this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2025
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/34272214

A California-based biotechnology startup has officially launched the world's first commercially available butter made entirely from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and oxygen, eliminating the need for traditional agriculture or animal farming. Savor, backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates through his Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund, announced the commercial release of its animal- and plant-free butter after three years of development.

The revolutionary product uses a proprietary thermochemical process that transforms carbon dioxide captured from the air, hydrogen from water, and methane into fat molecules chemically identical to those found in dairy butter. According to the company, the process creates fatty acids by heating these gases under controlled temperature and pressure conditions, then combining them with glycerol to form triglycerides.

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[–] jabjoe@feddit.uk 6 points 1 day ago

This could be great, but "proprietary". Gates is still the same Gates. If you want to save all the land and CO2 this could, release the IP free to all. Flood the market with cheap indistinguishable synobutter, real butter can't compete with. Milk, cheese and yogurt next please.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm not a scientist, but isn't EVERYTHING made of carbon?

Source: Joni Mitchell, Woodstock -

We are stardust, we are golden We are billion-year-old carbon

[–] Gsus4 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

"Made of" can mean "composed of" or "constructed from". This is the latter:

Savor says they take carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen from water, heat them up, oxidize them and get a final result that looks like candle wax but is in fact fat molecules like those in beef, cheese or vegetable oils.

The entire process releases zero greenhouse gases, uses no farmland to feed cows, and despite its industrial appearance, has a significantly smaller footprint.

"In addition to the carbon footprint being much lower for a process like this, right, the land footprint is, like, a thousand times lower than what you need in traditional agriculture,"

Good example of how choice of words can mislead, particularly when intentional.

[–] FunnyUsername@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

but does it actually taste like the real thing? because I can already buy something that, supposedly, I should be unable to believe isn't real butter, but after doing so I remain suspicious

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day ago

The first time I had "I can't believe it's not butter," I said "I can believe it's not butter."

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

I'm a traditionalist, I prefer my butter silicon based. Maybe germanium or tin if it's a special occasion

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 day ago

Of all things...butter! I'm sure it'll be more expensive than real butter with the way things work nowadays.

[–] omniman@piefed.zip 3 points 1 day ago

Cyberpunk shit getting real

[–] betanumerus@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Butter backed by Bill Gates? Is that the same Bill Gates who became wealthy and famous for his commanding knowledge of butter?

[–] nkat2112@sh.itjust.works 28 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Thank goodness we have the assurances of a billionaire oligarch to help steer humanity in the right dietary direction.

[–] teuniac_@lemmy.world 26 points 2 days ago

Global warming and ecological crises make shifting diets away from animal products a pretty good idea.

Whether it's antibiotics resistance, deforestation, or greenhouse gas emissions, humanity is paying a very high price for animal agriculture at the current scale.

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[–] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Didnt the Nazis also make something similar using coal?

[–] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago

You're probably thinking of the Fischer-Tropsch process for making gasoline.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Tropsch_process

[–] Binturong@lemmy.ca 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Good ol' Gates, always around to make a quick buck of the bloodied backs of humanity. Never an advancement meant to aid us all he can't swoop in to parasitize. That's right Billy boy, I didn't forget the COVID vaccine patents. Billionaires must be condemned to the rubbish bin of history.

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[–] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 140 points 3 days ago (27 children)

While I think this is pretty amazing science stuff, the writing is terrible. Here is the progression of the story as written:

They made butter from carbon...

Well, it's actually made from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and oxygen...

OK, it's actually made from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, oxygen, and methane...

Well, no, it's actually made from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, oxygen, methane, and glycerol...

Wait, hang on, it's actually made from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, oxygen, methane, glycerol, natural flavor, and lecithin...

Now, the source of glycerol is in question, because they say this butter is both animal and plant-free. Glycerol can be made synthetically, but it's WAY more expensive to do it. Also, I'm not seeing any way to create lecithin without plants. They never say what the "natural flavor" is.

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[–] Betinem@feddit.org 10 points 2 days ago

Yeah #govegan, I love it. I am curious to try it. Great invention.

[–] ptolemai@lemmy.world 0 points 1 day ago

There's a term for that high-carbon butter-like substance. Migraine or something..

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