LAURA LING: What are you cooking today?

JP REYES: I'm going to make a popcorn shrimp.

What I did was just bread it in some panko and some seasonings.

LAURA LING: Sounds delicious.

JP REYES: Oh, yeah.

LAURA LING: What he's cooking actually isn't shrimp at all.

It's a meatless product made in a lab

by New Wave Foods, a biotech startup founded by Dominique

Barnes and Michelle Wolf.

Tell me how you conceived of this idea to make fake shrimp.

DOMINIQUE BARNES: Shrimp is the number one

consumed seafood in the US.

You know, this is a product that we enjoy eating

and many other people do too, but the way we're getting it

now isn't sustainable.

LAURA LING: Did you know that 38% of the world's mangroves

have been destroyed to create shrimp farms?

That even one hamburger wastes more water

than two months of showering?

That agriculture contributes nearly one quarter

of global greenhouse gas emissions?

Our seemingly insatiable appetite for meat

is having a devastating impact on the environment.

But some are betting that biotechnology will offer

a sustainable alternative.

Wow, so this really does look like shrimp!

I'm impressed.

What has gone into this process?

MICHELLE WOLF: What you're seeing

is a combination of different plant and algae ingredients

and then our proprietary process,

which really gives it the bounce-back

that a lot of people mention makes

it taste a lot like shrimp.

LAURA LING: Can I handle it?

MICHELLE WOLF: Yeah, totally.

If you take one up and smell it you

should get sort of a shrimpy-type smell.

LAURA LING: Yeah, it's not quite as pungent

which is not a bad thing.

MICHELLE WOLF: I know.

LAURA LING: Does your product have the same nutritional

value?

DOMINIQUE BARNES: Our products will

have very similar nutritional value as far as having

high protein, low fat.

Because they're made out of plants and algae,

it'll be zero cholesterol, and even

if you have a shellfish allergy, you will most likely

be able to consume our product because we

don't have that same component.

LAURA LING: New Wave Foods is part

of a growing movement of biotech companies creating

meat alternatives.

Others include Memphis Meats, which

grows real meat from cloned pig, cow, and chicken cells.

Impossible Foods plans to create a plant-based burger

with the same taste, texture, and appearance of real ground

beef.

And a company called Clara Foods makes vegan egg whites out

of yeast.

Where do you see the future of food?

MICHELLE WOLF: What it comes down to is

taste-- that we can, you know, apply

all these amazing processes, but if it doesn't taste amazing,

and consumers aren't going to accept it.

LAURA LING: JP Reyes, a vegan chef

at the Google offices in San Francisco,

has been one of the first to incorporate New Wave shrimp

into his dishes.

JP REYES: At Google, we have a lot

of sensitivities, allergies, diet restrictions--

so it's nice that we're able to offer a shrimp alternative.

LAURA LING: All right, Chef JP, so I

brought my dad to this taste test-- he

is the ultimate seafood lover.

JP REYES: All right.

LAURA LING: OK right.

Ready, Dad?

DOUG LING: I'm ready.

LAURA LING: I think it's yummy.

You can tell it's not real shrimp?

DOUG LING: No, I can't.

Tastes a little like scallop.

LAURA LING: Oh, okay.

So did it meet the Doug Ling seafood-loving test?

DOUG LING: Very nice.

LAURA LING: Do you think that we are

sort of entering a new era when it comes to food technology?

DOMINIQUE BARNES: It does definitely feel that way.

And I think it's going to take a lot of these great ideas that

are coming to market to help solve some of the problems

that we see in our food supply chain.

And our ultimate goals is really to continue

to create delicious food that's good for you

and the environment

LAURA LING: Are you curious to try these meat alternatives?

Let us know in the comments below.

And to see how ugly food can transform our planet,

watch this next video.

To prepare for tonight's event, Chef Pesha Perlsweig

visited various markets to see what

ingredients she could transform into a six course dinner.

MAN: She finds ingredients that are going to go to waste

and then she turns it into these intricate, amazing, interesting

dishes that people love.

LAURA LING: Thank you for watching Seeker Stories.

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