TurtleTree Labs: A Dairy Alternative That’s Good for the Planet

In 1993, the very first Got Milk? commercial aired, directed by action movie legend Michael Bay. In subsequent years, the Got Milk? campaigns would feature a slew of celebrities; everyone from Beyonce to Spongebob Squarepants wore a milk mustache and brought the dairy industry into Americans’ homes, asking consumers where their mustache was. Americans were already drinking a lot of milk beforehand, though milk became ‘cool’ thanks to the celeb endorsements, and the dairy industry exploded.   

In 2023, U.S. milk production totaled roughly 100 billion liters; each liter resulted in 3 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, or a total of 300 billion kg of CO2 emissions annually. How best to reconcile our love of dairy with the crippling cost it has on the climate? TurtleTree Labs has one potential solution. They operate a precision fermentation (PF) platform to produce animal-free, vegan-certified functional dairy proteins that can be used in a variety of ways. Their first product, recombinant bovine lactoferrin (rbLf), is currently used in food and beverage and can be additionally used in nutritional supplements, infant formula, cosmetics, and more. The company’s goal is to enrich plant-based milk with animal-free dairy proteins to provide functional, healthy, and sustainable milk to all. Unlike many PF companies focused on nutritional proteins like whey or casein, TurtleTree specializes in functional dairy proteins like lactoferrin, which has well-documented health benefits including iron regulation, immune support, and gut health.  

Dr. Aletta Schnitzler, Chief Scientific Officer, holding vial of their product LF+.

In order to replace dairy milk with PF-enhanced plant-based milk as a true sustainable alternative, the company believes their most impactful next step is to valorize the fermentation biomass, making use of each byproduct of the fermentation process for climate friendly applications. TurtleTree’s initial research suggests the biomass, containing residual lactoferrin, could be a beneficial replacement for components of pet food and fertilizer. According to the company, usage of this biomass would contribute to reducing waste and emissions, promoting circular economy practices, and enhancing environmental sustainability. Additional funding would allow TurtleTree to validate these innovative applications, conduct the necessary testing, and navigate regulatory approvals to bring this solution closer to market.  

Internal calculations from TurtleTree estimate that 1 kg of dairy-derived lactoferrin requires 6.2M liters of water, 2.14 acres of grass hay to feed the cows, and produces 86 kg of methane emissions. The company states that replacing just 5% of the U.S. dairy market with PF-enhanced plant-based milk, assuming minimal emissions from its production, has the potential to reduce emissions by up to 13.5 billion kg of CO2 annually. While TurtleTree is currently focused on commercialization of their lactoferrin, the company believes that their PF platform and use of biomass will significantly reduce the dairy industry’s carbon footprint while providing an accessible, stable, and scalable supply of dairy proteins to consumers. It’s no longer a question of Got Milk? but rather, Got TurtleTree? 

Learn more about TurtleTree Labs.

Written by Sarah Souli
Photos provided by TurtleTree Labs

Fengru Lin, CEO and Co-Founder, enjoying plant-based milk with LF+

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