A California-based startup called Savor has figured out a unique way to make a butter alternative that doesn’t involve livestock, plants, or even displacing land. Their butter is produced from synthetic fat made using carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and the best part is —- it tastes just like regular butter.
The annoying part of this for me is that Gates’ name needs to be dropped in, presumably to get attention. But so it goes.
It’s interesting to see that the concept of butter in the comments seems to be a significant trigger for a bunch of people (in the /c/science posting of this article). This is another level to the problem.
But the main problem which no one seems to have commented on (maybe because it is mentioned at the end of the article) is, like many animal product substitutes, production cost and scaling.
Animal products are so embedded and subsidised (and/or at least true externized costs ignored), and politically connected, potential eco-friendly alternatives like this have a really extra hard time getting off the ground even if I could one day be cheaper.