We have been eating mushrooms for thousands and thousands of years.
Seriously: in the Upper Paleolithic period, analysis of old dental stones suggests that the human diet included plant foods and fungi.
Since then, over the centuries, we have created countless recipes with all different types of mushrooms. There’s no question: portobello makes a mean burger topping, while button mushrooms are the perfect accompaniment to an English fry.
But in recent years, innovators across industries from food to fashion have looked at mushrooms in a whole new way. In fact, mushrooms have so much potential and versatility that it begs the question: are we entering the age of mushrooms?
Let’s start with how the humble mushroom can transform the future of food for the better.
A durable, versatile ingredient
It’s no secret at this point: the food system needs some serious work. Right now, raising animals for meat is draining the earth of resources, emitting planet-warming gases and slaughtering billions of animals.
One of the worst offenders from animal agriculture is methane. The gas is more than 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Each year, just one cow belches 220 pounds of methane into the atmosphere.
But good news: mushrooms don’t fry. They do not emit methane. And they can make a great plant-based steak alternative. British brand Quorn has known this for some time.
Founded in the 1980s, Quorn, which has partnerships with major chains such as KFC, Greggs and PizzaExpress, produces vegan and vegetarian meat products using mycoprotein. Aka fusarium venatum, mycoprotein is a type of mold.
Through fermentation, Quorn creates a substance that has a very meat-like feel and texture. But it emits only part of the emissions.
Other brands have caught on to the mushroom’s potential. Take Mushroom Meat Company for example. Creates pork and beef-free chops and pods, using gourmet mushrooms, enhanced plant proteins, and herbs and spices.
In fact, in 2020, the size of the global mushroom market was more than 14 million tons. Until 2028, it is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.74 percent. Fortune Business Insights names meat substitutes as a key factor driving the market, “along with the growing vegan population.”
This is good news for the planet. Not only do harvesting mushrooms produce fewer emissions, but when the mushrooms are grown, they actually heal the environment.
Fungi help decompose organic matter, for example, which returns valuable nutrients to the soil. They also absorb carbon. In 2013, a study found that fungi are responsible for most of the carbon sequestration in forests in northern Sweden.
The benefits of mushrooms don’t end with the environment. They are also a favorite in the wellness world, known for improving mental and physical well-being. Andrew and Simon Salter, founders of mushroom tea and coffee brand Dirtea, can attest to these benefits.
Health benefits
In 2016, the Salter brothers were burned out from working non-stop and without enough sleep. Mental fatigue was also accompanied by physical problems. “We were broke,” they said Plant-based news. “Tired skin, tired body, tired mind.”
They visited a general practitioner who gave them no “real cure”, they say, and desperation eventually led them to a mushroom tea ceremony in London. The experience proved to them the health benefits of mushrooms and completely changed their lives. Later, their mushroom drink brand Dirtea was born.
“After our ceremony, we took these mushroom powders and committed to using them over the next two weeks to really feel the effects,” they said. “It wasn’t long before we both started to feel better. Our sleep had improved, our stress and anxiety were under control and we had more clarity than ever.”
Research supports their experience: last year, a study (which included more than 24,000 participants) linked mushroom consumption with a lower chance of anxiety or depression. Researchers base this on their high content of antioxidants, which reduce oxidative stress and inflammation (risk factors for depression).
“There are so many clinical studies showing us over and over again how healing mushrooms are, and these simply cannot be ignored,” Salters says.
The couple’s products include Lion’s Mane Mushroom Powder (lion’s mane is linked to several health benefits, including improved digestion and better brain function).
There is also Reishi mushroom powder, Chaga mushroom powder and Cordyceps mushroom powder. All can be drunk as teas, blended into smoothies or blended into coffee.
“Mushrooms are low in calories, carbohydrates, fat and sodium,” the founders continue. “They are also cholesterol-free and provide important nutrients, including selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D, protein and fiber.”
There is no doubt that mushrooms benefit us and the planet when we eat and drink them. But we can take it a step further: we can wear them too. And it comes with even more advantages, this time, for animals and rainforests as well.
Mushroom skin growth
From bags to shoes to belts, leather is often used in the fashion industry. But the process of producing this material, which often comes from cows, is destructive to the environment and wildlife.
Last year, for example, an investigation linked several brands (including H&M, Adidas, Nike, Zara and Fendi) to deforestation on the Amazon. This is because their leather supply chains are linked to JBS, a meat industry giant and Brazil’s largest leather exporter.
The Amazon, which is the world’s largest rainforest, is home to one in 10 known species on Earth, including endangered or critically threatened animals such as pink river dolphins and jaguars.
JBS is known for its role in Amazon deforestation (despite its commitments otherwise). No wonder: livestock (for the meat and leather industry) as a whole accounts for 80 percent of deforestation in the Amazon.
But leather production is not only bad for wild animals, but also for farmed cows. According to some forecasts, by 2025, the leather industry will slaughter about 430 million cows each year.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Because mushrooms can do the same job as cowhide. Stella McCartney has proven this. In July this year, the brand launched the first luxury bag made from Mylo leather by Bolt Threads. The material solutions company makes leather using mycelium, the root structure of fungi. In 2020, the designer label debuted a top and pants, also made with Mylo.
Bolt Threads CEO Dan Widmaier said the collaboration was an “honour”.
“[Stella McCartney’s] The category-defining leadership of animal-free fashion and the championing of sustainable materials is paving the way forward to a more responsible fashion industry,” he added. “Bringing the first Mylo-produced luxury bag to market is a massive milestone for conscious consumers, the biomaterials industry and the future of luxury fashion.”
Stella McCartney is not alone. In 2021, Hermès announced that it had created a mushroom leather travel bag in collaboration with biomaterials company MycoWorks. In the same year, Adidas teamed up with Bolt Threads to launch a new Mylo range of its iconic Stan Smith sneakers.
By 2026, the bio-based leather market (which includes mushroom leather) is projected to reach a value of nearly $870 million. But many think it will continue to grow: mushroom skin is scalable, versatile, sustainable, and deforestation- and cruelty-free. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes the norm.
So give it a few years and you can be drinking mushroom tea after you’ve destroyed your mushroom steak before unzipping your mushroom leather trousers. It’s already happening: the mushroom age is upon us.
