An emerging molecular farming company has unveiled an unexpected food innovation—genetically engineered potatoes that produce real cow milk proteins. This revolutionary approach could reduce the need for cows and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And one day, it’s possible this could lead to a ‘potato cheese’ in your local supermarket that maintains the taste and functionality of traditional dairy.
This technology relies on AI-driven genetic engineering to scan genetic databases, identifying animal-derived DNA sequences that could be successfully integrated into plant cells.
A new type of cheese
Humans have been eating cheese for over 7,000 years and it’s not hard to understand why. Cheese is nutrient and calorie-dense, and it can stay edible for long periods of time. But the dairy industry has become an important driver of greenhouse gases, producing close to 4% of our global emissions (as much as the aviation and shipping industries combined).
Finally Foods has an idea of how to reduce that. The Israeli-based company wants to grow dairy protein in plants.
Instead of relying on cows to produce casein, the essential protein responsible for milk’s structure and cheese-making properties, the company has genetically engineered potatoes to grow this protein naturally. By acting as “bio-reactors,” these potatoes can produce casein at a lower environmental cost than traditional dairy farming.
Casein makes up about 80% of milk proteins and plays a crucial role in cheese-making. It gives cheese its unique texture and allows it to curdle when exposed to rennet or acid, a key step in producing cheese. Casein is responsible for cheese’s meltability, stretch, and structure, making it irreplaceable in dairy-based products like yogurt.
While fermentation-based alternatives, such as yeast and bacterial dairy proteins, have made strides in the industry, Finally Foods’ potato-based approach promises a simpler, cost-effective, and scalable solution. Simply put, we could have cheaper and more eco-friendly milk and cheese.
Why potatoes?
These casein-growing potatoes are cultivated just like regular potatoes, and once harvested, the casein protein is extracted to be used in dairy production.
A number of different plants could have been used, but potatoes are an ideal candidate as they grow efficiently in diverse climates, have high yields, and are globally available. The protein extraction process is also simpler than in crops like soybeans.
The company reported another important breakthrough. Traditional dairy has four key casein proteins—alpha 1, alpha 2, beta, and kappa—all of which contribute to milk’s ability to curdle, melt, and stretch in cheese. Most microbial fermentation methods struggle to produce all four caseins together, requiring different microbial strains to make each protein separately. In potatoes, researchers were reportedly able to grow all four at the same time, essentially creating the cheese protein completely.
If successful, this would mean potato-grown casein could lead to a cheese that is identical to traditional dairy cheese.
“We are not aiming to supply the market with a mixture of casein proteins and other proteins from the host plant,” says Dafna Gabbay. “We will be producing clean, pure casein proteins without DNA so that the final product is not a GMO. What we are developing is a system that will allow us to extract and purify the casein proteins in a way that is cost-effective.”
Can this really replace dairy production?
Synthetic milk is now a new product, but it’s still an emerging market. According to a recent report, synthetic fermentation may create one million jobs by 2035 in the US alone, with dairy being an important part of that.
While precision fermentation will continue to gain momentum, molecular farming offers a potentially cheaper and more scalable approach. The unit economics of growing dairy proteins in plants could make molecular farming more competitive in the long run.
But there will be big hurdles along the way.
Governments often impose strict rules on genetically modified crops and in general, tend to be stricter on crops than artificial fermentation products. Microbes also grow in days, plants take weeks or months.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle, however, will be convincing people to embrace genetically engineered crops for dairy production. Finally Foods aims to sell to other companies, not directly to consumers. But these other companies will still need to convince consumers.
For now, the first field trial is set to take place in southern Israel. If that goes well, the company will seek regulatory approval in Israel and the US.
