F.A.Q
We love good dairy products, but not their impact on our health, our animals and our planet.
#1
What is a bon vivant?
A bon vivant is someone in a jovial mood, who likes to enjoy life and especially the pleasures of the table. Generally, without compromise, without concessions. We want to continue to enjoy our delicious dairy products, while being respectful of animals and the planet.
#2
Why develop complementary solutions to our current way of food production?
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that by 2050, global demand for animal protein will increase by 50 to 100%. Yet our current extensive agricultural production system is causing climatic disturbances (increased greenhouse gas emissions, over-exploitation of farmland leading to long-term impoverishment, over-use of water for production) that we can no longer ignore. What's more, milk production is declining worldwide, while demand for dairy products is rising. Thanks to precision fermentation, it is now possible to produce milk proteins, which can then be used by our customers, the dairy manufacturers, to produce all the dairy products we love, without the need for animals or using more land.
#3
Where does precision fermentation come from?
This method is a process that we have been using for centuries, and whose scientific understanding was made possible in the 19th century by the French researcher Louis Pasteur. Today, Bon Vivant honors this heritage and develops yeasts that produce milk proteins. Thanks to our yeasts, we produce milk proteins identical to those produced by cows.
#4
Does Bon Vivant produce milk?
Cow milk is composed of 87% of water, 5% lactose, 4% fat, 3% proteins and some minerals. Us at Bon Vivant we are producing only the milk proteins. So since we don't produce lactose and fat we are not producing milk. But proteins is the cornerstone of nutrition, taste, and texture. So thanks to our proteins food manufacturers are capable of creating delicious dairy products that are great for our health and our planet.
#5
What is precision fermentation?
The principle is to use yeasts as the wine or beer industries do with the aim this time of producing proteins. Bon Vivant programs these yeasts to produce milk proteins, by combining them to a cow milk DNA sequence sourced from a digital database. Bon Vivant then cultivates them in a vegetable culture medium so that they ferment. Then, we filters this culture medium in order to separate the yeast from the proteins. We thus obtain a pure milk protein, 100% identical to those produced by the cow but without lactose, without cholesterol, without antibiotics and with a much lower environmental impact.