Libre's mycelium bacon alternative is supposedly 70% less fatty, 52% less calorific than actual pork.

Libre founder Alan Ramos became intrigued by sustainable meat alternatives during a spell travelling the Far East.

Taking a graduation sabbatical in China and Taiwan, where he no doubt chewed over differences in cuisine, Ramos began his own vegan journey after becoming engaged with the need to tackle climate change and the role of industrial-scale meat production.

Five years later, Ramos, a US native born to Mexican parents, was at work in Barcelona hatching his startup concept.

With his startup Libre Foods, Ramos has opted for mushroom textures and tastes, drawing on mycelium compounds found at the vegetable's root, to serve up vegan alternatives to bacon, steak and chicken.

The first of the products, Libre Bacon, is advertised as containing 70% less fat, and 52% less calories than actual pork products. Libre's steak and chicken alternatives are still in development. But bacon is the priority; Libre believes 32.5 kg of pork is consumed by the average European consumer each year.

Mushrooms are said to offer advantages in meat-free production because they grow 365 days a year in European climates, in all weather conditions.

And Libre is banking on its formula as a winner for Western taste palettes; early trials at vegan foodie events in LA and Berlin were apparently "very well received". It's claiming to be first in the category as well ⁠— until now there hasn't been a mushroom-derived bacon product, at least within EU borders.

Read the full article here.
Source: Tech EU