KriosXVII

KriosXVII t1_itje49d wrote

It's complicated, but the answer is mostly social acceptability. We've had the technology to synthetize edible fats from hydrocarbons since the 1940s. We're not doing it because we currently don't need to, and people prefer eating plant and animal based fats. I've seen a recent scientific article theorizing that we could make a factory for a few billion dollars that could make enough edible fat for all human beings in an apocalypse scenario. https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=EVE19460906-01.2.29

https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/brave-new-butter

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