For a long time, humans have incorporated microorganisms into their diets. All products made from yeast dough, cheeses, kefir, and several other foods consistently contain a certain number of microbial cells involved in their production. By increasing the proportion of microbial protein in our diet, we can significantly enhance the nutritional value of traditional foods without increasing their production, ensuring that our diet fully meets our body’s needs.
The method humans have relied on for centuries—producing food through animal husbandry—cannot be considered the most efficient. By feeding animals 60 kilograms of carbohydrates, 8.5 kilograms of protein, and 5 kilograms of fat, we only obtain one kilogram of protein and one kilogram of fat from meat, while completely losing the carbohydrates. Microbes, on the other hand, can convert products that lack nutrients (as we understand them) into protein, and they do this hundreds of times more efficiently than animals.
In some countries, such as the United States and Japan, yeast protein is already being used as an additive in various products. Similar experiments are being conducted here as well. Methods have been developed to produce amino acids (the building blocks of protein) through a process known as autolysis of yeast. Trials have shown that adding a mixture of these amino acids—like autolysin, for example—to potato grits increases its nutritional value by 1.5 times.
The consensus among nearly all specialists involved in microbial protein synthesis (from those I’ve encountered) is clear: microbial protein can and should be used in human nutrition. They believe that it is essential to refine the technology (as it must be more advanced than that used for producing feed protein), conduct trials, and establish production.