Proteins are the building blocks of life. When digested, they can produce energy and build or repair cells to keep us healthy. However, their most important contribution is to provide our bodies with essential amino acids that cannot be produced by the body on their own (protein insufficiency).
Proteins serve many purposes including aiding in digestion, repairing injuries, creating new cells, and transporting nutrients around the body; therefore without them, we would not be able to live properly on Earth as humans.
Sourcing the Proteins for Food Production
Protein sources for human consumption can be sourced from animals or plants. There are many proteins in meat that humans cannot produce on their own, so this makes it an important food source to sustain life. However, animal farming is viewed as an environmentally unfriendly process or consumers have problems with eating specific meats for personal beliefs, then plant proteins are being used instead. Some of the most common sources include soybeans, peas, beans, lentils, and peanuts.
On the other side, there is a production of proteins using technology and laboratory processes that make it possible to mass-produce proteins for human consumption. Through the protein expression and purification service that some biotech companies offer, proteins can be isolated and purified to meet the demands of the market. These services are beneficial to many pharmaceutical companies who can produce different products ranging from injectable drugs to oral supplements.
This new technology for producing proteins offers an advantage to society because of the ability to expand their food choices, which ultimately leads to more efficient practices of sustainable agriculture, healthier diets, and better health outcomes.
Nutritional Value of Proteins
Protein is necessary for every cell, tissue, organ, muscle, and bone in our bodies; thus it’s an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It helps transport nutrients around the body, aids with digestion, builds new cells to replace the old ones, and ensures that our immune system is strong enough to guard against attacks from viruses or pathogens.
Therefore, protein production is crucial to a healthy society and it can be sourced from both animals and plants. There are many benefits of using technology in the modern-day to produce proteins including a wider variety of food choices and more efficient agricultural practices.
The Future of Food Production
Protein production is definitely a crucial aspect of a healthy society and biotech companies have recently started to take advantage of the technology around us. It is predicted that by 2050, the global population will be at 9 billion people and need over 40% more food to meet their dietary needs and the scientists will be using even more advanced technology to develop new sources of proteins so people can have a wider variety of healthy food options.
For this reason, we need to continue investing in science and technology because these advancements are going to help society not only today but also in the years to come.
Protein is essential for human life and its production process has been improved with the use of technology. This new form of protein expression offers benefits to society by providing a wider variety of food choices and more efficient agricultural practices, ultimately leading to healthier diets and better health outcomes in the future.
Featured image: Unsplash (Erol Ahmed).
