A Scandinavian startup has created a ground beef alternative that could soon be found on your dinner plate.

According to TriplePundit, the startup Pronofa sells a convincing alternative to ground beef — and to plant-based substitutes for ground beef — using tunicates, otherwise known as sea squirts.

Tunicates are tube-like creatures that reach up from the sea floor, and they can be colorful or translucent. 

Introducing another alternative to beef to the market, especially one that actually comes from an animal, could reduce reliance on a problematic food source. 

Livestock supply chains account for over 7 billion tons of planet-warming gases globally every year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 

Much of that comes from methane — which is more potent than carbon dioxide in heat-trapping potential — produced during cattle digestion. Cattle farms also consume a massive amount of water, mostly to grow feed for animals.

Tunicates grow on hard surfaces under the water, and different versions can be found all over the world. They are typically eaten as a seafood dish. 

Kieran Murphy, a marine biologist at the University of Tasmania's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, told TriplePundit, "They're kind of like animal versions of seaweed."

Pronofa grows Ciona tunicates, which are native to Scandinavia. They're grown at aquaculture facilities among the fjords of Norway and Sweden, and they feed by filtering plankton from the water.

"Cultivating Ciona has very little environmental impact, as no feed, no land use, or chemicals are used in cultivation," said Magnus Petersen, Pronofa's research and development director, per the publication

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To process the final product, called Purply — taking its name from the mixture of red for the meat and blue for the sea — Pronofa adds rapeseed oil to enhance taste and texture.

Ciona tunicates grown and managed in their natural environment are fine, but if tunicates become popular as an alternative to beef, that could create other issues. 

Tunicates can be invasive, and growers could inadvertently spread them into environments where they don't belong. Once there, they could outcompete native species for space and food, and threaten coastal economies in the process.

However, it also means that invasive populations could be harvested to match demand. This would bolster the stability of the global food supply while reducing the harmful impact the cattle industry has on it.

Pronofa is working with prominent Swedish chef and food service consultant Magnus Naess to add Purply to menus in public spaces in the region, such as in hospitals and schools. 

Purply is also available  on the shelves of select Rema 1000 stores, a Norwegian grocery chain.

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