University of Guelph researchers are using equipment at the Canadian Light Source in Saskatchewan to make plant-based cheeses. Food science PhD student Stacie Dobson explained how to national news outlets.  

Speaking to CTV News Saskatoon, Dobson said the equipment’s “bright lights allow them to view protein, starch and fat molecules within samples of meats and cheeses.” They can then manipulate those proteins, she said, to create meat- and cheese-like structures. 

“We wanted to use a sustainable, low cost technique to develop a fibre system that is high in protein,” Dobson told Global News. She hopes that people will want to eat the cheeses and meats and that in the long-term her work will help the environment.