The first wave of “milk without cows” promised more sustainable cheese and ice cream. The next wave is far more ambitious – and politically fraught. Start-ups now want to brew human breast milk proteins in steel tanks. If they succeed, they will collide with a $90bn formula industry, tight regulation, and a sensitive debate over what, exactly, should be for sale.
From oat lattes to human milk proteins
For a decade, the alternative dairy story has been mostly about almond cappuccinos and oat “milk” cartons. Then came a more technical chapter: precision-fermented whey and casein proteins,
