Fungi Friday's - March 25, 2022
Issue #24
Hey Fungi Friday fans,
We’re back with yet another edition of your favorite mushroom focused publication, however with this week’s edition we’re going to try something a little bit different. Rather than our long write ups for each feature article, this week we’re going to go with another format. A shorter synopsis of each, with a few extras you may find interesting at the end. Spring has arrived, mushroom production is right around the corner and we here at Fungi Friday’s are about to get quite busy, so we’ve decided to give this a try. Who know’s maybe you’ll like this format even more! And of course, the whole thing is one big experiment, so if you don’t let us know about it in the comments and we can always go back to the longer form write-ups you’ve come to expect. So with that said, let’s get into the articles!
SXSW Panel Recap: Engineering the Future With Mushrooms and Diamonds
Article number one for the week comes from none other than South by Southwest, which wrapped up this past weekend. And this year, the well known tech, film and music festival had one common theme; sustainability. Whether it be lab grown diamonds over mined ones, protein packed meat substitutes utilizing mushrooms, or shifting from a primarily animal based diet to a more plant one, the discussions, companies and panelists had much to say on said topic. As one of the panelists put it “the most precious resource we have is biodiversity and if we destroy it it’s gone forever.” And as we continue forward throughout this decade, I have a feeling this sentiment will become more and more popular in today’s sustainability focused culture.
Alt Protein Is All the Rage as New Fermented Fungi Product Hits Whole Foods
Speaking of sustainability in food production, our second feature of the week focuses on a brand new protein source hitting shelves at your local Whole Foods. With a stellar 2021 of growth and a new inflow of $347m in funding, Nature’s Fynd will begin stocking it’s vegan products made from fermented fungi in it’s first national retail deal with Whole Foods Markets stores in 10 select states around the country. So if you’re vegan, or just interested in trying something new in order to get a hearty serving of protein, check it out. And if you do, don’t forget to let us know your thoughts! Always interested in a new fungi related product over here at Fungi Fridays!
Beyond Psilocybin: These Mushrooms May Offer Brain-Boosting Compounds, Too
And for our final feature article of the week, an article highlighting some of the potential health benefits related to non psychoactive mushroom species that are currently being studied. From treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, to other mental health issues, fungi have long been the centers of scientific inquiry, and for good reason. Did you know that fungi are responsible for life saving treatments such as the antibiotic penicillin, the chemotherapy treatment Taxol, and the cholesterol medication Lovastatin? And while scientists also believe there may be a correlation between regular consumption of mushrooms and decreased risk of cognitive decline, these are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to health benefits of these crazy specimen.
The article goes on to review some of the benefits to specific mushrooms, like shiitake, lions mane, cordyceps, chaga and reishi; many of the species that we’ve covered in the past. So if you’re interested in learning more, give that article a quick peruse, I’m confident you’ll learn something new!
Want even more? Here are some other interesting, mushroom focused reads of the week:
Core One Labs Proceeds with Next Milestone Achievement: To Produce Psilocybin
RESEARCHERS MAPPED PSYCHEDELICS IN THE BRAIN — CHALLENGING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE DRUGS WORK
And with that, we come to a close on this week’s publication of Fungi Fridays! What did you think of our new format? Should we keep running with this as we ramp up into the growing season? Do you want more in depth discussion? Let us know in the comments. And as always thank you for reading this weeks edition of Fungi Friday’s! If you enjoyed what you found, please feel free to forward to friends also interested in the Fungi Community!
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