As soon as it is technically and chemically possible to do without meat, that is exactly what should be done, says veterinarian Martin Frettlöh. Together with Thomas Kirner from Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences and Tanja Haag from the Quh-Lab Institute for Food Safety, he is researching the possibility of using apple pomace – press residues from apple juice production – to produce a sustainable meat substitute.

Pig meat instead of pig feed

The aim of the research is to ferment a vitamin- and protein-rich mass from regional waste products that functions as a meat substitute, appeals to the general public and thus represents a successful alternative to factory farming.

The decision to use apple pomace as the basis for production represents an additional sustainability factor: Compared to, for example, soy, which has to be cultivated on a massive scale for animal feed production and thereby contributes significantly to the clearing of the rainforest, the waste product is directly available. In order to produce a healthy and sustainable meat substitute from it, mushrooms are used that consume the apple mass and build up the required proteins on it.

Market readiness

The researchers have already succeeded in producing the meat substitute from apple pomace on a small scale, but they intend to work on consistency and taste before moving on to more extensive production. It will therefore take several more years of research before the meat substitute made from apple pomace is launched on the market.