As humankind’s population continues to grow we’re running into a bit of a tradeoff, we’re destroying the habitats of animals to build farms to feed ourselves and releasing a ton of carbon while we do it. But now experts say we could kill two birds with one stone with these: edible mushrooms.
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00:00As humankind's population continues to grow, we're running into a bit of a trade-off.
00:07We're destroying the habitats of animals to build farms to feed ourselves, and releasing
00:12a ton of carbon while we do it.
00:14But now experts say we could kill two birds with one stone, with these edible mushrooms.
00:19Science Alert reports that mushrooms have just about everything the body needs, including
00:22fiber and necessary fatty acids.
00:25And experts say fungi are actually closer to meat than they are to plants, and could
00:28be a protein substitute.
00:30But perhaps the best part is that mushrooms grow in areas that are forested, meaning we
00:34wouldn't have to cut down trees to farm them.
00:36And that means all of those trees can continue to capture carbon and house our planet's
00:40animals without us destroying them in their habitats.
00:43Researchers have been working on this type of co-cultivation for a while, with relative
00:47success with this alien-looking blue milk cat mushroom.
00:50These mushrooms form symbiotic relationships with trees, siphoning nutrients from their
00:54roots while providing more carbon for the trees to grow.
00:57This is just part of a much-needed overhaul to the way humans eat, one that could lead
01:01to a more sustainable relationship with our planet.