How PURIS is Revolutionizing the Plant-Based Food System
How PURIS is Revolutionizing the Plant-Based Food System
We all know that protein is a critical building block of life. However, the world cannot continue to look to animal protein to maintain growing global demand. Instead, we must look to plant-based food alternatives sooner rather than later.
As the world’s population continues to grow, health — and accessing the nutrients required to maintain that health — remains a critical concern. Likewise, humanity must turn to plants for their primary source of protein. That’s where a company called PURIS enters the picture.
What is PURIS?
PURIS is a plant-based company interested in impacting the entire food system. As a result, this brand’s mission is to create plant-based food alternatives that are high in protein.
Protein is a basic building block of long-term health. Similarly, Harvard Health Publishing describes it as “essential to good health.” The publication adds that the word comes from the Greek word protos which means “first.” This naturally underscores the prioritization of the vital nutrient as a way to remain healthy over time.
MedlinePlus points out that protein isn’t just good for normal health concerns, either. Likewise, it’s a critical part of growth and development for children, teens, and pregnant women.
Protein is an undeniable part of a healthy lifestyle. However, the problem comes from sourcing healthy protein on a regular basis.
Most of the world depends on animal-based protein — which is not the only source of protein.
Of course, you don’t have to be a vegetarian to understand one simple thing. The burgeoning human population can’t be sustained purely on animal-based protein as demand continues to rise.
PURIS is pursuing plant-based protein alternatives that are more sustainable and scalable. Both of these standards are critical needs for the world’s population moving forward.
Additionally, PURIS has gone about accomplishing this mission by spending the last three decades creating an end-to-end food system. That system includes every link in the chain of food production. This innovation has led to a safe and secure source of food.
PURIS relies entirely on crops from the USA. As a result, this reduces food miles and removes the unnecessary (and costly) complexity of moving food around the globe.
The Background Story
PURIS isn’t a recent startup or “late and great” idea.
The company launched back in 1985. This has given its team decades to understand the complexities of the agricultural industry. They’ve become intimately aware of the countless steps and stages that go on behind the scenes in the ever-changing food system.
In our world, pro-GMO science has dominated the agricultural scene. World Food Processing (later known as PURIS) founder Jerry Lorenzen fought against the grain. He created non-GMO seeds that were still able to grow high-yield crops. They were disease-resistant and even improved the land they inhabited.
Lorenzen started with his non-GMO seeds. However, their creator wanted to do more than simply jumpstart the healthy protein process. Lorenzen envisioned an end-to-end food system optimized for health and sustainability.
Along the way, the innovator had discovered that yellow field peas were a particularly beneficial rotational crop. His team obtained genetic patents and developed a network of farmers that spanned throughout the U.S. to help grow his non-GMO crops.
Eventually, Lorenzen’s company purchased a soy protein isolate facility. This made it possible to have complete control of the process from start to finish.
All of this took decades, and when the time came for the original visionary to step aside, Lorenzen’s son, Tyler, took over. At that time, the company shifted to its current PURIS moniker, which is named after its original founder’s desire for a protein sourced from pure, organic ingredients.
What Does PURIS Do?
PURIS has continued to be a guiding light for the development of non-GMO, plant-based proteins around the world.
The growing brand continues to develop North American Peas and similar crops. They are all grown organically. Independent growers continue to harvest these and send them to PURIS facilities in the Midwest where they are transformed into wholesome ingredients.
This allows PURIS to remain fully aware of how its proteins are made, what they’re made of, and how they’re cared for throughout their journey through the food system.
The brand’s signature line is PURIS Pea, made up of various non-GMO ingredients including pea proteins, starches, and fibers. PURIS also continues to sell non-GMO, high-quality soybeans into global markets. They breed seeds for corn, lentils, and pulses. Food suppliers can tap these plant-based ingredients in the future.
This enables PURIS to create everything from energy bars to meat substitutes. If it’s a source of protein that humans like to ingest, PURIS is working to replace it with a highly-nutritious, protein-packed, plant-based alternative.
The enterprise projects that its protein alternative will be able to sustainably nourish upwards of 10 billion individuals by the year 2050.
PURIS’s Recent Upcycling Success
While PURIS is an older company, its venerable history has only fueled its current ambition. The company continues to receive accolades for its accomplishments, particularly in the area of innovation.
For example, PURIS was already named the most innovative food company of 2021 by Fast Company Magazine, reflecting its continued commitment to evolving with the needs of the global food system.
Most recently, PURIS’s closed-loop production system has earned it the Upcycled Certified certification from the Upcycled Food Association (UFA). The certification is for its Non-GMO and organic Native Pea Starches. This makes PURIS one of the first pea starches on the market to receive the prestigious Upcycled Certified label.
PURIS’s mission is to create an abundance of food. They seek to make food supplies plant-based, safe, and sustainable. It’s an objective that hasn’t wavered over the past three decades. The company has gone from a germ of an idea to a full-scale, closed-looped, end-to-end creator of non-GMO, plant-based protein.
PURIS’s ingredients are rapidly becoming the foundation of the nutritional needs of Americans as the food system continues to come under strain. There are more mouths to feed with each passing day, and basic nutrients like protein need to remain available. Rather than fighting for a piece of the limited “animal-protein pie,” PURIS is enabling consumers to live a healthy and happy life today through a sustainable, plant-based solution.
At the same time, the forward-thinking protein producer has developed a scalable system that will continue to cater to the needs of a growing planet far into the future.
Image Credit: Maria Orlova; Pexels.com.
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