Investors Move to New Animal Product Substitutes

While alternative energy was the original focus of eco-friendly innovation, the new age of green venture capitalism has taken on a culinary edge, with increasing efforts to develop animal-product alternatives for the common consumer, reports Bloomberg Businessweek. San Francisco-based Hampton Creek Foods is attempting to concoct an egg replica, while Los Angeles’ Beyond Meat is working to perfect a soy-based chicken with formulations developed by two University of Missouri professors. These rookie food laboratories have the financial backing of notable firms like Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Khosla Ventures, companies that believe that climate change and lack of natural resources will make animal-product-free substitutes worthwhile investments.