths while helping the Department achieve advanced defense capabilities,” according to the DOD.
The projects that were awarded funding from the DOD program “will be eligible to receive follow-on ‘build’ awards providing access to up to $100 million to construct U.S.-based bioindustrial manufacturing facilities,” the DOD announcement added.
FUNGI-BASED PROTEINS
In August, as part of the DBIMP, the DOD awarded nearly $1.5 million to The Better Meat Company, which “harness[es] the amazing power of fermentation to make delicious, clean mycoprotein ingredients for food companies to use as the basis of their hybrid and fully animal-free meats.”
“The Better Meat Company, based in West Sacramento, California, was awarded $1.48 million to plan a bioproduction facility for mycoprotein ingredients that are shelf-stable, have high protein and fiber contents, and can be dehydrated,” according to the DOD.
To make the meat alternatives, the company explains that they “feed starchy foods to microscopic fungi and allow them to naturally turn into the meatiest animal-free protein on the planet.”
The CEO of The Better Meat Company is Paul Shapiro, who has donated to Democratic candidates’ campaigns, according to records from the Federal Election Commission. Most recently, Shapiro donated to Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer’s primary campaign for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District this past February and California Sen. Adam Schiff’s campaign in October and November 2023.
The Better Meat Company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
In June, public-private company BioMADE announced that it was seeking “Innovations in food production that reduce the CO2 footprint of food production at and/or transport to DoD operational environments are solicited.
“These could include, but are not limited to, production of nutrient-dense military rations via fermentation processes, utilizing one carbon molecule (C1) feedstocks for food production, and novel cell culture methods suitable for the production of cultivated meat/protein,” which is lab-grown meat.
BioMADE, which is a Manufacturing Innovation Institute sponsored by the DOD, announced last year that it had received more than $500 million from the Pentagon.
Following the June announcement, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Center for the Environment and Welfare (CEW) pushed back on the DOD funding lab-grown meat experiments for the military, causing the Pentagon to reverse course.
“After weeks of engaging with Congress and speaking out against this plan, we are thrilled to have DoD confirmation that lab-grown protein is not on the menu for our nation’s servicemembers,” NCBA President Mark Eisele said in a statement in July. “These men and women make the greatest sacrifices every day in service to our country and they deserve high-quality, nutritious, and wholesome food like real beef grown by American farmers and ranchers.”
"FAKE MEAT"
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who is a retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General, introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in June that would have prohibited the DOD from funding research and development of lab-grown meat for military rations, often called MRE's. However, the amendment was rejected.
“Last week, I proposed an NDAA amendment to cut all DOD funding for fake meat,” Bacon posted on X in June. “Nebraska is the Beef State, leading in red meat production. Our farmers and ranchers can feed our military, we don’t need this petri dish protein. The military needs to fund weapons not fake meat.”
A Pentagon spokesperson told Just the News on Wednesday, "DoD is not funding the manufacture of cultivated meat. There is no cultivated meat in military rations nor plans to feed troops cultivated meat. This research involves plant protein-based mycoprotein ingredients that are shelf-stable, have high protein and fiber contents, and can be dehydrated.
"The ability of the U.S. military to project power entails an equally imposing logistical chain to maintain stocks of food, water, medicines, fuel, and other supplies critical to troops and equipment. That chain gets stretched to extremes when the military is called upon to rapidly deploy anywhere in the world and sustain operations without the benefit of fixed infrastructure. Accordingly, DoD is actively investigating ways critical supplies are procured in addition to creating systems that can rapidly produce materials, including food onsite, when and where they are needed. In its research to produce food onsite, DoD is working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure all relevant guidelines are adhered to and regulatory standards are met."Unable to connect to Postgres server! 
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