[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/10155\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EMushrooms emerge from the shadows in pesticide-free production push \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMention La Rioja in northern Spain and most people will picture majestic sun-drenched vineyards nestled in the hillsides. But, hidden from the sunlight, the region is also home to a very different crop that happens to be at the heart of efforts to make European food production more sustainable.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThree small villages in La Rioja house the vast, dark, humid growing sheds that produce its 77\u0026nbsp;000 tonnes of mushrooms each year. Almost half of Spain\u2019s cultivated mushroom crop is grown in the region, making Spain the third-largest producer in Europe, behind Poland and the Netherlands.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENew world\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Mushrooms are a whole different world than we are used to, from growing plants or rearing animals,\u2019 said Pablo Mart\u00ednez, an agronomist who worked in wineries before being drawn to the specialist mushroom sector after a chance conversation with a former colleague.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBased at the Mushroom Technological Research Centre of La Rioja (CTICH),\u0026nbsp;Mart\u00ednez manages a Europe-wide project to tackle the environmental challenges faced by the industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMany people know very little about how mushrooms are grown. While it\u2019s easy to buy a starter kit online to have a go at home, growing on a commercial scale is very different \u2013 managing humidity, temperature and light to produce a regular, quality crop while contending with pest control.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECultivated mushrooms can double in size in a day and consumer demand for them is mushrooming too.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe global market is projected to grow from around 15 million tonnes in 2021 to more than 24 million tonnes over the next five years. Packed with nutrients, they deliver a protein-rich umami kick that is well suited to the soaring trend for plant-based foods.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EWe\u2019re looking to develop a new product for growing mushrooms that could cut pesticide use by 90%.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EPablo Mart\u00ednez, BIOSCHAMP\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETo meet demand, growers need to fail-safe their crop from pests and, for now, they rely on pesticides. Tighter regulations are limiting available products and concerns over the impact on the environment and human health mean growers are looking to researchers to come up with answers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECTICH is coordinating the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101000651\u0022\u003E\u003Cu\u003EBIOSCHAMP\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E project, which works with researchers, commercial partners and mushroom growers in six European countries. In addition to Spain, they are Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Serbia and the UK.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cstrong\u003EPeatland protection\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMushrooms are grown on a substrate, or base layer, made of straw and animal manure, then covered with a thick blanket of peat known as the casing. Made up of partially decayed vegetation, peat perfectly mimics nature\u2019s forest floors that so readily yield mushrooms.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe depletion of precious finite peatlands is a global concern. These wetlands store more carbon than all other vegetation types in the world combined and their conservation is ever more important for countering climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Mounting restrictions on peat extraction in European countries threaten the long-term continuity of peat supplies,\u2019 said Mart\u00ednez.\u0026nbsp;\u2018We\u2019re looking to develop a new product for growing mushrooms that could cut pesticide use by 90% while reducing the industry\u2019s reliance on peat.\u2019\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nMost of Europe\u2019s peat comes from the Baltic countries, traveling first by boat to the Netherlands, where it is treated ready for commercial use, before being distributed to growers across Europe, amassing transport costs and a heavy carbon footprint.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBIOSCHAMP aims to create a low-peat sustainable casing for cultivated mushrooms made from renewable materials sourced close to existing mushroom production.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nWhile the exact details are under wraps, it will combine with a substance known as a biostimulant to enhance the natural growing processes and strengthen the mushroom mycelium in their early phase, protecting them against disease without the need for chemical pesticides.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFertile waste\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Norway, two mushroom enthusiasts have pioneered a project to explore whether the crop could be cultivated in food waste. The EU-funded initiative is called\u0026nbsp;\u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/751052\u0022\u003EVegWaMus CirCrop\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nDr Agnieszka Jasinska, who completed her postgraduate research on mushroom substrates, has led the research in partnership with Dr Ketil Stoknes, senior project leader of research and development at waste-management company\u0026nbsp;Lindum and himself once a specialist mushroom grower.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe project has demonstrated that organic residue from food waste \u2013 usually used to feed anaerobic digestors, devised to capture methane and divert it from problematic greenhouse gas to useful fuel\u0026nbsp;\u2013 can be a successful starter for mushrooms.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EIt enables a climate-efficient, resilient, urban food production system based entirely on waste.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003E Dr Ketil Stoknes, VegWaMus CirCrop\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.eufic.org\/en\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cu\u003EEuropean Food Information Council\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (EUFIC) estimates that a whopping one third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted. Anaerobic digestion, also known as biogas, allows the nutrients from waste to be reused for growing plants in greenhouses.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It enables a climate-efficient, resilient, urban food production system based entirely on waste,\u2019 said Stoknes.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nTomatoes, lettuce and herbs had been chosen as the initial candidates. But Stoknes said that mushrooms are degraders, breaking down fibres and so on, and are a necessary part of an integrated biosystem. Inspired by the natural cycle in the forest, the project set out to combine mushrooms and plants in one circular system.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe biogas system is explained as \u2018food to waste to food\u2019 and it\u2019s a movement that is growing in popularity.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nWhile mushroom cultivation ceased on a commercial scale in Norway in the early 2000s, unable to compete with other countries, VegWaMus CirCrop\u0026nbsp;has proved there could be a sustainable future for Norwegian mushroom production after all.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESide hustle\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe project has hatched a start-up company called SOPPAS with ambitions to scale up the process commercially. In the meantime, it\u2019s embarking on a raft of new ideas, including expanding production at the food waste biogas facility from button mushrooms to oyster mushrooms.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The new company will produce starter blocks for growing mushrooms for farmers, plant producers and greenhouse owners who might want to diversify to mushrooms in their low season,\u2019 said Jasinska. \u2018They can put their existing pickers, packing line and cold-storage facilities to good use in idle times and sell the produce locally.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAgainst the backdrop of growing momentum for producing food from waste and an interest in keeping production local, both EU-funded projects look set to give mushrooms their moment in the sun.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded via the EU\u0027s Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-zeuvb6psewcbgfasbtm4lb4m4y-ol5emsrzvviqevk\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-ZeUvB6pseWcbGfASBtm4lB4m4Y--OL5EmsRZVvIqeVk\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]