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Cellulose Shoes Made by Bacteria

79 points| montalbano | 3 years ago |nature.com

21 comments

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[+] tomcam|3 years ago|reply
As a person advocating for the rights of single-celled organisms, I find this bacteria slavery troubling. The only ethical shoes are graphene-based.
[+] tsol|3 years ago|reply
This is nothing short of a call to slavery for those yet- undiscovered quantum organisms we just can't detect yet. How does it feel to be a fascist? /s
[+] socialismisok|3 years ago|reply
We meet again, Tom! I know you jest, but I legitimately know folks who would sit down and have a lengthy chat about whether bacterial products should be considered vegan.

(I personally tend to fall on the side of "don't eat factory farmed animals" side of vegetarianism. Know the farmer? Animal was raised with plenty of space and care? Enjoy. Mass produced beef from a CAFO? Avoid.)

I do love seeing advances in microbiology and fermenting novel products. Brave robot, for instance, produces milk from engineered microorganisms rather than cows. Makes for a pretty tasty vegan ice cream! The future is wild.

[+] nextaccountic|3 years ago|reply
Is that a jab against veganism? Totally uncalled for
[+] SN76477|3 years ago|reply
This is fantastic.

I switched to minimal shoes just over a year ago. While they are great, they wear holes in the sole after just a few months.

The shoe is fine, the laces are fine. Throwing them away feels like an absurd waste. But the holes do make them unwearable.

I wouldn't feel as bad about throwing them out if I knew the materials were renewable.

[+] klyrs|3 years ago|reply
The shoe in TFA is the opposite of minimal. Honestly I don't know how people are supposed to walk in shoes when the heel extends so far back. I feel like I'd die going down stairs.