据英国媒体2月17日报道，美国公司Hampton Creek近日在得到亚洲首富李嘉诚的赞助后，打算将其人造鸡蛋推向全球。

这种由植物蛋白加工制作而成的人造鸡蛋可以取代蛋糕、蛋黄酱等食品里所需的鸡蛋，且整个生产过程都无需鸡的参与。目前，在美国加利福尼亚的一些食品超市已经有售。

该公司近期宣布其已获得2300万美元的投资，并打算将这种人造鸡蛋推向世界。其投资者包括亚洲首富李嘉诚和雅虎创始人杨致远。

在过去的3个月里，Hampton Creek已经与6家世界500强公司签订了合作协议，其中包括一些全球最大的食品生产和零售商。

Hampton Creek公司首席执行官兼创始人乔希•蒂特里克曾表示：“公司的目标一直是向全世界所有人提供更加健康和负担得起的食物。我们想把动物从食品生产过程中解放出来。”

蒂特里克的想法是将容易生长的植物以正确的方式混合，然后替代鸡蛋的口感、营养价值和烹饪用途等。他还介绍说，他们已经在市场领袖中对这种产品进行了口感测试，包括微软创始人比尔•盖茨和英国前首相托尼•布莱尔都没有尝出不同。

目前，比尔•盖茨甚至已经成为了该公司的顾问及其在硅谷最强烈的支持者。

A radical ‘artificial egg’ made from plants is set to go global after the US firm behind it revealed major backing from Asia's richest man.

Made from plants, it can replace eggs in everything from cakes to mayonnaise - without a chicken ever coming close to the production process.

Hampton Creek's products are already sold in Whole Foods in California, and now the firm plans to take on the world.

Today that it was announced the firm has landed $23 million infunding.

Backers include Mr. Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang.

In the last 90 days, the company has also signed partnership agreements with 6 Fortune 500 companies, including some of the largest food manufactures and retailers in the world - although the firm is keeping their names secret until products go on sale.

Mr. Li Ka-shing, who is estimated to be worth $28.8 billion, said he believed the firm had huge potential.

'Technology enables everyone to have more options to better our future together,' he said.

'To keep up with all the demands for the growing global population, we need to be more efficient, more environmentally friendly, and have more quality and affordable choices.

Hampton Creek CEO and founder Josh Tetrick said, 'We live in a time where the unhealthy choice is dirt cheap and convenient, and the healthy choice is pricey and inconvenient.

'When my Dad walks the grocery aisles to buy mayo or chocolate-chip cookies or eggs, the inputs that make them possible often come from bizarrely unhealthy places.

'Our goal has always been to build a company that brings healthier and affordable food to everyone, everywhere.

Solving a problem means actually solving the problem for most people – not just the folks that can afford to pay $5.99 for organic eggs.

‘We want to take animals out of the equation,' Tetrick has previously told MailOnline.

‘The food industry is begging for innovation, especially where animals are involved - it is a broken industry.’

Tetrick’s idea was to find a mix of easy-to-grow plants that, when mixed together in the right way, replicate the taste, nutritional values and cooking properties of an egg.

This, he believes will allow the firm to produce its substitute for mass market foods - and to allow developing worlds to grow their own versions with added nutrients.

‘Eggs are functionally incredible, they do everything from hold oil and water in mayo to making the muffin rise and holding scrambled eggs together,’ he said ‘I started to think what if we can find plants that can do this. We have about 12 plants pre-selected, including a pea already widely grown in Canada. There’s also a bean in South Asia that is incredible in scrambled eggs.

The firm is already in talks with major food manufacturers around the world - including several in the UK, to replace eggs in supermarket products with their alternative.

So far, he says the team has perfected an egg substitute for mayonnaise, and one for cakes.

'We can make really good mayonnaise, we’ve done taste tests against market leaders, and beaten them consistently. In the world of cookies, we’ve trialled our products with everyone from Bill Gates to Tony Blair, both of whom couldn’t taste the difference.

'Bill Gates became an advisor to the company, and has been one of its most vocal supporters in the Silicon Valley world where Hampton Creek is based.

'Companies like Hampton Creek Foods are experimenting with new ways to use heat and pressure to turn plants into foods that look and taste just like meat and eggs,' he recently wrote of the firm.

It hopes to allow developing countries to grow and produce their own ‘plant eggs’.

'In developing countries, we can also add in things missing from the local diet, helping nutrient deficiencies, and we have had initial discussion with the world food programme about this.

'What we want to do eventually is find a way to work with farmers in the developing world to enable them to have new cash crops that can be used. Then we become the kind of company to be feared by the bad guys in the industry.'

（来源：Dailymail 编辑：丹妮）