Makers of Britain’s greenest burger issue sustainable protein challenge

A quarter pounder made with the help of AI on a Yorkshire industrial estate has officially been crowned ‘Britain’s greenest burger’.

Made with vertically farmed oyster mushrooms, the Hooba burger is developed using one of the most unique and eco-friendly production processes in the food industry.

Having recently launched across the UK, the burger has now been awarded a prestigious ‘A Carbon Rating’ by My Emissions.

Now Myco, which manufactures the Hooba burger, is laying down the gauntlet and challenging another manufacturer to take Hooba’s title “for the good of the planet”.

“Sustainability is at the heart of our business, and our goal is to create mouthwatering plant-based products that encourage people to eat less meat, as that’s one of the biggest factors fuelling the climate crisis,” said Myco co-founder John Shepherd.

“Meat-based burgers can be really bad for the planet, and My Emissions found that simply switching to a Hooba burger can save over 1.65kg in carbon – that’s as much as a train journey between Paris and London.

“So to receive an A rating for our Hooba burger feels like a real reward for our team’s hard-work in creating a product that is genuinely helping our planet.

“But while it is great to be recognised, what we really want is for the food industry to up its game and for other manufacturers to put more emphasis on sustainability. We would love it if someone came along and also pushed the boundaries around sustainability as ultimately we all need to do more.

“We’ve shown that you can create delicious food that doesn’t come at the expense of our planet, and we hope our unique production process can act as a blueprint for others in the future.”

That process involves using AI to help grow thousands of mushrooms inside Myco’s 20,000sq ft production site in Leeming Bar, in the shadow of the A1.

The location was specifically picked to help lower food mileage, a key factor in the A rating, although besides the mushrooms, the firm use just five more ingredients which are locally sourced to avoid needing to increase emissions through importing them.

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