TRENOS SiGINT: Feeding Fungi Food Waste Is Making Better Animal-Free Protein

Analyst: Scott Mathias -December 2025

Signal

Researchers screened 106 fungal strains grown on orange and black carrot side streams from natural colour production, ultimately selecting Pleurotus djamor (pink oyster mushroom) for its protein yield and growth efficiency. By focusing on fungi rather than fruiting bodies, the process dramatically reduced time, space, and resource inputs.

When incorporated into vegan patties and sausages, mycelium outperformed soy and chickpea controls on taste, aroma, and texture — with testers preferring 100% mycelium patties over 100% soy. The study reinforces fungal mycelium as a scalable protein platform that aligns circular economy principles with real consumer acceptance, not just technical feasibility.

Human Factor

This matters because people don’t eat sustainability — they eat flavour. If proteins grown on food waste can beat soy on taste while slashing environmental impact, the conversation shifts from sacrifice to upgrade. For flexitarians and meat-reducers, this kind of protein doesn’t feel like compromise — it feels like progress.

TRENOS Metrics Snapshot

Metric	Detail
Signal	Food-waste-fed mycelium as next-gen protein
Data Point	100% mycelium patties preferred over 100% soy
TikTok Views	Emerging (early-stage science signal)
Retail Footprint	R&D / pilot phase
Ingredient Format	Fungal mycelium protein
Product Range	Patties, sausages, minced formats
Consumer Segment	Flexitarian, vegan, sustainability-driven
Brand Origin	Academic / pre-commercial
Export Status	Not yet
Trend Classification	Circular protein systems
System Pressure Point	Food waste + protein demand
Momentum	Building
Sentiment	Positive
Where Signal Is Loudest	EU food science, alt-protein R&D
Related Links	Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2025)

Long Play Analysis-Feeding Fungi Food Waste Is Making Better Animal-Free Protein

Carrot waste is just the beginning. The real signal here is substrate flexibility because fungi don’t care about aesthetics or branding, only nutrient density. That opens the door to a much wider universe of food side streams that could become protein feedstock.

High-potential candidates include brewers’ spent grain, apple pomace, grape marc, potato peels, sugar beet pulp, pea hulls, rice bran, and even okara from soy milk and tofu production. Many of these streams already exist at industrial scale, are costly to dispose of, and retain carbohydrates, fibres, and micronutrients ideal for fungal growth.

If scaled correctly, waste-fed mycelium could quietly undercut both plant and animal protein on cost, footprint, and flavour, without asking consumers to “believe” in anything new. The future of alternative protein may not be built on new crops at all, but on the leftovers of the ones we already grow.

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