Arturo Elizondo, the visionary founder and CEO of food technology company, The EVERY is on a transformative quest to redefine the future of protein.
Based in South San Francisco, Elizondo has achieved a groundbreaking milestone with the development of the world's first vegan, animal-free egg whites.
Leveraging precision fermentation to produce super-functional and one-to-one replacement proteins from micro-organisms, the company is on a mission to decouple the world’s proteins from the animals that make them.
Elizondo explains that he chose to start with egg proteins due to their ubiquitous presence in various foods.
Beyond serving as a substitute for traditional eggs, these proteins can be employed to create animal-free alternatives to items such as digestive enzymes, smoothie protein, meringues, macaroons, and a plethora of baked goods.
Speaking about their mission to change the future of protein and your development of the world’s first animal-ingredient-free egg he says, “Our mission is to make sustainable protein accessible to everyone. Our proteins are proof that it is possible. Using fermentation, we can finally rid consumers and food companies of the supply shortages and price volatility that plague this market to create a more resilient food system. We’ve also created a protein that can be used to increase the protein content of foods and beverages. The future of food will be more efficient, equitable, and sustainable, without the environmental and ethical drawbacks of traditional animal agriculture.”
He shares more details about the idea to replace factory farm mode with a more sustainable and kinder alternative that reaches even the most vulnerable populations.
“By replacing factory farming with fermentation, we can sustainably meet the growing demand for protein without the environmental toll of animal agriculture, which drives deforestation, extinction, and land use. By focusing on fermentation, we can create high-quality proteins that everyone, including developing nations, can access—without depleting the planet’s resources. Fermentation is highly fungible, meaning that we can produce it anywhere. Our proteins are also shelf-stable, which will allow us to deliver high quality nutrition to even the most vulnerable populations facing food security challenges. EVERY is for EVERY human, EVERYwhere.”
During a recent address at the SingularityU South Africa Summit, Elizondo elaborated on the idea of replacing factory farming with fermentation.
Four attendees at the summit were the first in Africa to taste vegan, animal-free egg whites made by a Silicon Valley food-tech company.
He believes this method can effectively meet the rising demand for protein while avoiding the detrimental effects of conventional animal farming, such as deforestation, habitat destruction, and pollution.
“The way we make animal protein today is the number one cause of extinction on Earth. It is the number one cause of habitat destruction, ocean dead zones and water pollution,” he said citing the destructive nature of the food systems, the rise of factory farms and the industrialisation of animal feeding operations.
“The demand for animal protein is expected to double by 2050,” added Elizondo.
From a food security perspective, particularly in developing countries across Africa he said, “The first thing people do when they enter the middle class is buy animal protein. If you plot all of the world's countries, there's almost a one-to-one correlation between GDP per capital and animal protein consumption,” Elizondo explained.
Speaking about the future plans he says the company can be expected to keep innovating in protein discovery and production.
“There are over 200 proteins in an egg – we have commercialized only 2. And there are no less than 80,000 egg laying species. The universe of proteins is vast and we will continue to mine it to unlock incredible, new to the world functionalities that do replace existing products, but especially enable the creation of new ones. We’re constantly exploring new ways to revolutionize the food system and to make our proteins more accessible. The future of protein is bright — we’re just getting started.”
Saturday Star