Jonas Guenther’s on a undertaking to assist repair what he calls “our damaged meals device.” In particular, he desires to deal with the large carbon footprint created via agricultural manufacturing. In 2019, carbon emissions from agriculture accounted for 10% of all emissions within the U.S., consistent with the EPA.
Jonas Guenther at the farm in Brooklyn
We Are The New Farmers
With that during thoughts, 4 years in the past, Guenther shaped an organization referred to as We Are The New Farmers, a Brooklyn-based city farming industry the usage of captured carbon to create sustainable meals from microalgae.
“Our purpose is to unearth the possible microalgae has as a meals supply and anchor it deeper into our meals device,” says Guenther.
The precise microalgae in query is a small, blue-green substance referred to as spirulina. Thought to be a superfood, it’s wealthy in quite a few vitamins, with top ranges of protein. Guenther’s product comes within the type of frozen cubes or a paste that be incorporated in, say, a smoothie or yogurt.
Guenther isn’t the one social entrepreneur tapping spirulina. For instance, five-year-old Spira faucets spirulina to produce meals coloring dyes that function an alternative choice to the standard petrochemical-based synthetic pigments.
How It Works
The method takes position in a 1,250 sq. foot facility within the Brooklyn Army Backyard with more than one closed tanks full of water wherein the algae is grown. Vitamins, gentle and CO2 are added to the combo. As soon as the algae are waiting to move, they’re got rid of and filtered out of the water. In spite of everything, the stuff is made right into a paste that’s shipped to shoppers from a achievement heart in other places in Brooklyn.
It’s all somewhat other from the standard means folks develop and eat spirulina. The standard shape is a dry powder; growing it comes to drying the algae, steadily including components and likewise making the vitamins much less efficient, says Guenther. Different variations: Typically, spirulina is grown outdoor in open ponds that may be infected, whilst Guenther’s product is farmed in an indoor, managed setting, he says. Additionally, his product doesn’t have the robust fishy taste of maximum dried spirulina, consistent with Guenther.
From Hamburg to New York
In 2016, Guenther learned what he actually sought after to do together with his existence was once to mix his love of rising crops and generation. In particular, he would create an innovation that might carry down the carbon footprint of meals manufacturing, making it carbon impartial. So Guenther moved from his house in Hamburg to New York Town to get a graduate stage in engineering from the NYU College of Engineering and be informed extra about the best way to deal with the issue. There he constructed a prototype the usage of a little bit indoor farm within the basement of the college t.
After that, he and co-founders Michael Udovich and Dan Bernstein took section in a 10-week NYU accelerator program referred to as NYU Summer season Launchpad, the place they found out if they might flip their generation right into a sustainable product and what their industry style could be. In 2018, they shaped an organization and moved into their amenities in Brooklyn.
Gross sales most commonly come from on-line purchases. Pre-pandemic outreach to juice bars needed to be placed on hang, however is now being ramped up once more. By way of the top of the 12 months, Guenther plans to open two new amenities in New York and Los Angeles. Over the following 5 years, purpose is to enlarge his product traces to incorporate chewable algae and ready-to-go foods.
The corporate has raised about $1 million, most commonly from angel networks and syndicates. It’s additionally in the midst of a public crowdfunding marketing campaign, aiming to lift $200,000 to $250,000 via April 12.
