Over the past few years, it's become easier for vegans to find a variety of tasty food options, and now a biotech company hopes to help them keep up with the latest fashions, too. California-based MycoWorks has come up with a way to use fungi – that's mushrooms to me and you – to develop eco-friendly, vegan "leather."
The magic comes from mushroom mycelium, which is an underground structure of tiny root-like threads. MycoWorks grows cells from the mycelium so that it can engineer them into a densely woven material patented under the name Fine Mycelium. The company claims the material not only looks like leather, but has the same durability, performance, and strength.
![](http://images.wisegeek.com/slideshow-mobile-small/mushroom-mycelium.jpg)
Because the mycelium is grown, it can be shaped into whatever pattern or size is required, thus eliminating any waste, MycoWorks says. Several name-brand companies have already incorporated Fine Mycelium into their product lines, including Adidas and Hermès.
"It's the first time that a company is able to produce a vegetal product which is matching or even exceeding the quality and durability and aesthetics of a natural one," said Patrick Thomas, former Hermès CEO and a MycoWorks board of directors member. "It's a super achievement."
Vegan vitals:
- It is estimated that every person who becomes vegan saves the lives of 30 animals every year.
- Some predictions warn that at the current rate of consumption, the world's oceans could be empty of fish by the year 2048 .
- By avoiding meat, vegans save 45 pounds of grain per day, since most grain goes to feeding cattle and other animals used for food.
- Tofu nutrition fact: 3.5 oz portion of tofu contains roughly 8 grams of protein.