In the past few decades, the world has placed an increasing emphasis on sustainable materials and practices in all industries and markets. The many uses of mycelium have proven to be an enormous step in the green-ification of our planet.
What is Mycelium?
But first, what exactly is mycelium? According to Micropia, “Mycelium is a network of fungal threads or hyphae”. It is not a specific mushroom or fungus, but instead the “root” network of fungi. Mycelia is often found underground, but can also survive in other environments. Mycelia are an extremely important part of the ecosystem– breaking down organic material and providing a source of food for insects and other invertebrates.
The Benefits of Mycelium
World Hunger
According to Mycelium: A Nutrient-Dense Food To Help Address World Hunger, Promote Health, and Support a Regenerative Food System, Not only is mycelium used to create many meat alternatives, but “mycelium produced from filamentous fungi [offer] opportunities to develop
food products that have desirable flavor and texture characteristics that are high in protein quality while providing fiber and essential micronutrients”. Mycelium has an extremely high protein content and a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS)–a metric used to evaluate the quality of a protein for human nutrition–of around 1.0, meaning that 100g of protein from mycelium products provide almost all of the essential amino acids.
Food Waste
Mycelium can also be used to reduce food waste, supporting long-term environmental sustainability and food and health security. Food waste can be used as a source of food for mycelia, or be used in the fermentation process.
Construction Materials
Mycelium has been used in many ways to create quicker, more sustainable construction practices that have a smaller environmental impact.
Using a process called “biocycling”, where–according to Build With Rise– “demolition waste is broken down and combined with mycelium to add industrial-level strength that binds the materials as it grows”. The new mycelium material is then used as bricks or insulation.
Biocycling can help combat housing issues, make construction more sustainable, and can be used in disaster relief or in developing countries to provide short-term shelter that will be composted in a few years.
Mycelium can also be used to “clad” buildings. The fungi can be used to create thin sheets that can be used as a fire-resistant outer building material–a priority in areas strongly impacted by the recent increase in wildfires. This mycelium-based fire retardant lacks the harmful byproducts many other retardants produce.
Vegan Leather
mycelium is compressed to create a leather-like material that can be used in clothing and furniture.
The production of mycelium leather only takes a few weeks, is extremely sustainable, and equally if not more durable than animal leather. Not only does mycelium leather decrease the number of animals killed each year, but it also decreases emissions in the animal agriculture industry.
Single-Use Packaging
Perhaps most importantly, mycelium can replace single-use plastic packaging. Plastic waste is one of the largest issues our planet is currently dealing with. But, mycelium–with its durability and biodegradability–is the perfect eco-friendly substitute.
Sources
- Mycelium | Micropia
- Mycelium: A Nutrient-Dense Food To Help Address World Hunger, Promote Health, and Support a Regenerative Food System
- Mycelium Fungi as a Building Material
- The Benefits of Using Mycelium as a Sustainable Construction Material.
- Fungi As Vegan Leather: A Growing Industry With Many Environmental Benefits | The Momentum
- Unpacking the packaging potential of mycelium, the mushroom ‘roots’ of many uses – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
