February 22, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Cargill is expanding its partnership with food tech company ENOUGH by joining its most recent growth funding round, and by signing a commercial agreement to use and market ABUNDA, ENOUGH’s signature sustainable and vegan protein created by fermenting fungi fed by renewable feedstocks.

Founded in 2015 under its original name 3F Bio by Jim Laird, David Ritchie, and Craig Johnston (the name change occurred in 2021 to reflect the premise that “One Earth needs to be ENOUGH”), ENOUGH is pioneering high-scale, sustainable protein production to address the dual challenges of feeding the world and the unsustainable impacts of traditional protein production. 

In August 2023, when ENOUGH announced it had raised €40 million (US$43.3 million) in growth funding to-date, the company explained that in today’s world, the production of vast quantities of sustainable protein is one of our most urgent priorities. 

The environmental impacts of animal agriculture, and how to mitigate the effects, are complex. About 15 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are caused by livestock and their production, however, this is just the beginning. There’s also the loss of biodiversity, water usage and pollution, soil degradation, and monoculture agriculture to produce enough feed, among others.

Concurrently, interest in plant-based foods has created a demand that has increased in recent years, according to figures by BCG, which forecasts that the alternative protein market will reach a value of $290 billion by 2035, with a minimum of 10 percent of the meat, eggs, dairy, and seafood consumed globally coming from alternative sources. One hurdle continues to be a damper on the industry however, and that is the ability to scale. 

This hurdle has been answered by ENOUGH, whose pioneering technology enables large-scale, sustainable production of ABUNDA by feeding fungi with Cargill’s glucose syrup from sustainably sourced grain that is then fermented through a zero-waste, natural process, much like making beer, yogurt, or wine.

“Cargill is strengthening its partnership with ENOUGH because the world needs more protein that is grown more sustainably to keep pace with global population growth,” sid Belgin Kose, managing director, Cargill Meat and Dairy Alternatives. 

“Mycoprotein is an emerging ingredient with a disruptive role to play due to its many benefits including a meat-like texture, protein profile, scalability, and sustainability. We remain committed to bringing alternative and traditional protein source options to the table, and our collaboration with ENOUGH is one of the ways we can realize our purpose to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way.”

Cargill and ENOUGH are already long-standing collaborators through a multi-faceted partnership. ENOUGH’s first-of-its-kind, 160,000 square-foot production facility was built in 2022 alongside a Cargill facility in Sas van Gent, in the Netherlands. From here, Cargill provides glucose syrup and utilities as well as partnering with ENOUGH in the EU-funded PLENITUDE consortium project.

Through the expansion of this relationship, Cargill will co-create nutritious protein alternative foods containing ABUNDA mycoprotein with customers by leveraging its expansive portfolio of plant-based proteins, texturizers, and fats, together with its formulations and application capabilities. 

Meanwhile, ENOUGH will continue to benefit from Cargill’s global reach, position as a food solution leader at the heart of the food supply chain, and feedstock technology expertise to more rapidly scale up in Europe and beyond, as it strives toward its goal to grow more than 1 million tons of ABUNDA cumulatively by 2033. 

“Expanding our partnership with Cargill is an exciting step to accelerate the great strides we’ve already made through the co-location of our Sas van Gent facility,” said Jim Laird, CEO, ENOUGH. 

“The alternative protein market is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity, and efficiency will come from collaboration with partners such as Cargill to leverage existing demand and supply chain to gain scale.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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