Artifical milk

Stuff reports:

A new milk could threaten New Zealand’s $17 billion dairy export industry.

Made in the lab from yeast, and due to be on shelves in 2016, it will be a product virtually indistinguishable from cows’ milk.

Because it will have the same proteins, fats, sugars, vitamins and minerals, it will also taste the same, according to Perumal Gandhi, co-founder of Californian research and development company Muufri.

But the milk will be able to be made without the typical cholesterol, allergen lactose and bacteria in cows’ milk, meaning it will be healthier and won’t need to be refrigerated, giving it a much longer shelf-life.

Soon after its introduction, it would become far cheaper than its cow-made rival, Gandhi said.

I don’t think in the short term, people are going to swap to artificial milk. But we should not discount what the future may hold. As we crack more and more DNA and the like, our ability to create things will expand exponentially.