Shroom Leather and... More...

Shroom leather shoe on shrooms
From Material District & sold for €583(!)
on Nat-2

Leather made from mushrooms? Wait... what? Yes, it's true. No longer do we need to kill animal to use their skins for shoes, handbags, wallets and jackets. No... now we can use mushrooms.

I really couldn't quite believe it... because on this journey of divesting myself of food and accoutrements that harm animals... I struggled with the whole leather shoes thing. They are just more comfortable, more resilient, more moldable than those plasticized shoes. And, if you get a really good pair of leather shoes, they can last a decade or more. Sigh, I still miss my Mephistos... best shoes ever.

Now... I don't go through shoes like some people go through kleenex... when I find a pair of shoes that I like, I buy them and keep them. And I am not in competition with Imelda Marcos' closet. I have maybe 10 pairs of footwear:

1. Merrell hikers
2. Blundstone half-boots
3. Danish walking shoes
4. Columbia sport sandals
5. Winter boots from Mark's Work Wearhouse
6. Rubber boots for the garden
7. Crocs for the garden
   
8. water shoes

Huh... is that it? I should go check... nope, that's it... And, when one pair of shoes is nearing the edge of its lifespan, I go and buy myself an equally good pair of shoes. Same brand, same make if possible. My feet know what they like and... as I have learned... keep your feet happy and the rest of you will be happy as well. At least out hiking and walking.

Soooo... mushroom leather... what gives with that?

Cute mushrooms and their sub-surface
network of Mycellium

First, there is Mylo, a type of leather made from the mycellium of mushrooms, that's their underground network of threads that connects the larger mushroom organism. I guess I should mention that a mushroom is not just the fruiting body that you see on the surface of the group... your typical mushroom. Nope... there is way more going on underground than we can even imagine. And the mycellium acts as kind of a super highway underground, connecting trees and the wider sub-surface ecosystem. It's quite amazing. And they Mylo stuff, which they are careful not to call "leather", since it really isn't leather, which is made from animal hides, grows in a matter of weeks and uses way less water (for example) than growing a cow would. Waaayyy more eco-friendly.

Then, we have Muskin, also made from mushrooms, but the cap of the Phellinus ellipsoideus mushroom, an inedible shroom native to subtropical forests. Same idea... same shroom leather idea... Apparently they have also tried making leathers out of pineapple and apple scraps. Go figure.

So, I guess the question is... how do we make our voices heard to demand a switch from animal leather to shroom leather? And, yes, I know that animal hides are a byproduct of the meat industry soooo.... maybe we need to ease up one the meat consumption first... thereby reducing the supply of animal hides... thereby creating space and demand for shroom leathers. Makes sense to me. 

OK... so ready to have your mind blown?? Take a look at this picture... Nice looking steak, eh? Looks like a steak, smells like steak, feels like a steak, chews like a steak and... tastes like a steak... BUT...

A Meati steak

Is NOT a steak! Nope. Not a steak. I know... I am drooling too... but this is made from Mycellium. Yep... shroom meat... in this case, a company called Meati. Mycellium for this steak grows overnight... Read more on the Meati website... And... it comes as beef and chicken varieties too... No artificial ingredients. No GMO. And... is high in fibre (that's good) and a protein as well. What's not to like about this? Alas... so far, Meati is only available in Colorado... have to be patient... The Mycellium grows in fermentation vats overnight and the amount of Meati that can be produced is way, way more efficient than livestock farming. Meet Mycellium Meati... it's the wave of the future folks...

Now... we just have to wait for the prices to come down...

Fast Company has a nice overview article of Mushroom Leather

Fast Company also has a nice overview of Meati