It is neat, and provides a backstop to prices and American dairy overproduction. It diversifies income streams for farmers, but yes at the cost of food. Remember the concerns of corn to ethanol. Food as fuel has human costs as does food as packaging.
Comment on This plastic is made from milk and it vanishes in 13 weeks
BCsven@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
While neat, it still seems like poor stewardship. Rather than some easy cultivated fiber product you have to raise dairy cows and extract milk for a disposable plate. Seems like poor life cycle cost tally
Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Probably more associated greenhouse gas emissions than the plastic one
deafboy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Couldn’t we use some yeast or e-coli instead of cows?
BCsven@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
I would hope so, but no dairy alternative has seemed to replicate milk protein properly. But I’m sure there will be q day to replicate it almost exactly as it is.
zero_spelled_with_an_ecks@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 3 weeks ago
I don’t have an answer for the cost of life, but I have heard many times that milk and cheese is overly abundant in the USA.
I do agree that it should be much cheaper to use cellulose/plant composite for these things. The problem is sealing it.
frongt@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Yes, dairy is cheap in the US, only due to government subsidy.
kaprap@leminal.space 3 weeks ago
You don’t have to raise cows to have milk, you can literally use the same fiber (Soy, Hemp) to use industrially to make this plastic
Just because it says ‘milk’ doesn’t mean ‘dairy’
Ledivin@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Except they’re using casein, which does mean ‘dairy.’
BCsven@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
It said milk protein, they were specifically talking about dairy milk, and not soy protien
lettruthout@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Agreed, very quickly. So we can honestly say this idea aged like milk?