How This Gourmet Popcorn Could Impact The Environment

If you were told that a fertilizer company has just begun making a version of your favorite snack, would you rush out to buy it? Probably not. But, if that fertilizer company created a way to make the snack you love in a way that contributes to a cleaner planet, you just might be tempted to grab your coat and keys. That's what Pivot Bio is banking on, anyway.

Just in time for scary movie season, American fertilizer company Pivot Bio has debuted its gourmet butterfly Yellow Popcorn fit for at-home popping. According to Food Business News, Pivot Bio's popcorn bags are filled with Nebraska-grown kernels that are 100% whole grain and non-GMO. The new popcorn is the inaugural product in the company's new line, Connect. BakeryandSnacks reports that the new line is designed with the environmental goals of cleaner air and cleaner water in mind. Pivot Bio's secret weapon for growing these earth-conscious snacks? Microbial nitrogen.

You may want to grab a handful of popcorn, it's time to get a little science-y. According to Crop Nutrition, nitrogen is an element necessary for plants to grow. But while the world has plenty of nitrogen in general,  crops commonly suffer from nitrogen deficiency. To combat the problem, as BakeryandSnacks explains, farmers turn to synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, which can, unfortunately, end up in our air and water and use a lot of energy to make.

Pivot Bio's solution, mIcrobial nitrogen, is made by using a fermentation process. According to Bakery and Snacks, the fermentation process uses less of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide to create, and the finished product avoids the ocean runoff issues synthetic fertilizers create. With this new brand, Pivot Bio is trying to reach "consumers looking for a way to support climate positive practices through their purchases," according to its press release.

If you want to find out if the new brand is tasty as well as being eco-friendly, you can find the new 24-oz. bags of large popcorn kernels from Connect on Amazon. It may be worth mentioning, though, that when it comes to popping corn, your result may have less to do with the kernels you started with and more to do with your personal popping technique.